Chapter Eighteen
Anna and Clark spent the next few weeks barely speaking to each other. There was nothing left to say. She’d moved back into her bedroom, and they merely mumbled when they passed in the hallway or reached for the coffee pot at the same time.
Clark spent most of his time at his office in town or in the backyard with Louie and Chewy. Her son had become a much better baseball player, and he’d decided to play with his friends in an afterschool league.
In late September, her landlord called and assured her that all the mold had been cleaned and the interior of the rental house had been repainted. There was no reason to stay.
The summer had ended, and with Louie back in school, it was easy to pack. Even though they’d been in the cabin for four months, they mainly had clothes, shoes, and toys. Anna found the boxes they’d used to move in and filled them with the things they wouldn’t need for the next several days.
She planned to have everything moved back in to her rental house by the time she picked Louie up. It should be a moment of pure happiness, but there was anxiety mixed in and a truckload of disappointment.
She’d made her choice. When Clark asked if they could choose to stay together, she’d shut him down. She tamped down the mixed feelings and focused on how she was going to explain everything to Louie.
He was going to be upset. Not only were he and Clark closely bonded, he had no idea they’d be moving back to Florida Street so soon. Then there was the problem of Chewy.
Shit.
She’d fixed one problem and created two more.
She took a break from packing and brewed a cup of coffee. Clark was at work. Anna planned on thinking everything through before he got home. She needed a plan. The best plan. The easiest plan.
After rolling the problems over and over in her mind, she decided the Band-Aid approach was best. Move out as quickly as possible, put the marriage, the cabin, and Clark behind her as fast as possible.
No time like the present.
Anna grabbed a new box from Louie’s room and started packing his Matchbox cars. A couple of hours later, she was putting her clothes in a battered suitcase when Clark walked into the bedroom. “Going someplace?”
She tucked her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “It’s been a while since George dropped the motion, and the landlord called to tell me the house is ready.”
“It hasn’t been that long since George dropped the motion. It could still look suspicious. Don’t you think you should stay? At least through the end of the year?”
Anna knew that if she stayed another month, or even another week, her resolve would weaken and she’d never leave. “I wish I could, but I need to be on my own. I need to prove myself to myself.”
“What does that mean?”
“When I was a teenager and I didn’t get accepted to nursing school, I ran from my parents and straight to George. When George threatened to take Louie, I ran straight to you. I’ve been living by the skin of my teeth for years, and I’m tired of it. I need to restructure my life so that I can believe in myself.”
“If George files again, we can’t plan another fake marriage.”
“I need to learn to face my life on my own, and that includes standing up to people on my own.”
“You’re afraid I’ll always try to fix things, aren’t you?”
She didn’t have the heart to answer him. “I’ll never be able to thank you. For everything.”
He shook his head. “No thanks needed.”
“I’ll be out first thing in the morning, and you can go back to your regular life.”
“What about Louie?”
“It’s probably easier if I just have everything done before he gets home.”
Clark shook his head. “I’d like to see him before you go, let him spend one more night with Chewy. That’s all I ask.”
She didn’t trust herself to stay in the cabin a moment longer than necessary. “I can bring him over for a visit.”
“It’s not the same. Please. One more night here once Louie gets back, and then you can go.”
For some reason, she couldn’t deny him. “Okay. I’m sure it will be nice for you to get back to peace and quiet.”
“It hasn’t been so bad.”
“No, it hasn’t,” she agreed.
The air between them was supercharged, filled with attraction and regret. Loaded with things neither of them was willing to say.
“Let me know if I can help. I’m going upstairs to get some work done,” he said from the doorway. “I want to be the one who tells Louie that Chewy is going to have to stay with me when the adventure’s over.”
“Thank you.” Her voice cracked, and she didn’t trust herself to say another word.
“My mess, my fix,” he said.
Anna watched him go and tried to ignore the shattering of her heart into a million pieces.
…
He’d been telling himself since the beginning, that even after Anna left, he could still have a relationship with Louie. But he’d known in his heart it wouldn’t be the same. The heat between him and Anna would make it difficult for them to see each other, and after the broken nose and the threatening letter, he was pretty sure George wouldn’t be thrilled for him to spend time with Louie when he and Anna divorced.
The dog.
The beagle was growing into a fine companion who followed the boy everywhere. His leash training was going well and he was on the way to becoming house-trained. It would break Louie’s heart to leave the dog.
He’d call Anna’s landlord. Pay him a hefty deposit to allow the dog. No little boy should be without a canine companionship.
