For Better or For Worse (Wedding Vows)

by LeAnn Robinson

“Wow.”

  “Still in town. Just farther south than I would have expected.”

  Diane’s heart sped up. This meant she could contact him, maybe go out to his place and talk to him, face-to-face. She wouldn’t bring the baby, just in case that would freak him out. But maybe she could get to the bottom of what was going on.

  “So,” Carl said, “I’m going to head out there and tell that young man what an idiot he is.”

  She shook her head. “Has being super critical ever worked in the past?”

  Carl straightened his bent over shoulders. “It’s what he needs to hear.”

  That was a self-defeating strategy if she’d ever heard one. But Carl didn’t appear ready to admit that his methods had been so ineffective. The man had already admitted to a lot of failings in his relationship with his son. She wasn’t going to push another.

  “Listen,” she said, “we know Jason’s address, but he doesn’t know we know, right?”

  “Uh, right.”

  “So, we don’t have to do something immediately.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “He won’t change addresses until he realizes we know where he is.”

  “Okay. But why don’t we want to take action?”

  “We do. I do.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. “Before we go out there, I want to give Jason one more chance.”

  Carl frowned. “You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

  “I’m not going to do the same thing.” The phone ring, and she waited while it went through the whole cycle, then finally transferred her to voicemail. “Jason?” she said. “This is Diane. Listen, I want you to come back. I know something’s wrong, but we can work through that. I’ll do whatever you need to make it work. So please consider it, because I love you, Jason. And I want to stay with you always.” She made a kissing noise, then hung up.

  “Well,” Carl said, “that should get his attention.”

  ✽✽✽

  Jason scraped the last of the scrambled eggs from the pan onto his plate. He was getting tired of these things, but it seemed to be the only thing he knew how to cook. TV dinners were expensive enough he only had one a day, and boxed meals tasted… well, after being spoiled on chef’s food, they tasted like cardboard.

  If only he could go back.

  If only Diane would forgive him. But she was a pretty tough customer, and she would surely make life miserable for him.

  Okay. Time to get to work. He opened his computer and began his work, gathering reports from his properties, making decisions on what to do next, evaluating what his options were.

  Nothing good.

  Everything was difficult, budgets were tight, and he had to get a lot more going before he could start to live comfortably again. He ran his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

  Then his phone rang. Scam Likely the small screen said. He declined the call, then a prompt on the screen told him he had a new voicemail from Diane.

  Should he listen to it? He couldn’t. It would be torture, hearing her voice and wanting her, yet hearing the anger there and knowing he could never have her, have her heart, have her love. And that was what he wanted, more than anything. Worse, he couldn’t imagine loving any other woman. She had become a part of him, and no one else could ever fill the spot she occupied.

  He turned away from the phone. But what if he was wrong? What if she wanted him to come back?

  He grabbed the phone and brought it toward his face, finger poised to press the voicemail prompt.

  Who was he kidding? Women didn’t love men who did the kinds of things he had done. There was no chance.

  The finger hesitated. He should push it. He should get on the line and beg her to forgive him. He should tell her he would do anything…

  And what would she say to that?

  This marriage was doomed from the start, she would say. Don’t be ridiculous about all this love and schmaltzy stuff. He didn’t know how to love, didn’t even know what the word meant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run out on her, left her alone with a brand-new baby.

  His baby.

  He shivered. A baby that terrified him. And that made no sense.

  What a coward. He deserved to be berated, didn’t he? He always had. Oh, he had built a pretty cool persona around all his friends, and all the women he picked up, and they had all admired him, like he was the most amazing guy. But he had always known that underneath, he was despicable, and that if they ever saw into his heart, they would abandon him immediately.

  He wanted to just curl up on his bed and go to sleep. Let the world fade from his consciousness.

  He walked into the tiny bathroom with its bare sink and single towel rack and faced his image in the mirror.

  He was frowning, and he looked just like his father.

  He closed his eyes. So, it had come to this. He was so miserable, his ready smile had been dislodged, replaced by a frown so deep and so desperate that he couldn’t even recognize himself anymore. And that meant he was going to end up as jaded and miserable as his old man. It was a fate he had always told himself he was going to avoid.

  And here it was.

  Damn it, no! He was not going to resign himself to a life of suffering. He had promised himself that.

  And how could he possibly change that?

  There was only one way. He was going to have to fight for what he wanted. He would have to convince Diane that she was wrong, that he was worthy of forgiveness.

  And he was going to have to be a good father to little Ace.

  If that’s what the baby was still called. Jason had left before she’d filled out the birth certificate, so she could have changed the name.

  It didn’t matter.

  He was going to get them back.

  Terror shook him again, but it was time to face his fears, force himself to do what had to be done. He closed down his computer, then hurried out to his car.

  CHAPTER 23

  Diane had just put Ace to bed and had returned downstairs, where she was going over the menu for the next week. Then, someone came through the front door. It was either Jason or Carl. Anyone else would have rung the doorbell.

