Deliver Me (25 page)

Cheating husband.

Of all the vile,
intolerable words to spew from Amanda’s mouth during her tirade,
cheat
was the one that continued to ring
through Jeffrey’s mind.

If there was one
thing he had never thought about throughout their eleven years of marriage, it
was to cheat on his wife. Even during their estrangement this past year, when
she wouldn’t so much as look his way while other women practically threw
themselves at him, Jeffrey had not considered for one minute sleeping with
another woman.

Why would she even
suggest it? Was it just to hurt him? Was she trying to catch him off guard? She’d
accomplished both.

Jeffrey capped the
torch and put his welding tools away. The guys for the nightshift were starting
to trickle in, and he wanted to be out of here as soon as his relief walked
through the shop door.

He and Amanda had a
long night ahead of them. He had to get to the bottom of her suspicions.

Jeffrey exchanged
the pertinent facts with his counterpart on nightshift, and left the shipyard.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway, his shoulders sinking in
relief at the sight of Amanda’s car. All day he had feared he would come home
to find her gone.

Instead of pulling
along side it, Jeffrey parked the Ford Explorer behind her Nissan Altima,
blocking the car in. He was not giving her an easy escape.

Jeffrey grabbed his
lunch kit from the passenger seat and headed for the side door that led to the
utility room. He deposited his steel toe boots and Nomex jumpsuit; changing
into the jeans and T-shirt he left hanging on the coat hook behind the door.

Amanda was at the
sink, frantically rubbing two potatoes together as she held them under running
water.

“Do you think I
cheated on you?” Jeffrey asked without preamble.

She jumped, the
potatoes falling from her hands. She turned. “My goodness, Jeffrey,” she said,
putting a wet hand to her chest. “Are you crazy?”

“Answer my question?”

“What’s your
problem?”

“The fact that my
wife thinks I screwed around on her.”

She turned back to
the sink and resumed washing the potatoes, her hands moving in quick, jerky
motions. “Jeffrey, I don’t have the time or energy for this.”

Jeffrey shook his
head as he walked up behind her. “No, you are not turning your back on me.” He
grabbed both Amanda’s wrists in one fist and used his other hand to turn off
the water. He turned her around to face him. “I’m not going to let you accuse
me of something I didn’t do. Now why did you say that yesterday?”

“Don’t manhandle me.”
She tried to yank her wrists, but his grasp was too firm. Jeffrey tightened his
grip even more.

“Why, Amanda?”

“Do you want me to
use big letters and neon lights?” she yelled.

“Yes. Apparently, I
need you to spell it out for me since I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, don’t give me
that, Jeffrey. You know what you did.”

“I know for eleven
years I went to work everyday so I could provide for my wife. And instead of
appreciation, I get accused of cheating.”

Amanda looked up at
him, a mixture of anger and disbelief etched on her face. “Unbelievable. You
have the audacity to still deny it.” Her voice escalated. “How long did it
last, Jeffrey? The relationship, not the individual bouts of sex. I have a
rough idea how long those lasted. Unless, of course, she was able to keep you
more excited. Is that why you went to her in the first place? Was I not
stimulating enough for you?” she said, wrenching her arm away.

Jeffrey stood there
in shock. He could hardly comprehend the words escaping his wife’s mouth.

“You didn’t have to
sneak around,” she continued. Grabbing a towel, she began wiping the countertop
in fast, furious circles. “You should have just told me you were ready for
something else. It would have saved us both a lot of time and unnecessary
heartache.” Her last words came out on a sob.

“Amanda, stop it,”
he said. “You’re acting crazy?” he grabbed her and turned her around.

Jeffrey heard her
swift intake of breath. A sudden, icy contempt flashed in her eyes, then they
widened in alarm.

“Get away from me,”
she screamed, breaking free from his hold.

He didn’t let her
get far, catching hold of her arm again before she could exit the kitchen. She
sobbed in earnest, covering her face with her free hand. The sound tore at his
heart. Jeffrey wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head in the curve of
his shoulder and resting his chin on her soft hair.

“Amanda, where is
this coming from?”

“Just stop it,” she
sobbed.

“Stop what?”

“The lies.”

Jeffrey raised his
head and gently pulled her away so he could look into her eyes. They were wet,
luminous, and full of hurt. His heart crushed within his chest.

“Why?” he asked on a
whisper. He cleared the lump that had formed in his throat. “Why do you think I’m
lying, Amanda? How...how could you think I would
ever
stray from you?”

She pushed away from
him, wrapping her arms around the wide girth of her belly. “Don’t you dare talk
to me like I’m some stupid child. I saw the two of you, Jeffrey. Don’t try to
pretend it didn’t happen because
I saw
you
!
” Looking wide-eyed and
confused, she turned away.

“I have never been
with anyone else since the day we starting dating—since the day I first
laid eyes on you. Even when I was still dating your sister, I refused to sleep
with Regina because I knew from the moment I saw you that you were the woman I
would spend the rest of my life with. You are the only one I have ever wanted,
Amanda!”

“I. Saw. You,” she
repeated through gritted teeth. “You had her in my house. In my house, Jeffrey!
I’m sorry, but I can’t forget that. And I won’t forgive you.”

She turned, heading
for the back bedrooms. This time Jeffrey let her go. Baffled by her
accusations, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. How could he defend
himself for something he had never done?

