Husband by Choice

Sitting in the safety of a hospital room filled with monitors, with medical professionals available at the push of a button, Jenna could let the thoughts just flow. The thoughts weren’t a threat to her there.

Steve had told her after one of his affairs that she’d never have to worry about other women. That they meant nothing to him. That she was the only one who’d ever loved him for who he really was.

He’d seemed to think that the words would somehow heal the chasm he’d slashed in her heart. Or at least appease her.

She’d hated him that night.

He’d told her another time that he would go to any lengths to keep her with him.

When she’d lived with him he’d had his professional reputation to worry about, too. That had carried almost as much weight as her acceptance had.

But he was no longer on the force. Which left only her....

He was a hunter. His need to look good to the outside world mattered to him. All the things she’d learned, everything she’d figured out—it was all coming together.

And she knew what she was going to do.

* * *

MAX TOOK CALEB to day care on Friday. Then he went to work. Chantel and another off-duty officer were going to hang out in neighborhood establishments around the beach house, and spend some time on the beach, as well. Chantel had brought her swimsuit with her and left with one of his and Meri’s beach towels under her arm.

Armed with a photo of Steve Smith courtesy of the LVMPD, they were hoping for any glimpse of a man who resembled him. Diane, in the meantime, had been granted the warrant to exhume the body of the woman Steve had been seeing who’d wrapped her car around a tree.

Unmarked cars were keeping an eye on wherever Meredith was living. Funny, he’d had no idea that she’d known anyone well enough to have another place to stay in town.

None of their friends or associates knew she was even missing. Not knowing where Meri was sleeping at night was slowly killing him.

So he worked. Picked up his son from day care. And went home.

He made dinner.

He bathed his son. Put him to bed. Was cordial to Chantel, listened as she told him that they’d had another sighting in a restaurant a short distance from the little house.

A more recent sighting.

And he tried to stay calm.

* * *

“YOU SEEM...DIFFERENT.” Lila spoke softly, as she stood off to the side of the food table at the pool-party-slash-baby-shower on Saturday, replenishing snacks and drinks as necessary.

Everything was pink, in honor of the fact that Maddie had just found out she was having a girl. Lynn, a certified midwife, was going to be delivering the baby right there at The Lemonade Stand.

So they now had pink popcorn. Watermelon. Ham. Pink bread to make sandwiches. Strawberry Jell-O. And someone had even managed to sneak some food coloring into the au-gratin potatoes. They might look kind of gross, but everyone said they tasted good.

And they were drinking pink lemonade, of course. It was The Lemonade Stand; there had to be lemonade.

“You look different, too. Must be the swim attire.” Jenna came up with a response to Lila’s statement. The two of them were the only two women not in the pool where all the games were going on. Right now everyone else was involved in pinning the disposable diaper on the noodle. There were eight floating s

ix-foot-long swimming noodles in the water. The participants were blindfolded after they got in the pool, all the noodles had been dropped in the water and the women had to try to pin their diaper on the pink ribbon drawn on the pink noodle. “I don’t think it’s the attire,” Lila said, like Jenna, watching the residents enjoying themselves. More than half the women living at The Lemonade Stand were there.

“You look good in a swimsuit,” Jenna told the managing director who was technically off duty that afternoon.

“Thank you.”

“You ought to take off that cover-up and get some sun on your arms and back,” Jenna added.

Lila glanced at her, and the look she gave her wasn’t directorish. For a second, Jenna was reminded of Renee—who was currently busy running the games portion of the afternoon’s event.