Free Her Sister's Shoes by Ashley Farley Page B

would Sam call you and not me? Lovie is my mother, not yours.”
    “For obvious reasons, honey. I’m a cardiologist. Sam asked me to speak to the doctor on call, to make certain they are doing everything they can for Lovie. Which they are.”
    “I should probably go to the hospital,” she said, making no move to leave.
    “There’s no reason to go rushing over there tonight, Jack. Sam is with your mother. She will call us if she needs us.”
    He sat down on the wooden bench, pulling Jackie down beside him. “I need to talk to you about my trip to the mountains.”
    A chill that had nothing to do with the damp night air traveled Jackie’s spine.
    “What about it?” Their plan had been in place for weeks. Bill would drive up with the boys on Saturday, spend the night in Asheville, and return Sunday after he delivered them to camp.
    “The boys and I have decided to head up first thing in the morning. I want to spend a couple of days with them, alone, before I drop them off at camp.”
    “But they haven’t finished packing.” She’d hardly seen Cooper and Sean since they’d gotten out of school. Selfishly, she was looking forward to spending the next two days with them before they headed off for three weeks.
    “They’re doing that now. Carlotta is helping them.”
    “But they had plans to go fishing with friends tomorrow.”
    “Trust me, they are excited about going up early. I’ve made arrangements with a fly fishing guide for Friday.”
    “Well … I suppose, since you’ve got it all worked out …”
    “I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you”—Bill glanced at his watch—“but what the hell? Technically, it is tomorrow.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. “I won’t be coming home from the mountains, Jack. I mean, I’ll be coming back to Prospect. I just won’t be coming back here. To this house.”
    Jackie wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders, surprised at how calm she felt. She’d anticipated the moment for so long, she’d practiced over and over what she would say. “What you really mean is, you will be coming back to your new home, the one you’ve created with your blonde bimbo.”
    He lifted his head and stared at her, his mouth agape. “You mean, you knew?”
    She sat up tall and smiled smugly. “Of course I know about your little mistress, you bastard. I saw the two of you cuddled up together in the back corner of the Inlet Coffee Shop. You really should be more discreet. I’d hate for your sons to see you parading your mistress around town.”
    He furrowed his brow.
    “You haven’t thought about that, have you?”
    “Of course I have. That’s why I decided to go up to the mountains early, so I can tell them at dinner Friday night.”
    “Liar. You are too much of a coward to tell the boys. You will save that unpleasant task for me.”
    “You think you know me so well, don’t you?”
    “Better than you know yourself.”
    “That’s just it, Jackie. You don’t really know me at all. You see the bad. It’s almost like you expect it. But you never acknowledge the good.”
    A part of her knew he was right. When had she started jumping to the wrong conclusion without giving him the benefit of the doubt?
    Around the time he started disappointing her on a regular basis with his broken promises.
    “You are having an affair with another woman, Bill,” she said softly. “Where’s the good in that?”
    “I’ve been a good provider and a good father, and you know it.” He slumped back against the bench.
    “Maybe in the past, but you blew it this time.”
    They sat in silence for a minute. “I suggest we see how the separation goes before we tell the boys,” he said.
    “This woman, your mistress, is a person, Bill, not a new suit. You can’t just try her on for size, then come running back to me when she doesn’t fit into your life.”
    “That’s not at all what I’m suggesting.”
    “Then what