Free The House by Anjuelle Floyd Page A

surveying the house, “—and move to France?”
    “Yes. That was the plan.”
    “And what is the plan now that Dad—” David pointed to Edward, “—your husband, is sick and dying? Oh, but let me correct myself since you’ve already divorced him.”
    Stoic and calm, Serine turned to Edward. Anna stood.
    “Are we to take this as a statement that you’re still going?” Serine asked.
    “I didn’t know it was up for discussion,” Anna retorted.
    “Well, I, for one am not going to sit by and let you abandon Dad. Not like this.” Serine stood.
    David stood also. “If I didn’t know it when I filed the suit, I know it now. You really are insane.”
    “That’s enough!” Edward slammed his hand upon the table. Serine and David fell silent as Linda and Brad, still holding hands, lowered their gazes. Again, Linda massaged her stomach. Anna placed her hand on the back of the chair still empty of Theo’s presence, and in the deepening silence, she left the room.
    Moments later and in Theo’s room, Anna sat folding bed linen and towels she had taken from the dryer. Following a soft knock, Edward peeked around the door.
    “May I come in?”
    Anna nodded and kept folding the towels. He entered. Reaching the bed, Edward lifted a pile of folded sheets and pillowcases and placed them in the chair by the night stand.
    “Seems like you’re always doing this.”
    “Someone has to.” Anna was still fuming from the dinner conversation gone awry.
    Edward lowered himself onto the bed, and brushed his hand across the plush, green comforter. “I’ve spoken with Serine and David. They were out of line.”
    “They’re adults. And entitled to their own opinions.”
    “Some opinions are best kept to one’s self,” Edward said.
    Anna laid a folded towel upon the pile in the chair by the night stand and lifted another from the pile on the bed.
    “Perhaps like mine.” Edward stared at her. She proceeded to fold the second towel.
    “Let’s not pretend that we’re one big happy family.”
    Anna’s hands fell still. She turned to Edward. “David and Serine are angry with me because I requested the divorce. You fed David’s anger and encouraged him to file papers to have me declared mentally unfit and to sue Henderson. God knows what would have happened had you not agreed to the divorce.”
    “I warned David that if he filed the suit against Henderson or papers against you that I’d grant you the divorce. It’s why I signed the papers.”
    “So David forced you to agree to the divorce?” The symbolism of David’s actions had hurt Anna. That his actions had forced Edward into agreeing to the divorce further enraged her. “Henderson said the suit against him was bogus. No sane psychiatrist would grant the request after speaking with m—”
    “That wasn’t the point,” Edward said.
    “Okay, let me guess. You were also dying?”
    The fading light in Edward’s eyes dimmed another degree. Clinching his jaw, he stood and headed for the door. He was about to go through when Anna asked, “Why?”
    Edward held the doorknob for a moment, and then turning back, he said, “You deserved better.”
    Anna breathed in his words not wanting to believe them, or that he had said spoken them.
    “By the way, did you find a buyer?” he asked.
    “A buyer?” She shook her head in an effort to clear her thoughts. “For the house. A buyer for the house, this house .”
    “No.”
    His cheeks softened. He seemed sad.
    “Tell Elise—I assume she’s still handling the sale—tell her to call Bryce. He’ll put her in touch with some of our contacts around California and abroad. People are always looking to move here. With five bedrooms and four baths, this is the perfect home for an executive and family relocating to the area. You’d be surprised how many people outside the country are looking for homes here.”
    “I’m sure they are.” Anna took in a breath.
    Edward walked through the doorway and left.
    A few minutes later,