If the Ring Fits. Cindy Kirk
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glow. “Every morning before he heads into his office, he places a hand on my belly and talks to our son. He read somewhere that listening to the voices of both parents helps the baby feel loved and secure even before he’s born.”
The vivid image Lexi painted brought a lump to Mary Karen’s throat. How different the experience was from her pregnancies. When she was expecting the twins Steve had called her a whale and refused to touch her. Halfway through her pregnancy with Logan, he’d left. Now she’d have to do this alone again. Tears filled her eyes.
She took a sip of iced tea and quickly blinked the moisture back, but apparently not fast enough.
July placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Tell us what has you upset.” Concern filled Lexi’s amber eyes. “Was it something I said?”
“I’m just tired.” Mary Karen forced a smile, knowing at least this was the truth. No matter how much sleep she got at night, it wasn’t enough. “The thunderstorms woke Logan. Then the twins heard him, and they were up, too.”
She saw no reason to add to the story. When she’d slipped into bed, she’d started thinking what her life was going to be like as a mother of four, and then sleep became impossible.
“I don’t know how you do it,” July said. “You have three little boys who are bundles of energy. You work—”
“Only part-time,” Mary Karen protested, uncomfortable with the admiration she heard in her sister-in-law’s tone. She knew many single mothers who had it much worse. At least her ex had a good job and paid his child support on time every month.
Lexi sucked in a breath. “He brought a date.”
Mary Karen didn’t need to ask who. She’d always had a sixth sense where Travis was concerned. Her heart picked up speed. She lifted her lips in a smile.
But wait. What had Lexi said? A date? Travis had brought … a date?
Her smile wobbled. Bewildered, Mary Karen turned. Her heart gave a leap at the sight of her … husband in khaki pants and a tan-and-blue camp shirt. With his sandy hair bleached a shade lighter than usual and his skin a honey-brown, he looked Tommy Bahama casual and the picture of health. Still, Mary Karen knew him. Perhaps better than he knew himself. She saw beyond the smile on his lips and realized the past four weeks had been tough on him.
Just then a woman’s laugh rang out and Mary Karen’s gaze darted to Travis’s companion. Standing way too close to him, with her fingers resting on his arm in a proprietary gesture, was Kate McNeal. The woman’s salmon-and-white jersey dress was a perfect foil for her dark hair and creamy complexion.
While she watched, Kate rose on her tiptoes and kissed Travis’s cheek. Mary Karen tightened her fingers around the stem of her glass. Intellectually she understood that she and Travis weren’t really a couple. Still, seeing him with Kate was like a knife to her heart. They hadn’t even signed the annulment papers and yet it appeared he’d already taken up with a career woman who’d probably never had baby spit-up in her hair.
Lexi took a sip of her club soda and studied the female doctor over the top of her glass. “She’s attractive.”
“I didn’t realize he was seeing anyone.” Mary Karen’s voice seemed to come from far away. Though only a few minutes earlier she’d felt almost too warm, a chill now settled over her.
July tilted her head, and her gaze turned thoughtful. “David mentioned they’d gone out a couple times before Travis left for Cameroon.”
“He must have called her as soon as he got back,” Lexi mused.
Mary Karen thought about last night, how she’d kept her phone close, not wanting to miss his call. Thought about how she’d worried for his safety while he’d been in Africa. Thought about …
Anger bubbled in her veins but she tamped it down, sternly reminding herself that Travis was under no obligation to call her the second he got into town. And it wasn’t any of her business if he’d brought a date.
“I swear he’s looking for you,” July whispered.
“Which is odd considering he’s with another woman,” Lexi said.
Mary Karen forced her gaze back to the couple and realized her friends were right. When Travis’s gaze landed on her, his face brightened.
Ignoring the warmth that rushed through her veins, Mary Karen lifted her hand in welcome, wiggling her fingers.
Obviously taking the gesture as an invitation, he crossed the lawn in several long strides while the statuesque brunette beside him struggled to keep up.
“Welcome back.” Mary Karen widened her smile to include the female doctor. “Hello, Kate.”
Kate returned the greeting, shifting from one foot to another, looking suddenly as uncomfortable as Mary Karen felt.
“It’s good to be home,” Travis said, his gaze caressing Mary Karen’s face.
Though July and Lexi were standing beside her and Kate lingered behind him, his eyes remained fixed on her alone.
Those hazel eyes were so familiar, so dear, that for a second nothing mattered except that he was home. And safe. And here with her. Until Mary Karen remembered he hadn’t called. And that he was standing in front of her with another woman while she was carrying his child.
The emotional roller coaster she’d been riding since Las Vegas crested the hill. Sudden tears clogged her throat, making speech impossible. Thankfully July and Lexi jumped feetfirst into the conversation, welcoming Kate, asking Travis about his experiences in Cameroon, laughing when he teased them about their huge bellies.
Mary Karen kept her gaze focused on her friends and pretended not to notice Travis’s questioning glances. When July and Lexi left to replenish the buffet table, she started to go with them. But they waved her back, assuring her they had the situation under control.
Reluctantly, she plastered a smile on her face and turned back to Travis and Kate.
“Quite a party.” Travis gestured with a can of beer in his hand to the backyard filled with people. “I never knew so many people cared.”
“They don’t,” Mary Karen drawled. “They’re here for the free food. And the beer.”
Verbally sparring with him was as natural to her as breathing. Their friends knew it, expected it even. But Kate wasn’t part of their tight-knit circle of friends.
Kate’s eyes widened.
Travis, on the other hand, roared with laughter. “Trust you to put me in my place.”
Mary Karen took a sip of tea, her lips curving in a half smile. “Someone has to keep you humble.”
“Let me guess.” Kate put a finger to her lips, her gaze shifting from Travis to Mary Karen. “Sworn enemies?”
“Close.” Travis looped an arm around Mary Karen’s shoulders. “Old friends.”
His gaze met hers, daring her to disagree.
She couldn’t. The woodsy scent she’d come to associate with him teased her senses and her traitorous body responded to his touch. Seconds later an ache filled her heart at the realization that the easy relationship they’d enjoyed over the years would soon be ending. The rolling in her stomach began in earnest.
“E-excuse me,” she stuttered, stepping back from his arms. “I need to … check on something.”
Travis called her name but she pretended not to hear. Without a backward glance Mary Karen zigzagged through the crowd. By the time she reached the house, she was running. The bathroom door had barely closed behind her when the crackers she’d eaten this afternoon came up.
It took every ounce of strength she possessed not to break down and bawl. But she’d been here before.