responded impatiently. “And I love you, too, Wyatt, you know I do, but I can’t talk about this right now!”
“Mac—”
“I have to go! I’ll call you later,” she said.
The line went dead. Wyatt reared back and gaped at his cell phone. He glanced up, stared blankly out the window at the cows gathered around the little pond, then hurled his cell phone at the wall.
6
Daisy’s Saddle-brew Coffee Shop was at the north end of the town square, just a few blocks from Wyatt’s office. It was a cute little place with a store for knickknacks and objets d’art up front, and coffee and pastries in back. Linda Gail went there every day promptly at half past eleven on her bank run to meet her posse, all of whom worked nearby.
They were engaged in a lively debate when she walked in. Reena worked for a CPA. She was a free spirit and had styled her hair into dreadlocks. She was pointing her finger at Anne, a fifty-something grandmother and receptionist, who routinely talked as if she had perhaps ten years left on this earth. That annoyed Linda Gail, but she had learned to tune out Anne’s litany of health complaints. The third woman, Cathy, a mother of four and a dental hygienist, always looked exhausted, but she was the most cheerful person Linda Gail had ever known. Linda Gail had three kids, and that was plenty. If Davis hadn’t had the snip done after their daughter was born, Linda Gail would have killed him. She really would have.
Samantha Delaney was working the counter when Linda Gail ordered her usual caramel frappuccino with extra whipped cream. Linda Gail had always felt a little sorry for Samantha. She’d moved to Texas shortly before her husband was deployed to Iraq, and not quite two months later he was killed in action. Samantha had stayed on in Cedar Springs—something about her mother having a new boyfriend back in Indiana, and Samantha feeling more comfortable here. Linda Gail couldn’t imagine being without a mother to lean on, but at least Samantha had Macy. The two young women had met in a survivors support group and had become thick as thieves…until Macy married Wyatt. Samantha seemed to have been a little lost since then.
“Did the news crews move out?” Linda Gail asked Samantha.
“Yes. One of them said they’d probably be back when the hero came home.”
“Oh great,” Linda Gail said with a roll of her eyes.
“They’re good for business,” Sam said with a shrug.
“I suppose they are,” Linda Gail agreed for the sake of being agreeable. She picked up her coffee and sauntered over to the table. “I could hear you old hens outside,” she said to her friends as she fit herself onto a chair. “What’s got you all worked up?”
“We’re debating who your boss’s wife is going to end up with,” Anne said. “Or should end up with.”
“So?” Cathy asked excitedly as Linda Gail sipped from her drink. “Who is she going to choose, do you know?”
“How would I know?” Linda Gail asked, and licked the cream from her straw. “It’s not like I’ve talked to her.”
“She has to choose her original husband,” Reena said. “There is no other answer.”
“Why is there no other answer?” Anne demanded. “They buried him and she fell in love with another man. Who is to say the second one is not the right one for her? Everyone assumed the first one was her only true love, but I happen to believe a woman can have many true loves.”
“Why, because you’ve had three?” Reena asked with a snort.
“So what if I have?” Anne said defensively.
“Whether Linda Gail’s boss is the right one or not, Macy married him, and she can’t just toss him out like an old pair of tennis shoes,” Cathy said with an affirmative nod.
“What about the soldier?” Reena asked. “He was a prisoner of war for three years. Doesn’t he deserve to come back to the life he had?”
“What about her life?” Anne said. “It’s not like we’re talking about a
“Mac—”
“I have to go! I’ll call you later,” she said.
The line went dead. Wyatt reared back and gaped at his cell phone. He glanced up, stared blankly out the window at the cows gathered around the little pond, then hurled his cell phone at the wall.
6
Daisy’s Saddle-brew Coffee Shop was at the north end of the town square, just a few blocks from Wyatt’s office. It was a cute little place with a store for knickknacks and objets d’art up front, and coffee and pastries in back. Linda Gail went there every day promptly at half past eleven on her bank run to meet her posse, all of whom worked nearby.
They were engaged in a lively debate when she walked in. Reena worked for a CPA. She was a free spirit and had styled her hair into dreadlocks. She was pointing her finger at Anne, a fifty-something grandmother and receptionist, who routinely talked as if she had perhaps ten years left on this earth. That annoyed Linda Gail, but she had learned to tune out Anne’s litany of health complaints. The third woman, Cathy, a mother of four and a dental hygienist, always looked exhausted, but she was the most cheerful person Linda Gail had ever known. Linda Gail had three kids, and that was plenty. If Davis hadn’t had the snip done after their daughter was born, Linda Gail would have killed him. She really would have.
Samantha Delaney was working the counter when Linda Gail ordered her usual caramel frappuccino with extra whipped cream. Linda Gail had always felt a little sorry for Samantha. She’d moved to Texas shortly before her husband was deployed to Iraq, and not quite two months later he was killed in action. Samantha had stayed on in Cedar Springs—something about her mother having a new boyfriend back in Indiana, and Samantha feeling more comfortable here. Linda Gail couldn’t imagine being without a mother to lean on, but at least Samantha had Macy. The two young women had met in a survivors support group and had become thick as thieves…until Macy married Wyatt. Samantha seemed to have been a little lost since then.
“Did the news crews move out?” Linda Gail asked Samantha.
“Yes. One of them said they’d probably be back when the hero came home.”
“Oh great,” Linda Gail said with a roll of her eyes.
“They’re good for business,” Sam said with a shrug.
“I suppose they are,” Linda Gail agreed for the sake of being agreeable. She picked up her coffee and sauntered over to the table. “I could hear you old hens outside,” she said to her friends as she fit herself onto a chair. “What’s got you all worked up?”
“We’re debating who your boss’s wife is going to end up with,” Anne said. “Or should end up with.”
“So?” Cathy asked excitedly as Linda Gail sipped from her drink. “Who is she going to choose, do you know?”
“How would I know?” Linda Gail asked, and licked the cream from her straw. “It’s not like I’ve talked to her.”
“She has to choose her original husband,” Reena said. “There is no other answer.”
“Why is there no other answer?” Anne demanded. “They buried him and she fell in love with another man. Who is to say the second one is not the right one for her? Everyone assumed the first one was her only true love, but I happen to believe a woman can have many true loves.”
“Why, because you’ve had three?” Reena asked with a snort.
“So what if I have?” Anne said defensively.
“Whether Linda Gail’s boss is the right one or not, Macy married him, and she can’t just toss him out like an old pair of tennis shoes,” Cathy said with an affirmative nod.
“What about the soldier?” Reena asked. “He was a prisoner of war for three years. Doesn’t he deserve to come back to the life he had?”
“What about her life?” Anne said. “It’s not like we’re talking about a
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