  In a moment, she had her answer, as Carl came into the living room and sat across from her, a brown leather briefcase in his hand, wearing the same gray colors he always dressed in. It was like a statement, like how he saw the world.

  She initialed in the spot for approving the menu, then addressed the old man. “What can I do for you?”

  He plunked the briefcase on a nearby table, then pulled out a stack of papers. “Just sign here.” He lifted the stapled mass, then opened it to the last page.

  Frowning, she yanked it from his hands, then turned to the front, scanning the words. It was a document to file for divorce.

  Nice of the old man to take care of this, pay for the lawyer and everything. But the fact that he’d wanted her to sign it sight unseen had raised warning flags.

  She flipped through the pages, scanning them as well. “What is this?” she said, pointing to a paragraph that claimed Jason had never properly supported her.

  “Just boiler plate,” Carl said. “Lawyers just throw all that stuff in there.”

  “Well, I’m not signing a bunch of false accusations.”

  Carl huffed, his face turning red around the temples. “We need all this to proceed.”

  She doubted that. She put the document on the coffee table and pushed it toward him. “Take it back to your lawyers and tell them to put the truth in there.”

  “But Diane…”

  “You said I had a good case. We shouldn’t need to build it up with lies.”

  The old man rolled his eyes, leaving his hands at his sides. “Just boiler plate. It goes in all the requests.”

  “There was never ‘callous disregard’ for my well-being while we were together.”

  His lips thinned. “I’m not changing a word.”<
br />
  “They’re your words, aren’t they? Not boiler plate at all.”

  “Young lady—”

  She jumped to her feet. “I’ve really had enough of that.”

  “Stop being unreasonable.”

  “Un—” She bit her lip. “What the hell is unreasonable about what I’m doing?”

  “Fine. You file for your own divorce. And you’d better make it good, because you’re not getting another cent from me!” He turned toward the door, then hesitated, like he was expecting her to cave.

  Son of a bitch wasn’t getting her to back down that easily. “You know this is emotional blackmail.”

  “There’s nothing illegal in what I’m doing.” He started walking.

  “Good-bye, Carl,” she said.

  His eyes turned colder and more steely than she’d ever seen. “You’re going to regret this.” And then, he slipped out, footfalls loud on the tile floor of the entry way.

  “Aren’t you going to pack up your clothes?” she called to him.

  His footsteps paused. She couldn’t see him anymore, couldn’t see if he was considering it. But the answer came quickly enough. “You are cut off!” he said, and then the door slammed.

  Her breathing was faster than normal, as though she’d been out for a brisk run, or as though he had frightened her. She didn’t want to admit that.

  And what the hell would she do if Carl went through on his threat? It was no longer just her life that would be affected. She had what she had learned was called a household, a different meaning of the word than she’d learned as a child. But it was a responsibility, one she was no longer going to be able to meet.

  “Henry?” she called.

  The butler appeared in a moment. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “We need to talk. I’m afraid we’re going to have to let most of the staff go.”

  ✽✽✽

  Jason parked his car by the curb in front of the house. It was starting to get dark, and he was tired. Maybe he should wait until tomorrow to do this. Maybe he would have more courage after he’d slept on it.

  Either that, or he would chicken out.

  No point trying to avoid the inevitable. Besides, if he knew his dad, the man was going to find him soon, and then all hell would break loose.

  Best to get this done on his own terms.

  He leaned out of the car, then his arm muscles froze. He just needed more time to pull himself together. He started the vehicle again and drove around the block.

  This time, when he passed the house, he slowed down, but didn’t dare stop. This was so stupid. Why was he being such a coward? He had to do this. He had to walk up to the door.

  Another trip around the block. Another slow down in front of the house. Another moment to chicken out. Another car pulled up behind him, lights bright in his rear-view mirror. One more time around, and he promised himself, this time he would stop.

  He turned the corner, then another. The other car was staying with him. That was weird.

  He turned the final corner, back to his street again.

  Red and blue lights flashed on top of the roof of the car behind him.

  Crap.

  He pulled over, coincidentally right in front of his own house. He turned off the engine, rolled down his driver’s-side window, then put his hands on the steering wheel.

  Across the street, someone pulled back a curtain on an upstairs window, and a silhouetted person peeked around the fabric. That was probably the person who called the police in the first place. Damn, this was embarrassing.

  The policeman came up slowly, shining a flashlight at Jason. “You wanna tell me what you’re doing out here?”

  Jason opened his mouth, but then a laugh came out. “Oh, my God, you probably think I’ve been casing the neighborhood.”

  “That’s sure what it looked like.”

  Jason peeked at the man’s name tag. “Well, that’s not it, officer Barns. I just… I need to go see the people in that house, but I’m nervous as hell.”

  Officer Barns spent a moment eyeing Jason’s car, lifting a brow at the crumpled fender. “That doesn’t seem likely, son.”

