“Tell me about your family and schooling.”
“I was given to an orphanage by my fifteen-year-old unwed mother. I grew up at St. Anne’s here in Salt Lake and was placed in several foster homes until I turned eighteen. By that period in my life I had a full-time job waitressing at a restaurant near the university.
“With the money I earned, I went to night school and lived in a campus dorm. Because it cost so much, it took me six years to graduate in accounting.”
“Good for you. What jobs did you do after that?”
“I didn’t get a job in my field right away, so I moved into an apartment with three other girls and kept on waitressing. About six months later I was hired by Pier Ten Imports to do accounting at the main office in Salt Lake.”
“How did you meet Cord?”
“All of us at the apartment wanted to take a vacation together. So we planned and saved money for a week’s trip to the Tetons. While we were staying at the Jackson Lake Lodge, we heard you could climb the Grand Teton mountain and thought we’d try it.
“On our way up, one of those huge summer squalls caught us by surprise. It was quite terrifying, so we decided we’d better go back. On the way down, one of the girls fell and broke her ankle. I stayed with her while the others went for help. Cord and another ranger came to our rescue.”
“Was it love at first sight?” He winked.
“Yes,” she admitted quietly. Ashley was thankful she couldn’t see Cord’s face right now.
“Did you marry soon after?”
“Yes. At a church in Jackson Hole.”
“You had no idea your husband had ever had a smoking habit?”
“No. He was so strong and fit and relaxed, I simply can’t picture Cord lighting up a cigarette. I guess I’m still in shock.”
“Would you characterize your marriage as happy?”
She struggled for breath. “Every day I woke up so happy I was married to Cord, I couldn’t believe it. Sometimes it terrified me that our relationship seemed too perfect. I was afraid it wasn’t real, that I might be dreaming and wake up without him.”
“When did it start to go wrong?”
“After we’d been married for about two years, we tried to have a baby. When a whole year went by and nothing happened, I visited an obstetrician in Salt Lake to see if there was anything wrong. He said everything looked good. To relax. If I didn’t conceive within the next six months, he told me to come in again and bring Cord.
“Well, nothing happened, so we made an appointment for the both of us. That’s when we found out Cord had a problem that meant it was almost impossible for me to get pregnant. The odds were definitely not in our favor.”
“Did you talk about adopting a baby?”
“No,” she whispered in remembered agony.
Vince looked perplexed. “Why?”
“I wanted to—” she blurted. “You can’t imagine how much. But I was waiting for Cord to broach the subject first because I knew how devasta—”
“Let’s talk about devastation, shall we?” Cord broke in without hesitation, cutting her off. She jerked around on the bed. His face held a pallor that hadn’t been there at lunch. “If you could have seen the look in your eyes, Ashley, you would have known why I didn’t dare bring up the idea of adoption.” His voice rasped.
She was aghast. “What look? What are you talking about?”
Unexpectedly Vince rose to his feet and looked at both of them. “I think I’ve done enough probing for today. You’ve touched on a sensitive issue which has obviously strained your marriage. I’m going to leave you to your privacy, and I’ll be back tomorrow morning at eight.
“In the meantime, you are welcome to go for walks on this floor and use the facilities in the gym and Jacuzzi pool at the south end of the hall. Someone from the staff will be there at all times for support. After dinner at six, you’ll be free to watch movies in the auditorium or enjoy television.”
“Vince?” Ashley caught up with him outside the room, wishing he wouldn’t have left so abruptly. She didn’t think she was ready for the next confrontation with Cord.
“Yes, Ashley?”
“I know we’re not supposed to leave the hospital for any reason, but I thought I’d better tell you I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday.”