The Perfect Husband by Chris Taylor Page B

eventually, with eyes
downcast, she nodded. “Yes, I know that now. I’ve been searching
for the courage to do it, but somehow every time I think I’m ready
to leave, the doubts creep in. Then I remember the constant
threats, the murder books and the bottle of Diazepam…”
    He frowned in confusion. Murder books?
Diazepam? She wasn’t talking sense. He quietly told her as
much. He heard her shaky, indrawn breath and just as shaky release.
As if the action had fortified her, she raised her gaze to his and
told him what she’d found. The bleakness in her eyes and voice
lacerated his heart.
    When at last she fell silent, it was all
Mason could do not to howl out his anger at the man she’d married.
Instead, he forced a few calming breaths through the tightness of
his chest and breathed out slowly, silently counting to ten. She
interrupted his mammoth attempts to hold on to his self-control by
speaking again.
    “Will you…help me?” she whispered brokenly.
“I… I can’t do it on my own.”
    He replied without hesitation. “Of
course.”
    “It’s not only me…”
    “Your kids. No problem,” he said and meant
it. “Kids are good.”
    “Do you have any?”
    “No, Sue Ann wasn’t able to.”
    “Sue Ann? You’re married?”
    “Not anymore.”
    “What happened?”
    He sighed. “It didn’t work out.”
    She frowned and he could see she wanted to
know more, but she surprised him by saying, “Thank you for helping
me, Mason. You’re a good man. Until I saw you again, I didn’t have
anywhere else to turn.”
    She looked at him with so much gratitude, he
wanted to curse. It wasn’t her gratitude he wanted, but he knew it
would take her awhile to reach a point where she was open to
anything along the line of a normal relationship. Regardless, he
knew in that moment that he wanted to be part of her life—and that
he’d have to be patient. What she needed right now more than
anything was a friend.
    “It’s fine,” he said and then winced
inwardly at his dismissive tone. He was being churlish and it
wasn’t fair. In a much milder voice, he spoke again. “We should
talk about how this is going to work. First, we’re going to the
police to file a report and get an apprehended violence order. What
time do you finish work?”
    She looked doubtful and more than a little
scared. “Eleven, but Nigel will be expecting me home. He finishes
around six tonight and then swings by the daycare center to collect
the kids. He knows how long it should take me to get home. If I’m
late, he’ll wonder why. He’ll ask questions. It could
get…nasty.”
    Mason stared at her and his jaw clenched
with the effort of holding in his anger. Once again, he wanted to
bury his fists into Nigel Donnelly’s face and pummel him into
oblivion. He drew in a deep breath and eased it out. “Could you get
away a little earlier?”
    She nodded. “I’d planned to do it tonight
during my dinner break. I’m off between seven and eight.”
    “No problem. I’ll come with you.”
    The relief on her face was palpable. Once
again, he had to tamp down on his anger. It wasn’t right that any
woman should feel so scared of her husband’s reaction. He couldn’t
believe it was happening to someone he knew and cared for. With
reluctance, he checked his watch again.
    “I have to go, but I’ll meet you in the
hospital car park just after seven. We can go in my car to the
police station.”
    Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, but she
blinked them away. “Thank you, Mason,” she whispered.
    He nodded once and then stood and walked
away.

CHAPTER
SEVEN
     
    D ear
Diary,
     
    I don’t know where I’d be without Mason’s
support. He has given me courage, he is the light in my darkness
and for that I will be forever grateful. I do not know how I will
repay him for his kindness. I should be thanking You, God, for him,
but I have lost my faith in You. I can’t help but question what it
is that I have ever done wrong to have earned this living