Free Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas Page B

but he couldn’t help it. “I told her
that. It’s too late.”
    “It can’t be
too late! You can’t let it be too late!”
    When Tonya
started crying, Alex pulled her into his arms. “It’s going to be
okay, sis. Just because she won’t be a part of the family anymore
doesn’t mean you can’t stay in touch with her. You can call and
email, maybe—”
    Tonya pushed
against his chest as she swiped her damp cheeks with the back of
her hand. “How could you do this? This is all your fault! You
ignored her for so many years, like she didn’t even matter.”
    Alex stepped
back, reeling from her accusations. “That’s not true. Eve always
knew how much I loved her.”
    “Is she leaving
you for someone else?” Tonya glared at him. “Someone who’ll love
her the way she deserves?”
    Alex adored his
baby sister, but at the moment, he felt like throttling her. Mainly
because her words hit too close to home. She was one of the few
people who didn’t cower in fear every time he walked into the
room.
    “Tonya,
please,” Marianne said. “This isn’t the time to blame—”
    “You know Dan
is in love with her, Mom. You said it yourself when we visited the
inn last Mother’s Day. You said if Alex didn’t start paying more
attention to his wife, he was going to lose her.” Tonya threw up
her hands. “Now look at the mess he’s made of everything.”
    Marianne looked
embarrassed. “Is it because of Dan? Is that why Eve wants a
divorce?”
    Alex looked
from his mother to his sister, unable to think past his rage. He
hated himself for letting this happen, and he resented his family
for reminding him another man was in the picture who would give
anything to fill his vacant shoes. “I gotta get the hell out of
here.”

Chapter
Six
    Eve stood at the front
of the church, greeting the mourners, when the sight of
shoulder-length dark ringlets caught her eye. She only knew one
person with hair like that—her sister-in-law . Tonya walked
up the aisle with her mother, and as soon as Eve’s eyes locked with
theirs, the tears started again. She’d never expected them to come
all this way. Unless Alex hadn’t told them about the divorce? If
that was the case, he was putting her in the uncomfortable position
of having to do the honors, which was the last thing she
needed.
    “How are you,
sweetheart?” Marianne asked, hugging Eve.
    Alex’s mother
had been so kind to her since the day they met, welcoming her into
their family without reservation. Saying good-bye to Marianne and
Tonya would be almost as difficult as saying good-bye to her aunt.
“Thank you for coming.”
    “I wish you’d
called to tell us about your aunt,” Tonya said, squeezing her hard.
“We would have been here sooner. After the way you stepped up when
Daddy died…”
    Since Eve
didn’t have a relationship with her own father, her father-in-law
had gladly stepped into the role, and she’d never had a chance to
tell him how grateful she was for his love and support. Helping to
plan a service to honor his memory seemed like the least she could
do.
    The three women
held hands, grieving as much for the closeness between them that
was slipping away as for the dynamic spirit who had already left
them. Eve could tell just by looking into their eyes that they
already knew about the divorce. Their sadness mirrored her own, and
each struggled to find the words to ease their gloom.
    “I’m sorry,”
Eve said finally. “I wish there was another way.”
    “Maybe there
is,” Tonya said quickly. “Maybe you and Alex could talk after the
service and figure out a way to work things out, find a
compromise—”
    “Alex is here?”
Eve asked, glancing around uneasily.
    “Of course he
is,” Marianne said quietly. “You didn’t think he would miss this,
did you? He is still your husband.”
    Eve didn’t want
Alex to feel obligated to keep up appearances and stand by her side
for the benefit of people he barely knew. “Where is he? I need to
talk to