No. She wanted to do things on her own, and he had to give her that opportunity. Just like with Jake and the estimator job. Clark had to start respecting what other people wanted in their own lives.
The marriage had gone mostly as planned. Even if it had ended a little sooner than expected, the end result was that Anna had Louie. For keeps. The fixer in Clark felt like he’d accomplished the goal. The man in Clark felt like his world was crumbling.
Louie was in the yard with Chewy when Clark went downstairs.
“Can we teach him to sit, Clark? I think he’s ready.”
“Sure. We can give it a shot.”
How am I going to explain this to Louie? Is there a good way, a better way, to break a kid’s heart?
Clark shook his head and exhaled. The sooner the better.
“Let’s sit him up on the picnic table so he’ll pay more attention.”
Chewy liked the picnic table. He paced from side to side, sniffing and inspecting it nail by nail. “Grab his collar and push his butt down. Gently. Very gently. You just want to show him what you expect. Once he sits, give him one of these.” Clark took some puppy treats from his pocket. “Watch.” He demonstrated several times. “Now you try it.”
Louie did it just right. By the sixth or seventh time, Chewy was getting the command every time.
“Let him play for a while. You and I need to talk.”
Louie’s eyes went wide. “Did I mess up?”
Clark ruffled his hair. “No. You’re doing an excellent job with him. I just need to tell you a few things.”
They walked through the grass hand in hand. “When you and your mom moved into the cabin with me, we told you that it was only for a few months, remember?”
Louie nodded.
Clark decided on the most direct approach. “You and your mom will be going back to your old house soon.”
Louie stopped and looked up at Clark. “But what about you? What about Chewy? We’re a family now.”
“We’ll always be a family, buddy. It’s just time for you and your mom to move back to Florida Street. Chewy can stay with me, and you can visit him anytime it’s okay with your mom.”
Tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes. “But I like it here.”
“I know you do, and I’ve loved having you here.”
“Can I come spend the night?”
“Anytime it’s okay with your mom.”
Louie sniffled. “I’ll miss you and Chewy. A lot.”
“We’ll miss you, too.”
Louie reached his arms up to Clark, something he usually only did at bedtime when he wanted to snuggle with his mom. Clark picked him up and held him close. He inhaled the scent of little boy’s sweat.
God, I’ll miss this kid.
…
The next morning, Louie didn’t say a word on the way back to the rental house.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was angry.
Someday, when he was old enough to understand, Anna would explain it all to him. His dad’s bid for custody, the fake marriage. She’d never hurt him this badly. He’d never been so mad at her.
She’d kept him with her but at a very high price.
The grass in her front yard was nearly knee high. She was a little surprised that Clark hadn’t hired a lawn service. He rarely missed a detail, but she was glad he’d missed that one. It made it feel like her house was still hers alone. When she finished unloading the boxes and Louie’s bike, she’d have to fire up the old push mower. Back to the grind. Even though she hadn’t booked any new cleaning clients yet, she had some leads. While she had a little savings in the bank, she knew it would only take one minor disaster to wipe her out again.
Back to the same worries.
“Help me carry some things inside, honey,” she said when she pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. “Then you can play with your friends. Maybe visit Mrs. Rosemiller. I’m sure she’s missed you.”
A grunt came from the backseat.
“I know you’re upset, bud, but it was always meant to be a short-term adventure. It wasn’t supposed to be forever.”
“But I liked it there. Plans can change. You always say so yourself.”
He had her there. She did say that. A lot.
Anna sighed. Hang in there. He’ll forget in a day or two and everything will go back to normal.
She hoped her heart would be back to normal in a day or two, too.
The house looked dingy and felt stuffy. She opened all the windows and turned on the ceiling fans. She took a candle from a box and placed it on the stove. The last time it was burning, she’d been with Clark. In his bed. She shivered at the thought.
Who says sex is dead after marriage?
By sundown, she’d unpacked, mowed the grass, and warmed a frozen pizza. Louie was still giving her the silent treatment. He wouldn’t even watch Redhawk versus the Blot. Anna collapsed on the sofa and picked up a paperback.
The words swam in front of her eyes. She couldn’t keep her mind in the story. It kept wandering back to Clark.
She had to get over him. They had a deal. They’d stuck to the deal. The term of the contract had expired. End of story.
Anna looked at the pearl ring on her finger. It was so beautiful. She’d have to give it back, even though Clark had told her when he’d proposed it was hers to keep. It wouldn’t be right to keep it. He might want to give it to his real wife someday.
Tomorrow. She’d take it off tomorrow and have Taylor return it to him.
Then it would be finished.