Page 34 of First Date: Divorce (Wyoming Marriage Association #1)
MONDAY
Between counseling sessions, they spent the morning angling for opportunities to get back into the business manager’s office.
But Harvey didn’t leave his office until they heard him tell Lily he was taking an early lunch.
Just as they prepared to go in, Orion’s voice sounded behind them. “There you two are. Been looking all over for you. Izzy’s determined we should all have a swim before lunch. And she has stories she wants to share.”
As they went to their room to obey by changing — because they couldn’t very well explain what else they had to do — Eric said, “Coincidence they pulled us away?”
“Could be. No sign of a connection between them and Harvey, but if I suspected someone of nosing around and didn’t want them to, I’d make sure to keep them busy.”
*
“Today it’s K.D.’s turn to choose an activity for you both. Tell Eric what you chose for both of you to do now,” Melody said in their session right after lunch.
“Shopping,” she said promptly. “I suppose it has to be in this town. Too bad the closest decent shopping is in Denver.”
Knowing her true feelings about the activity, Eric admired her acting.
Doing his part, he groaned and added a disgusted, “Shopping.”
That gave her the opportunity snap, “What do you expect? It matches the reputation you spread around town of me being— what was it?”
“Materialistic?” he offered with fake helpfulness.
“No.”
“Shallow?”
“No. I’ve got it. The superficial, only interested in clothes and status type. So we’re going shopping, even if it is only at that little store on what passes for a main street.”
He groaned again.
K.D. turned to Melody. “See what he does? He belittles my choices. He’s belittled my profession because it doesn’t pay like his does — or how it did when he wasn’t out here, pretending he’s a cowboy.”
“Let’s look at this one element at a time. Eric, did you talk to people in town about K.D.?”
“Sure. I live here. I’ve talked about the breakup. It’s natural.”
A voice knocking at the inside of his head acknowledged he hadn’t talked about his breakup with Hilary … which wasn’t natural, as his friends pointed out.
Except he had talked about it with K.D. As required background for this effort? Not entirely.
“How might that affect K.D.’s feelings about moving here to Bardville?” Melody asked him evenly.
“It’s not—”
Melody held up a hand. “Hold on, K.D. I want to hear Eric’s thoughts.”
“They know I was letting off steam. Guys do that.”
The two women looked at him and he could practically see thought bubbles over their heads with their opinions of that explanation.
“He’s always making himself out to be more stable, from a stable family.” K.D. made it mockingly sing-song. “They all get along, like some fairy tale.”
“I like my parents. And respect them,” Eric said equably.
Melody looked from her to him and back. “K.D., do you hear significance in Eric’s statement?”
“Significance? Not sure about that. Innuendo, yes.”
“Concerning…?”
Stay as close to the truth as possible because it makes things easier , Tal Bennett had said.
Easier to remember. Not necessarily easier in other ways.
“He’s contrasting his relationship with his parents to mine with my mother.”
“Tell me about that relationship.”
She shrugged. “You’ve already asked and I’ve already answered. It’s not like we’re estranged. I love her. I’m grateful she raised me after the weasel masquerading as a man impregnated and deserted her. I respect her for that.”
Eric made a faint sound.
“Eric? Do you have something to say to K.D.?”
“You wanted to protect your mother, that’s natural. But—”
“I had to. Nobody else did, including her. She never saw that the guys she let into her life were going to hurt her. She went in with all these hopes and dreams and got her heart broken time after time.”
“ But ,” he repeated, “you were also trying to protect yourself. And maybe blaming her because you got hurt.”
“I never got hurt. I never expected or hoped for anything from those guys.”
“You hurt because your mother got hurt.” The flat words quelled argument. “But she moved on, K.D. She found someone to love. Just because her way isn’t what you’d choose, you don’t have to swing to the opposite. To fear so much that you might be like her in any way that you run—”
“I’m not like her. I don’t kowtow to a man. I have a career that I—”
She broke off because Eric stood abruptly, pushed back his chair, and paced away.
From behind Melody, he gave K.D. a warning look. “That again. A career. Not that your salary from the library ever added much. Staying home with the kids wouldn’t lose much — if we had kids.”
Even with most of her attention on Eric, K.D. was aware of a new energy in Melody. Like a batter who’d spotted a big, fat pitch coming toward her, knowing she could knock this one out of the ballpark.
“Eric, let’s talk about expectations, and the compromises needed for a couple to accommodate each other’s expectations. Why don’t you sit down?”