  “It’s complicated, sir, but if I go up there…” He hesitated. “Well, I’m nervous because I’m not sure how they’ll react. But they know me. That I can promise you.”

  “Really, now?”

  “If you don’t want to go up there with me, maybe I can call them.”

  “How about we start with your driver’s license.”

  “Yeah, fair enough.” He retrieved it from his wallet and handed it to the man.

  Barns eyes narrowed. “Jason Talbot. Says here you live on Lancaster boulevard.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you rub shoulders with the people here in Highland Park.” Barns lifted his brow.

  “Sir, if you just let me call them…”

  Barns stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. “Wait here.”

  He took the license back to his squad car, and Jason waited, while the man presumably ran his identity to check for warrants. Surely, when he found there were none, he would let Jason go.

  A moment later, the officer was back. He glanced into the car and pointed to an object sitting on the other seat, plugged into the cigarette lighter. “That your cell phone?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, this is highly irregular, but if you want to call them, I think we can do that.” Barns pulled his pistol from its holster. “You’ll pardon me for being over cautious.”

  “I understand,” Jason said. He retrieved the phone and punched up Diane’s contact.

  It rang. Then again. And again.

  “Damn. I was sure she’d be home.”

  “Maybe you need to step out of the car.”

  Oh, crap. He was about to get arrested, and all because he was such a coward, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize to his wife. What a mess this had turned out to be. “Yes, sir.” He set the phone down without pressing the end-call button. The heavy car door creaked as he pushed it open.

  Officer Barns stepped back.

  Jason raised his hands high. Suddenly, Barns turned him, and his hands rested on the roof of the car, his feet spread wide, Barns’ hands patting him down.

  “Sir?” Jason said, “have I committed a crime?”

  Barns didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he gave Jason a pat on the back. “No. Now, you just make certain it stays that way.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Now, get back in your car and drive back to your home.”

  Jason nodded, then slipped back into his seat. That had been a close one.

  He pulled away from the curb, his heart sinking as his home shrunk in the rearview mirror. And then, as he turned the corner on the short block, it moved out of sight.

  How was he going to talk to Diane now? He needed to see her in person, talk to her face to face. Just a phone call wouldn’t work. Too many chances for misunderstandings. He needed all his resources to make this right, his words, his body language, his ability to read what she was thinking and how she was reacting.

  But the police car was following him.

  One thing was certain. He wasn’t going to have that conversation with Diane tonight.

  CHAPTER 24

  Henry’s face puckered, and Diane could understand his evident concern. This whole set-up had only been running a little over half a year, and now, everyone was being laid off?

  He sat across from her, skin turned an awful shade of pale, sort of the color of freshly poured cement.

  “I don’t know exactly when things are going to happen,” Diane said, “but I presume by the beginning of next month I won’t have enough money to make payroll.”

  “Will you write letters of recommendation for the staff?”

  “It’s the least I can do. You’ve all been wonderful.”

  “Very well. I shall have letters drawn up, and I will inform the staff.”

  “I’d…” She bit her lo
wer lip. She’d never done anything like this before but leaving it to Henry was the coward’s way out. “I would like to tell each one of them personally.”

  He nodded, chin lifting slightly and a respectful smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Very well.”

  “And, um, let’s do this gradually. We can start with the least essential people and work our way up from there.”

  “I understand.”

  “That way, if Carl has a change of heart, we can carry on with the least turmoil.”

  His expression was measured. “Let us hope that’s how things turn out.” He started toward the door, then turned back to her. “I shall send you the first employee this afternoon when she arrives.”

  Diane nodded. She couldn’t talk, her mouth had gone so dry. How was she going to do this? Why had she let these stupid men put her in such a position? She should have refused to spend any time with Jason. She should never have married him.

  And the worst thing about it was that she knew, from the start, that this was all a mistake.

  She sunk back into her chair and closed her eyes. She needed her mommy.

  ✽✽✽

  Diane sat at her desk, going over the numbers one more time. She had to make certain everything was ramping down smoothly, and that she wouldn’t run out of funds before Henry left. He, of all people, should get his salary. He had been a rock of support during these difficult times.

  Once she had assured herself she was financially viable for the rest of the month, she picked up her phone for the next piece of business. Another call to Jason. Or more properly, to his phone, since he never answered.

  “Jason?” she said. “Listen, I need to sell the house. And your name is the only name on the deed. I can’t sell it without you.”

  She waited, hoping he could hear, wishing he would pick up. But nothing happened. She pushed the end call button, then sighed.

  But the baby was crying, so that pre-empted everything else. At least with Ace, she could solve the problem.

  She sat with him in the outdoor living room, letting him nurse, staring at his beautiful little face. His eyebrows curved across his face just the way Jason’s did, and they had enough hair they would probably be as luxurious as Jason’s as well. And he had begun making little noises while eating, little “mm” sounds, like it was the best thing ever. She chuckled. “A hedonist, too, huh? I guess the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.”