An Independent Wife by Linda Howard

ten-ninated on paper, too."

    "You talk too much," he observed, the rasp coming into his voice that warned of his rising temper.
    Confused, Sallie fell silent. What had she said to make him angry? Why had he brought up the subject if he didn't want to talk about it?

    "I don't want a divorce," he said a moment later. "I've found it very convenient, having a little wife tucked away somewhere."

    She laughed and sat up in bed, pushing a pillow behind her back for support. "Yes, I can see where it would come in handy," she dared to tease him. "It keeps the husband-hungry women effectively at bay, doesn't it? Still, we've reached the point where to remain married is foolish. Shall I file or would you rather?"

    "Are you being deliberately stupid?" he barked. "I said I don't want a divorce!"

    Sallie fell silent again, stunned by his insistence. "But, Rhy!" She fiDally protested incredulously.
    "Whyever not?"

    "I told you," he said with the manner of one explaining the obvious. "I find it convenient to have a wife."

    "You could always lie!"

    "Why should I bother? And there's always the chance of a lie being found out. No, thank you for the offer, but I think I'll keep you, regardless of who you have waiting in the wings to take my place."

    Abruptly Sallie was angry. Why had he called her at all if he didn't want a divorce, and who was he to make snide remarks about anyone waiting in the wings? "You're just being obnoxious!" she charged furiously. "What's wrong, Rhy? Is Coral crowding you a bit? Do you need your convenient wife for protection? Well, you can hide behind someone else, because I don't need your cooperation for a divorce! You deserted me, and you've been gone for seven years, and any judge in the state will give me a divorce!"

    "You think so?" he challenged, laughing aloud. "Try it. I've made a lot of friends and divorcing me could be harder than you think. You'd better have a lot of money and a lot of time before you start, and you'd better have a more reliable job. You're in a rather vulnerable position, aren't you? You can't afford to make your boss angry."

    "My boss can go straight to-to hell!" she shouted furiously and slammed the receiver down, The phone began ringing again immediately and she glared at it for a moment, then when it continued its irritating noise she reached over and unplugged it, something she rarely did in case Greg needed to reach her.

    Then she turned out the lamp and pounded her pillow into shape, but any chance for sleep was now remote. She lay in the darkness and fumed, wishing she could take her temper out on Rhy's head. Why had he called at all if he didn't want to talk about a divorce? If he wanted to use her to keep Coral at a distance he could just find someone else to do his dirty work for him! Personally, she thought Coral was just his type, someone poised and sophisticated who wouldn't care if her husband was more interested in his job than in his wife.

    Then, as if someone had turned on a light in a dark room, she knew why Rhy was so stubborn about not getting a divorce, why he had asked all of those prying, suggestive questions about her friends. If she had learned anything at all about Rhy during the year they had been together it was that he was a possessive man. He didn't want to give up anything that belonged to him, and that included his wife. It obviously didn't bother him that thousands of miles might separate them, that they hadn't seen each other in years, his attitude was that once his wife, always his wife. He might not want her anymore, but he was too stubborn to give her up if he thought anyone else might want to marry her. What he didn't realize was that her attitude was much the same as his: once was enough.

    She admitted honestly to herself that she would never love another man as she had loved Rhy, and even though she had now recovered from the emotional damage he'd inflicted she didn't think she'd ever be able to love so passionately, so demandingly