Summer of Two Wishes by Julia London Page B

been earlier. Wyatt handed the wine to Macy, who was staring out over the moonlit lake.
    Wyatt put his arm around her middle and pulled her back against his chest. He could feel some of the tension leave her body; she leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. “Can you imagine,” she said wearily, “what it must have been like for him, chained to a wall for three years?”
    Wyatt closed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk about Finn. He didn’t want her to talk about Finn. He kissed her temple and asked softly, “Don’t you want to take a break from all that imagining?”
    “I wish I could.” She took a sip of wine and stepped out of his embrace. “Wyatt, I…I…”
    She looked as if she was in physical pain. Wyatt reached for her hand, but Macy shifted slightly, just out of his reach. “Jesus, Macy, what is it? Are you all right?”
    “Yeah,” she said, nodding, then abruptly shook her head. “No. No, I’m not all right. I am so confused.”
    A tic of panic shot through him. “There’s nothing to be confused about. I know how hard this has been for you, but you’re home now, and I—”
    “I think I should go stay with Laru for a few days.”
    He was too stunned to respond at first.
    Macy pressed her lips together as if she were steeling herself for his reaction and put the wine glass down. “Please listen to—”
    “ What ?” he demanded. “You’re going to stay with Laru? What does that mean?”
    “I just think that given the circumstances, I need to go someplace where I can be alone and…” She glanced down at Milo, who was lying at her feet, panting. “And think.”
    “Why can’t you think here? This is your home,” Wyatt said, his pulse ratcheting up with his alarm. “And it’s a big damn house. There are plenty of places to think here. What is it you need to think about that requires you to be at Laru’s?”
    “Isn’t it obvious?”
    “No,” Wyatt said emphatically. “No, it sure as hell isn’t obvious, Macy. Why in God’s name would you go stay with Laru?”
    “Because I don’t know what to do!” she cried, throwing her arms wide and startling Milo to his feet. The dog raced to the railing and barked. “I can’t think . I don’t know which way to turn. If I turn left,” she said, jabbing her left hand in the air, “there is the man who was the love of my life, the man that I married seven years ago. But they said he died, and I believed them, and now, if I turn right,” she continued, jabbing her right hand in the air, “there is the man that I fell in love with, the man who saved me. So there are two men who I love more than I can say, and I am desperately confused.” She dropped her hands. “I don’t know what to do!”
    “There’s only one thing you can do, Macy,” Wyatt said sternly. “I am not going to let you go because the army got this all so goddam wrong.”
    “You can’t blame the army!”
    “The hell I can’t!” he shouted. “You are married to me, and I love you. You can do your thinking here.”
    “Actually, I don’t think I am married to you.”
    “It’s not so clear-cut,” he said, working to stay calm. “I know your mother thinks she’s got this all figured out, but my lawyer thinks the law is open to interpretation,” he lied. “As it stands, you are married to me until declared otherwise by a court.”
    Macy started to turn away from him, but Wyatt put down his beer and caught her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “I know you loved him, Macy, I’ve always known that. But I know that you love me, too. We’ve shared some extraordinary moments, haven’t we? You have to face what is and deal with it.”
    Macy’s blue eyes suddenly flashed. “I have to deal with it? What exactly do you think I’ve been doing? I am dealing with it the best way I know how, Wyatt. Only I can work through it, but I have to be alone to do it, away from both of you. I am going to leave so you don’t have to.”
    She was serious.