Marrying Mallory

by Diane Craver

  “And you two are still in a relationship. I give it another month.”

  He ignored her prediction. “Are you dating anyone?”

  How should she answer? She had coffee with Seth but they weren’t dating. It might be nice to mention it though, so Toby would know other guys thought she was attractive. “I had coffee with someone last night.”

  “It’s about time. What’s his name?”

  “Seth. Before you get too excited, I’m going to fix him up with Heather. I don’t feel right about dating after being married, even though I’m divorced.”

  “I better get off here and fix Josh a little lunch before the movie. I’ll see you soon so we can talk more.”

  After a weak good-bye, she replaced the phone. She should’ve kept her mouth shut. Toby got off the phone in a hurry because he didn’t want to hear a lecture about his infidelity. But she was also going to mention doing more family things together even though they were divorced. Toby would’ve been happier to hear she was seeing someone. She wasn’t about to lie and say she planned on seeing Seth a lot. Well, actually she would have to make several office visits after surgery, but that was on a professional basis.

  They had some good times together. Cozy moments of sharing their love for each other. Did Toby ever miss their life together? Apparently, he hadn’t been happy. Instead of coming home to her, he’d had an affair with Lacey. She’d had many sleepless nights wondering how he could’ve stooped so low.

  When she’d questioned him about his affair, he said without meeting her eyes, “It’s hard to explain. Things weren’t right between us way before I had the affair.”

  She glanced at the wall clock. It was eleven-thirty. Plenty of time to bake Toby’s favorite cookies if she had enough oats and raisins. She needed to stay busy so she wouldn’t worry about why he needed to talk to her. After she saw she had enough of the necessary ingredients, she felt happy to be doing something positive for Toby. Divorced or not, they had a son, and they needed to keep things cordial between them. He’d hurt her deeply, and she’d gone through months of emotional lows with feeling anger and other times great sadness. But she worried a lot about Josh and wanted him to see that his divorced parents were able to get along.

  Toby can eat some cookies here and I’ll send some home with him.

  She opened the cupboard to get a mixing bowl. Hopefully, Samantha never baked oatmeal raisin cookies. That was her thing. Before Toby arrived, she needed to say her daily prayer to God to watch over the father of her child.

  Had she made a mistake in marrying Toby? Maybe she’d still be married if Jeremy had been her husband. God was clear on what was expected of a married couple. He meant for marriage to be a lifetime commitment. His plan for marriage was stated in Malaci 2:16: I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel. But she couldn’t imagine not having Josh...their son was a blessing

  Even though, she could remarry because Matthew 5:32, clearly said it was allowed when one committed fornication like Toby had, she wasn’t up to trying again. A second marriage wasn’t going to happen even though her Christian friends seemed to think it’d be fine for her. She feared a second marriage might fail, and she couldn’t bear another divorce. Apparently, she hadn’t been a good enough wife for Toby to remain faithful.

  Chapter Six

  Mallory wore a new pair of dark jeans with a green and white striped fitted top. She’d enjoyed buying a few new clothes in smaller sizes. She was also glad that her hair was long enough to pull back in a short ponytail. Toby used to tell her how cute she looked with her hair worn like that. Funny, she thought her nose looked bigger without any hair around her face.

  She put the cookies on a pretty blue plate. The cinnamon she put in the cookies had been a smart touch. Nothing smelled better than cinnamon baking in the oven. The aroma of spices lingered in the air. Tapping the countertop, she became impatient. What else could she do while waiting for Toby?

  Maybe make coffee. She picked up the pot and filled it with filtered cold water. After measuring the grounds, she decided to start brewing the coffee because Toby would be arriving soon. It was two fifteen and that was one thing about her ex-husband. He believed in being punctual.

  What did he want to talk to her about anyhow? She’d told Elizabeth and Heather that it wasn’t about him remarrying. She definitely could rule that out since he’d just said today his relationship with Samantha wasn’t serious.