Anxiety gnawed at
his brain. Amanda had it in her head that he had been with another woman. Not
only been with her, but that he had brought her to their house.

How could she even
...

When she had first
filed for divorce, he had agreed without much resistance, knowing it was
inevitable after her withdrawal the previous year.

He’d nearly driven
himself crazy trying to figure out what had gone wrong. After some time he
simply resigned himself to the fact that Amanda had just grown tired of being
married, as some people do. Jeffrey had not thought for a minute the reason
behind her distant behavior had anything to do with infidelity.

They had to
straighten this out.
Had to
. But he’d
lived with Amanda for eleven years and he knew how stubborn she was. It would
take an act of God to convince her that what she thought was the case was
actually the furthest thing from the truth.

It didn’t matter. He
wasn’t about to let his wife throw away the rest of their lives on some
erroneous affair.

***

Monica lifted one
eyebrow and stared at the ringing phone. In order for her to answer it, she
would have to reach over to the nightstand. That would require movement,
something her mind intensely protested.

It stopped ringing,
and Monica’s body sank with relief. She nestled further into the covers and
buried her head in the plush pillow.

The phone rang
again.

“Ugh,” Monica
groaned. She summed up enough strength to stretch out her arm and retrieve the
receiver. “Hello,” she moaned with sufficient weariness to let whoever was on
the other end of the line know they had awakened her.

“You still asleep?”

It was Nia. Guilt
wouldn’t work.

“I had a long night,”
Monica answered.

“Go Eli,” Nia
teased.

Monica groaned
again. “He had nothing to do with it. Did I not explain my relationship with
Eli to you?”

“Unfortunately,” Nia
drawled.

“I had to pull a
double shift. I’ve had about two hours sleep and I have to be back at the
hospital for a meeting,” Monica rolled to the side and looked over at the red
numbers on her alarm clock, “in about forty-five minutes.”

“Then it’s a good
thing I called. You would have probably overslept.”

“I had the alarm set
to go off in another five minutes.” Monica reached over and shifted the small
dial to the off position. No need to suffer the irritating sound of the alarm
if she were already awake. She pushed herself up and rested against her soft
leather headboard. “What’s up?” she asked Nia.

“I was just calling
to make sure you were okay. I hate that we didn’t get to spend more time
together.”

“Me too, but you’ll
be back soon enough.”

“Oh, yes, honey. I discovered
the shops on Canal Street. I’m a visitor for life.”

“It was still fun,
though, the time we did get to catch up. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is
to hang out and have a good old-fashioned gab session.”

“You seem to forget
a lot of things Monica, like how a good man can be just as valuable as a good
friend.”

Monica rolled her
eyes heavenward. How did she just
know
this conversation would turn to Eli?

“Give it a rest,
Nia.” Monica threw the covers off her legs and rolled out of bed, taking a deep
stretch before heading to the closet, the phone tucked between her shoulder and
ear.

“He’s perfect for
you.”

“How can you say
that? You don’t even know him.”

“From what I do
know—”

“Which is barely
anything,” Monica interjected.

“—he’s
everything you need,” Nia continued, not missing a beat.

“I already explained
this to you, it’s a business deal. That’s it.”

“And I’ll bet if you
suggested it become more, Eli wouldn’t turn you down.”

“I’m ending this
conversation. I need to get dressed and to the hospital.”

“Just think about
it, Mon.”

“Goodbye, Nia,”
Monica said before ending the call. She tossed the phone on her bed and pulled
out blue slacks and a soft yellow sweater. She brought the clothes in the
bathroom and hung them on the hook behind the door so she could steam the
wrinkles out as she showered.

Monica took a quick
shower and brushed out her hair. She picked up her toothbrush from the vanity,
then sat it down again, deciding to brush her teeth after she had breakfast.
She went to the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cornflakes.

Monica rested her
butt against the counter as she ate the cornflakes. She looked out over the bar
into the open space of the living room.

This place was too
quiet.

With Nia’s loud
mouth gone, the full effect of living alone hit Monica with the force of a
hammer. She missed having someone to come home to, someone to snuggle with on
the sofa and share her day. She missed the companionship that came with having
a significant other.

Maybe Nia was right?
Maybe she should find herself a man.

Monica put that
notion right out of her head. If she wanted companionship she would get another
goldfish. They couldn’t cuddle, but at least she wouldn’t be alone. And a
goldfish had the added benefit of being a lot easier to deal with than a man.

Monica tried to
focus on the upcoming meeting with the banquet committee, but her mind
continued to steer back to Saturday night and the contentment she had felt
cradled in Eli’s arms as they swayed on the dance floor.

He had a strong
embrace, the kind that made you feel safe and protected. It had been so long
since she’d felt that kind of security.

Monica didn’t know
whether to feel excited or afraid. Right now, she was feeling a little of both.
She knew all too well that elation could turn into heartache in the blink of an
eye. She would not put herself through the trouble.

Even if it meant never experiencing the
rapture of romance ever again
?

Monica wasn’t sure
she was ready to go that far yet. Never allowing herself to experience love
again would give Patrick Dangerfield too much power over her. She refused to
let his selfish actions play such a big part in her life.

But she wasn’t sure
Eli was the man she wanted to give her heart to, either. He had his share of
issues. The fact that he didn’t date doctors being the most prominent, at least
where Monica was concerned. Just because he was physically attracted to her,
which became more than evident Saturday night, did not mean he was willing to
disregard his rule.