The Wrong Sister by Leanne Davis Page B

work.
    It didn’t really matter how they got there, but where they took it. For the first time in a long while, his mood lifted when he thought that maybe they did have a bright future.
    His guilt was instant. Here he was, hopeful for the first time in months with his own small, new family while Tracy’s long-time, entrenched family had completely fallen apart and combusted.
    Although he and Vickie were facing something real and scary, they had a chance of fixing it, and making their family work. What would Tracy do now?
    How could the man they all so admired leave his family like that? In ruins. Wrecked. Broken.
    Donny sat up straighter as he gently set his wiggling toddler on the floor. She immediately scootched off and pulled herself up on the coffee table. Donny was not like Micah. He would never willingly leave his wife or his daughter. He could not do anything that might destroy their family. His newfound resolve lodged tightly in his stomach. No, he was not like Micah, and would not abandon Vickie; and he would never leave Julia. They could figure something out still. Vickie had a problem, but it wasn’t the end of their relationship. Just a hurdle. A hill. Okay, maybe a mountain, but it was worth climbing.
    Vickie glanced up, her face streaming with wet tears. He smiled just barely at her and she held his gaze. He swore he could hear the empathy she felt toward her sister and read that in her thoughts. She didn’t often share emotions that were for real. She answered him with a soft smile.
    They just might be okay. Micah’s unexpected departure might turn out to be the wakeup call he needed. And the command to duty required to support Vickie and help her. Instead of blaming her, and being angry at her, maybe it was time to assist his wife.
    In many ways, he wasn’t much better than Micah. He blamed Vickie for all their problems. First, for getting pregnant, and forcing him to marry way too soon. Second, for having a problem, which so corrupted their lives, and which, technically, was not her fault. His anger was blurring her efforts to get help and rehabilitation. In all honesty, he was completely furious she was an alcoholic. It was not what he signed on for when they first hooked up. But her speech this week kind of put him to shame. She was right. He would not have still been with Vickie if he’d known about her disease. Were it not for Julia, he would not be there.
    But he was there. And that’s what mattered now. Not how they got there.
    With that resolution, he reached his hand out to take Vickie’s. She turned back to the girls, but jerked around and turned her head up towards him.
    He mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
    Her mouth popped open. Fresh, real tears filled her eyes. She nodded her head and pressed her lips together before returning to the sad scene before her.
    When he glanced up, Tracy was staring at him. Kylie was sobbing against her chest as she absentmindedly rubbed the child’s back. Her own face was blotchy red and wet. He probably never saw anyone cry as much as Tracy McKinley did before him now. But her gaze was sharply fastened on his. Her frown and scowl were real.
    What? he almost asked. Why did his exchange with Vickie make her so angry?
    Julia started to fuss and he sighed and stood up. He wanted to take his daughter away from things no little girl should ever have to witness or hear.
    ****
    Well, what the hell does one do on the day one’s husband leaves his wife and children? Tracy had no idea. She sat for two hours while her daughters wept all over her. Literally. Their tears soaked her t-shirt and the skin on her arms. She petted and soothed them, while crying with them on and off. She finally tried to shush them and get them to calm down. Several times, one or the other nearly hyper-ventilated.
    Dealing with her children’s grief helped her own heart, brain and soul temporarily ignore what just happened to her. Maybe she could burrow inside their grief and never again have to