Jessie Belle: The Women of Merryton - Book One by Jennifer Peel Page B

together more often.”
    He
half-smiled, which was like a full smile for him. “You are a beautiful woman.
By the way, I like your haircut.”
    I
laughed loudly.
    “What?”
    “I
cut my hair several weeks ago.”
    “I
know. I meant to say something about it.”
    “Trying
to find the right words?”
    “Just
the right time. Things have been so unsettled between us.”
    “I
know.”
    “And
I’m afraid what I have to ask you is going to make things even harder between
us. And that’s the last thing I want right now.”
    I
sat up straighter, waiting for detonation.
    Blake
reached for my hands again and held them firmly. Then he pulled the pin in the
grenade and released the handle. “Sabrina’s condition is deteriorating and
she’s been accepted to participate in a clinical trial in Salt Lake City.”
    “I’m
sorry to hear that. How’s Madeline taking it?”
    He
seemed surprised at my concern. I didn’t have anything against Madeline—she was
innocent in all of this. Was I happy she was his daughter? No.
    “She
doesn’t really know how bad her mom’s condition is.”
    “That
doesn’t seem wise.”
    “I
agree, but that’s the way her mother wants it, and I don’t feel like it’s my
place right now to disagree.”
    That
was understandable.
    “So,
do they need money?”
    “That
wouldn’t hurt—their living conditions are less than ideal—but what they really
need is a place for Madeline to stay while her mom enters the cancer center
there for treatment.”
    Wow.
This was getting real. “How long?” I managed to ask.
    “For
the summer.”
    “What
about her grandparents, or aunts, uncles, cousins?” I was getting desperate.
    “They
don’t have any family to speak of, or none that Sabrina is comfortable with her
staying with.”
    “And
she’s comfortable with us? This child doesn’t even know us and she would be several
hundred miles away from her mother.”
    “Sabrina
thinks highly of you and they really don’t have any other options.”
    “I
lived with her for six months, and it wasn’t like we were all that chummy.
Certainly not as chummy as you all got when I left.” I knew that last part was
petty and I regretted it the moment it came out, but it had been eating at me
since I found out.
    He
dropped my hands. “Dammit, Jessica, I made a mistake! But after meeting
Madeline I can’t say I regret it. I regret that it’s hurting you and our
marriage, but we’re talking about my daughter here.”
    The
way he said my daughter shattered my heart into a million pieces.
    We
sat there staring hard at one another for several moments. My heart and my mind
were waging a battle inside as our staring contest of sorts continued. Both my
mind and my heart knew what the right thing was to do, but it ached me to the
core.
    “You
should do what’s best for your daughter. If that means she needs to come
here and stay with you , then that’s what needs to happen.” With that I
turned from him and began to put my shoes on.
    “Jess,
what does this mean for us?”
    I
clasped my hands together and brought them up toward my face and took a deep
breath. “I’m not sure.”

Chapter Nine
     
    Any
progress we had made up to that point was blown out of the water. It felt like
all the eggs had cracked all at once and we were sliding around in the mess of
it all. We barely spoke to one another in the coming days, and to add insult to
injury, Mother’s Day was the following weekend. It was a day I had been
dreading, and our blow-up had made it worse. I don’t think I had ever felt so
lonely.
    I
did myself a favor and skipped church. I decided I needed to get out of town
and think on my own. I even turned my cell phone off. I didn’t want anyone
calling me and feeling sorry for me. I packed a cooler and my camera and headed
out early. Blake was already in his shop when I set out. I didn’t bother saying
goodbye. Communication was at an all-time low between us. The only talking that
could be heard in our