  A knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts. “Come on in. The door’s not locked,” she yelled.

  Toby walked into the kitchen, looking blond and handsome. His eyes went from her face to the cookies. “I picked the right day to visit.”

  She smiled. “I baked cookies. Would you like coffee with them?”

  “Sounds good.” Toby paused. “Josh asked me today when I’m moving back home. Have you mentioned to him that’s a possibility?”

  She held the coffeepot in midair as she stared at Toby. “Of course not. He does miss us being here together, though. On Tuesday evening, Heather came over and brought pizza. While she sat in your chair, Josh commented how he liked her there. He asked her to come back to eat. I’m sure he’d like for us to get back together. He hates seeing your empty chair.”

  “I guess that’s normal. Kids can’t accept it when their parents are divorced.”

  “Josh is so little yet so that makes it even harder on him.” Once seated at the table with their steaming cups of coffee in front of them, Mallory said, “Please tell me what was bothering you when you called me last Friday. I know you said later it was nothing. But at the time, it seemed like something was terribly wrong to me.”

  Toby didn’t answer. After a moment he exhaled a deep breath. “I’m fine but when I talked to you on Friday, I was afraid something was seriously wrong with me. I wasn’t feeling well so went to see the doctor. He ordered a battery of tests because of some of my symptoms. I started thinking what if I died without telling you how sorry I was. So that brief apology for causing you pain was my way of covering all bases.”

  Toby had thought he was dying. “So the tests came back okay?”

  He nodded. “Everything was stress related.”

  She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “What symptoms caused the doctor to order tests?”

  He shrugged. “I overreacted. I had severe pain on my left side. And my blood pressure was high in the doctor’s office. I was afraid I had heart disease.”

  “I can see why you might think that with those symptoms.”

  “I’ve had stress with my big cases. And I’ve been putting in long hours at work.” He took a bite of cookie. “But I think it was good in a way that I got a scare about my mortality. It got me to thinking. What if something happened to me while Josh is young? So I took out additional life insurance because if I die before he goes to college, it’ll pay for his education. I should have other money for his needs, but I’d rather not worry about his college.”

  “I thought your firm gave you a $100,000 policy for a benefit. I guess you don’t think that’s enough for college.”

  He nodded. “I actually increased that policy to $200,000. I want to make sure money won’t be a problem.”

  “I appreciate that you want to provide for Josh.”

  What if Toby died without being saved as a Christian? Since he’d brought it up about his mortality, it shouldn’t hurt for her to ask him to pray for his spiritual conversion. She couldn’t bear the thought of Toby not being in heaven and having eternal life. “Since you took care of financial matters, how about—”

  “You have that look in your eye. I knew I shouldn’t mention dying to you.”

  “Well, your soul’s important. I can lead you right now in prayer to accept the Lord.”

  He frowned. “I heard you praying all the time for me while we were married. I’m not a bad person. I think God gave us a brain to use, so I don’t think we should hassle Him about every problem we have. But it works for you to pray constantly s
o that’s fine.”

  Should she mention the Bible verse about praying without ceasing to Toby? Actually there were a lot of verses she could recite to him, but he hadn’t listened to her while they were married, so why force the praying issue right now with lots of Biblical reasons. She’d try another approach. “I think my prayers helped you get your job.”

  He looked uncomfortable. “I thought passing the bar might have helped. Mallory, I do believe in God. Just not the way you do.”

  “You believe in God but you don’t have a personal relationship with Him. You’re depriving yourself of the joys of being a Christian. Plus just think what impact you can have on Josh if you go to church with us every Sunday. As his father, you can be his spiritual role model.” Great, she probably came off sounding too preachy. She knew Toby hadn’t liked her efforts to convert him while they’d been married.

  “Hey, he has you for that. And I go to church.”

  “Just on Christmas and Easter.”

  He grinned. “I’ll up it to four times a year.”

