Free Good Together by C. J. Carmichael

makeup.”
    They’d all done that when they were little girls. Their mother had owned a beautiful vanity table, a family heirloom, with dozens of intriguing drawers and hidey-holes.
    “Only the door was locked. And not thinking that someone must be in there—because it was early afternoon and the room was always empty during the day—I took a pin and unlocked it.”
    Mattie could read her sister’s face well enough to guess that she’d interrupted a sexual act. But—“who was Mom with?”
    “It wasn’t Dad. It was—Mr. Sheenan. And, oh God, Mattie, it was so appalling to me at the time. They were having oral sex.”
    Mattie supposed she shouldn’t be shocked. But she sure as hell was.
    The Sheenans owned the ranch next to theirs. Their mother had died much earlier, leaving Bill Sheenan to raise five boys and a daughter on his own.
    Ever since she’d start school, Mattie had been cautioned to stay away from those “Sheenan brats” by her father. She’d assumed it was a dispute over water rights that had bred the dislike between the two families.
    Now she realized the problems were a lot more... personal.
    “Frankly, given what a jerk dad was, I don’t blame Mom for having an affair.”
    “Maybe not. But here’s the weirdest part. At the steak dinner after the rodeo last month, Bill Sheenan came up to me and apologized for what I’d seen. All these years later! I couldn’t believe he had the nerve.”
    “He must have been feeling guilty for a very long time.”
    “I guess. But dad saw him talking to me, and came up and popped him one on the jaw.”
    Mattie had seen the fight. “So that’s what was behind it!” Their father had made them all leave the barbecue after that, without saying a word about what was going on.
    “I talked to Dad later and found out he knew about the affair. Had known all along.”
    “Really? Then why didn’t he ask for a divorce?”
    “That’s what I wondered. And Dad told me that there were worse ways you could hurt someone you’d married than by cheating on them.”
    “Wow.” Mattie would never have expected to hear something so... understanding... from her Dad. She had always pictured him as a man who saw things in black and white. Sons—good. Daughters—useless.
    “Incredible, isn’t it?”
    “And you’ve kept this secret for how long?”
    “More than a decade.”
    It was a heavy weight for a young girl to have carried. Mattie suspected it had taken a toll. She remembered Sage as a young girl—she’d been real chatty, with a sunny disposition and an easy-going nature.
    But Sage had changed as she’d gotten older. Become quiet and thoughtful. And this was why. It had to be.
    “I’m so sorry you had to deal with this on your own, Sage. I wish you’d confided in someone. Like maybe me?”
    “At first I was too scared to say anything. I was afraid Mom would leave us. Then, after she died, I didn’t want to spoil anyone’s memory of her.”
    “No wonder you make chocolates for a living. You are the sweetest, Sage. You really are.” Mattie stroked the puppy’s soft fur, and considered Sage’s reasons for exposing this big secret today. To her.
    “You’re trying to say that even if Wes has been unfaithful I shouldn’t automatically give up on my marriage.”
    “At least talk to him.”
    “I want to. He’s the one who’s gone into hiding.”
    “Then find him, Mattie. Don’t leave it too late.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    A s Mattie tried to fall asleep that night, her conversation with her sister kept repeating in her brain. Should she be trying to reach Wes?
    She lifted the cell phone, which she kept next to her pillow. No missed calls, emails or text messages. Nothing.
    Why this wall of utter silence from Wes?
    Was he waiting to hear from her?
    That didn’t make sense. Wes had been the one to say he wanted to leave. And he’d done it. His silence proved he didn’t love her anymore.
    Still, Mattie’s thumb hovered over Wes’s name on her contact