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Though Dottie professed herself thrilled with the outing, the unusual activity had clearly tired her. She napped for several hours in the afternoon.
India was filled with nervous energy. Three times, she almost texted Farris. The communication could be light and easy. A brief note to tell him how his mother had spent the morning. But on every occasion, India chickened out.
Finally, in desperation, she forced herself to do five punishing miles on the treadmill. When she was exhausted and dripping with sweat, she showered and changed. Then she made her way to the great room and riffled through some of the photos she and Dottie hadn’t sorted yet.
The ones of Farris were impossible to ignore. She could almost see the development of his personality over the years. The adolescent Farris was already driven to succeed, presumably by the fact that his father had abandoned him. Perhaps Farris had wanted the bigamist to see that a smart, focused boy didn’t need a secondhand father, one who belonged to someone else.
Because India was alone, and the house was quiet, her thoughts landed on the one problem she hadn’t quite figured out how to handle. She was still physically attracted to her husband. But he wasn’t her husband.
She had been with only one man since her divorce, a colleague at another station. The sex was good, but ultimately unsatisfying in an emotional sense. She had known, even lying in his bed, that this new man in her life was never going to be her great passion.
Because honesty had become a touchstone for her, she told him the truth. They had sex a few more times, but eventually things fizzled.
The trouble was, a woman her age needed sex, wanted sex. But since she wasn’t interested in bar hookups or one-night stands, she found herself obstinately alone. She didn’t mind her own company. And she was never bored. But there were many nights when she ached for a warm male in her bed, for strong arms to hold her—for the chance to start over again and build a life that would include marriage and children.
If she really was such a fan of the truth, it was time to admit the unthinkable. She had come here for Dottie and to spend time with her ex-husband again. She was never going to be happy in love if she compared every man she met to Farris. He had ruined her, setting the bar high.
What if she tried having sex with Farris while she was here? Either she would find out that she needed to fight harder for the family she wanted with him, or she would discover that her ex-husband still clung stubbornly to his secrets.
Was the tiniest chance of success worth the terrible risk of failure?
She had never found closure five years ago. Perhaps that was why she was still searching for an elusive dream. She hadn’t found Mr. Right in New York, because Mr. Wrong in Wyoming irrevocably claimed her.
Her skin hummed with arousal. Her heartbeat fluttered. With Dottie sleeping, India did the one thing she knew she should not do. She walked down the hall, passed her own room and entered the master suite. It seemed prudent to close the door behind her, so there would be no surprises.
As she stood there, scanning the spot where she had felt most content, her heart sank in confusion and shock. Nothing was the same.
Not paint colors, not bedclothes, not even the arrangement of the furniture. It was as if Farris had intentionally wiped away every trace of his marriage.
Apparently, he had wanted to start over, completely from scratch.
Well, he’d succeeded, she thought bleakly. Her stomach was in a knot. Being erased from a person’s life was not a pleasant sensation. Of course, if she hadn’t trespassed, she would be none the wiser.
Now that she was in the tiger’s lair, she snooped unashamedly. The book on the nightstand was a hardback new release from a true-crime writer Farris enjoyed. A glass of water, half-empty, sat there, too. She picked it up and took a sip of the tepid liquid, imagining her lips touching the rim where his had been.
Moments later when India flung open the closet, Farris’s scent washed over her. Masculine, evocative, notes of lime and evergreen. As familiar to her as her own bodywash or perfume. She touched a shirt, a dinner jacket. It was surprising to see dress clothes here. In her experience, Farris lived very casually in Wyoming.
After the closet, the bathroom was next. This, thank goodness, was more familiar. Short of a complete remodel, it would be impossible to change. The luxurious shower enclosure was the same. Even the navy waffle-weave robe hanging on a hook was one she remembered.
When a text dinged on her phone, she jumped guiltily. It was only a reminder about a dental appointment...one she would need to cancel. Still, the interruption was enough to jolt her out of her trip down memory lane.
She flushed, though there was no one to see her.
Curiosity had compelled her to invade Farris’s privacy. Now she wished she hadn’t. Her discoveries upset her.
For the remainder of the day, she moped and brooded...subtly, of course. There was Dottie to entertain. The older woman woke up from her nap with a burst of energy. She and India worked on the photos. A huge box was delivered just before dark. It contained the albums Dottie had ordered.
“Let’s start the first one,” she said gleefully.
India had to put on the brakes. “It’s almost time to eat, and besides, we really shouldn’t begin until we have all the pictures sorted. Otherwise, we’ll end up going back and ripping things out to start all over again.”
Dottie pouted. “You sound just like Farris. Always raining on my parade.”
India grinned. “I’m sorry. But you know I’m right.”
After dinner, the two of them played Scrabble for an hour. That was about all Dottie could handle. Her lack of stamina worried India. Her former mother-in-law had changed dramatically in only five years. Farris insisted that Dottie had made peace with her diagnosis, but what about him? He was very protective of the mother who had raised him mostly on her own. How would Farris react when the only parent he cared about was gone? He would be all alone in the world.
Once Dottie was tucked in, India knew she had to do something or go stir-crazy. After bundling up in all her layers, plus mittens and a heavy scarf, she sneaked outside, making sure to reset the alarm and take a key. With the housekeeper gone for the evening, Dottie was alone inside.