  “I’ll take it. How about you go with us tomorrow?”

  He finished the cookie. “You make the best cookies.”

  “Don’t change the subject. We can go to church together and afterwards go to Sunday dinner. Or I can fix a home cooked meal for us. We missed our family night on Tuesday.”

  “I can’t. I already promised Samantha we’d spend the day together.”

  She watched him drink his coffee, wondering if he was more serious about Samantha than even he realized. “Maybe some other Sunday then. So what brought you here today?”

  “Jeff is having legal problems—”

  “I hope you don’t mean Jeff Moore.” Jeff and Toby had been fraternity brothers. And one of the groomsmen for their wedding.

  “That’s the one. Jeff’s a great guy.”

  A great guy. Obviously, Toby was biased. She hated to criticize his fraternity brother, but she’d never approve of Jeff. He became obnoxious when he drank too much. He’d said some off-color comments to her while drunk. Toby had defended his friend because of his condition. She also didn’t think much of him owning a casino. What had Jeff done to need Toby’s help as a lawyer? Was it money laundering, tax fraud, embezzlement or something worse?

  “So what does he need a lawyer for? Is he in trouble with the police? Or I guess maybe the FBI?”

  He shook his head. “It’s nothing like that.”

  Was it for a divorce? She liked Jeff’s wife, Peg and hoped it wasn’t marriage problems. She’d been one of Peg’s bridesmaids. They hadn’t been close for years though since the Moores had moved to Las Vegas. A divorce might complicate Jeff’s life with the income from his casino. Also custody of their two daughters might be an issue because of his business. Even though she had a low opinion of Jeff, he loved his daughters and was on his best behavior around them.

  She shrugged. “I guess it’s confidential. If anyone can help Jeff, it’s you.”

  “I need to settle some things for him. He fired his accountant and a few other employees. They’re threatening to sue him. I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas as soon as I finish my present cases.”

  Toby can’t go to church with us, but he can fly to Sin City to help a loser fraternity friend. Maybe she wouldn’t send any cookies home with him. “I’m guessing you’ll need me to keep Josh on a weekend. That’s no problem.”

  He stood and walked to the counter. While refilling his cup, he said, “It might be for a month. I’m just not sure.”

  “Are you sure it’s for legal work and not to gamble?” Toby had never been a gambler, but maybe he had acquired the gambling habit since their divorce. She knew what a sickness it was since her dad had been a gambling addict. He’d left them to go to Las Vegas for that purpose only.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, irritated. “I’m not your dad. You know I don’t gamble. I’m going to be working the whole time.”

  Jeff must be in serious trouble. Toby never liked to miss spending time with Josh. “I’m surprised you’d leave Josh for a month.”

  He returned to his chair. “I’d like Josh to fly to see me over a weekend.”

  She clenched her jaw. “He’s too little to fly by himself.”

  “I wasn’t planning on him coming by himself.”

  A thrill went through her body because she knew he meant for her to fly to Las Vegas with Josh. Thank you, God, she prayed silently. She wasn’t crazy about going to Vegas for a family vacation, but knew it would make Josh happy to spend time with both parents together.

  “That’s good. If I book the flight soon, it won’t cost as much. When do you need—”

  “I’ll pay for the tickets for Samantha and Josh.”

  For a moment, her mind couldn’t grasp that he hadn’t meant for her to go on the plane. Instead Toby wanted his girlfriend of a few months to travel with their son.

  He frowned. “I hope you aren’t going to put up a fuss about Samantha bringing Josh. She adores him.”

  Her stomach tightened. No way was his girlfriend taking their little son to another state. “They barely know each other.”

  “Samantha’s going to spend time with us after the movie. And I’m going to have her come over more often on the weekends. He’ll be fine with her on the plane.”

