Free A Perfect Husband by Aphrodite Jones

him away from Kathleen. It became even more clear, with all the miles and the Atlantic Ocean between them, that Kathleen was the only woman Michael loved. After only nine months, not being able to live apart from her, Michael returned to Kathleen. With his two daughters in tow, Michael Peterson would never move from his home base of North Carolina again.
    Once Michael returned, Kathleen took on greater responsibilities for the Ratliff girls. Margaret and Martha were always closer to Michael, and Kathleen had her daughter, Caitlin, but Kathleen tried very hard to be a true mother to Margaret and Martha. Kathleen seemed to know how to handle the kids; she was fair with all three girls. She showed each of them the same unconditional love. The same love she had for Caitlin, she tried to bestow to Margaret and Martha. Kathleen only became the type of mother they needed.
    As the girls grew up together, they blossomed under Kathleen’s watchful eye. She encouraged them to become involved with sports; she guided them through their school projects. But Kathleen wasn’t the type to take control of the girls. Martha and Margaret were still Michael’s children. She tried to earn their admiration, and she understood that Michael was the person they loved best. It was okay that Michael was the mainstay for the Ratliff girls. Kathleen knew her place, and did everything possible to complete their lives.
    It would take years, but Kathleen slowly earned the title of Mom. Through her nurturing and fairness, she had won them over. Margaret and Martha loved her. They considered themselves hers. Even though they stayed in touch with their “mom” Patricia, who would make annual summer visits to Durham, who would try to assert her own status with the girls, Margaret and Martha had developed a very unique relationship with Kathleen—one that was hardly penetrable.
    Patricia, of course, would continue to operate from the sidelines. She would continue to resent Michael’s true love of Kathleen. For a long time, Patricia tried to delay her divorce from Michael, but Kathleen had won Michael’s heart. Kathleen stood by him, and had managed to live through his lengthy separation and divorce.
    When Michael was finally free, the two of them moved out of Kathleen’s Forest Hills home. They had purchased their storybook mansion on Cedar Street. At that point, Kathleen and Michael had been together for over five years. With their move into their very own home, with Michael publishing a new book and reaching a new height of success, the two decided they should marry. They loved each other, and they wanted to make everything official.
    Michael was well on his way to becoming a famous author, and Kathleen was also becoming a success, climbing the corporate ladder at Nortel Networks. The two worked so well together, and once they were married, things were better than ever. Michael and Kathleen were really on top of the world. Their lifestyle felt so right. They had a love and respect that few couples ever knew. Their ties to the kids had become so strong that neither of them needed to worry about how Patricia might affect the family. When Michael’s sons returned to Durham to begin looking at American universities, the boys fit right in. Kathleen treated Clayton and Todd with the utmost respect. After years of marriage, Kathleen was no longer concerned about doing anything that might make Michael balk. She no longer had to walk a fine line, no longer had to worry about causing ripples or waves with the children.
    Certain bad feelings continued to exist between Patricia and Michael and Kathleen over the years, but once Clayton and Todd had decided to attend Duke University, to live back home with Michael, Patricia was good about letting Michael keep his boys close to his home. For their part, Clayton and Todd came to know what a good soul Kathleen was.... They held her in a separate place.
    As the boys began to appreciate how