  Samantha being with Toby more wasn’t something she wanted to hear. Obviously, Toby cared for his girlfriend more than he’d indicated before. How could Toby move on so quickly with a new relationship? “I’m sorry but he’s not going. For one thing, he’s still in school and the trip will tire him out too much.”

  “I was planning on a June visit.”

  “You know he’s going to the lake house with your mom and dad in June. And his birthday’s in June.” How could she have her surgery if that trip was canceled? Unless Toby planned on keeping Josh longer than a weekend in Vegas which she never wanted to happen.

  “Well, June’s a big month and Josh’s birthday is only one day,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “He can come later and still go visit my parents.”

  “A casino is hardly an appropriate place for a child.”

  He drummed his fingers on the table. “So you’re saying that our son can only spend time with me in Las Vegas if you are with him?”

  “You have to admit that I was being generous to bring him to you. I shouldn’t be expected to have him fly for the first time with a stranger.” She saw his eyes darken with anger. “Okay, Samantha’s not actually a stranger, but what does she know about kids? She doesn’t have any. Or does she have one hidden somewhere?”

  “She doesn’t have children, but she’s great with kids. I should know because I’ve seen her with her nieces and nephews.”

  Mallory bit her lip instead of calling him a liar. He’d said that his relationship with Samantha wasn’t serious. Meeting the relatives meant their relationship might become permanent. And now he wanted Samantha in Vegas with him. Was he in love with Samantha? What other reason could he have for making sure she spent time with Josh? Of course, she knew he’d get married someday, but was hoping it’d be much later. She was not ready for Josh to be part of new family. They hadn’t been divorced that long. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Josh to travel to Las Vegas.”

  He glanced at his watch. “I better go. I hope you’ll change your mind. Please think about it. You know I always take good care of Josh.”

  Her stomach turned when she heard the door shut behind Toby.

  He’d never planned on inviting her to Vegas. Was spending time with her so undesirable? She wanted Josh to see his parents as being friends and doing activities together.

  She forgot to give Toby his cookies. If she hurried, maybe she could catch him. Running to the front door, she hit her knee hard on the corner of the end table. She ignored the pain and jerked open the door.

  Toby stood outside his car, talking on his cell phone. Without a doubt the person on the other end was Samantha...the woman he wasn’t serious about…y
eah, right.

  And she knew then he wasn’t getting the cookies. He didn’t deserve them. She couldn’t stand liars and cheaters.

  Chapter Seven

  Seth zipped his black gym bag. He just played his worst racquetball ever. He hadn’t been able to concentrate so he kept missing the ball. It was Mallory’s fault. Thoughts of her had been on his mind ever since they had coffee together. He kept wondering what she was doing, and if she’d change her mind about the surgery. He looked at his friend, Henry. “I can’t believe you creamed me. I’ll beat you next week.”

  “Wow, your game was off today. What’s bugging you?”

  “I keep thinking about a new patient I have.”

  “What’s the problem? Does she want too much plastic surgery?”

  Seth knew why Henry asked that. He’d complained to his friend how some women requested too many procedures. In certain cases when he’d explained to them how more was not better, they’d left his practice to go elsewhere. He shook his head. “No. She only wants rhinoplasty done. The thing is I want to date her. I probably already crossed the line for our patient-doctor relationship.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “She came in yesterday for the first visit. I knew I wanted to see her outside the office. I couldn’t believe it when she invited me to a dinner party and—”

  “What are you worried about? She’s interested in you too.” Henry grabbed his bag. “Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

  Seth laughed. “I guess you’re anxious to eat since I’m paying.”

  Henry nodded. “You got that right. This doesn’t happen often. I usually lose and have to pay for your lunch. How about steaks?”

  “Sure, if you have time.” Henry surprised him with his request. His friend usually wanted to grab a quick sandwich and get home to his wife.

  “I have time. Rebecca went to her mom’s for the day.”

  He grinned at Henry. “Figures. The days I win, you’re in a rush. Let’s go get some steaks.”