Starting Over
Authors: Cheryl Douglas
Tags: #romance, #love, #marriage, #pregnancy, #sexy, #contemporary, #baby, #rich, #divorce, #mature, #successful, #second chance, #cheryl douglas
Cheryl Douglas
Copyright © by Cheryl
Douglas
Smashwords Edition
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Starting Over © 2013
Cheryl Douglas
Smashwords
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Eve Bolton is
at a crossroads in her life. After caring for her beloved aunt
during a terminal illness and coming to terms with the fact she may
never be able to get pregnant, she retreats to her childhood home,
where she’s not just the wife of a business tycoon, she’s someone
the townspeople know and love. This gives Eve a sense of identity
she thought she lost. When her husband asks her to come home, she
decides it’s time for her to start over… alone.
Alex Bolton
has been so preoccupied running his family’s business that he lost
sight of what’s important.
Eve
. He knows she’s been going
through a difficult time, between trying to get pregnant and losing
the woman who raised her, but he never expects her to tell him
she’s leaving him. He knows he has a lot to make up for, but he’s
willing to do whatever it takes. The question is, will it be too
late to save their marriage?
Contents
Chapter
One
Eve Bolton sat at her
aunt’s bedside holding her hand. Her mind tortured and blessed her
with every sweet memory they’d shared since she was a little girl.
Her aunt was more than a surrogate parent; she was an inspiration.
She was an example of how much a woman could accomplish if she
believed in herself, even when everyone else failed to recognize
her talent.
“Eve…”
“I’m right
here, Aunt Sharon. Can I get you something?”
“No.” Her eyes
drifted closed again. Sharon had been in and out of sleep for the
past four days, when the pain medication served its purpose and
allowed her to rest peacefully.
Eve knew it
wouldn’t be much longer before her spirit left them. Eve had
dreaded that day ever since the doctor gave Sharon her grave
diagnosis four months ago, but she didn’t want to believe it would
happen. She’d wanted to believe her aunt, with her indomitable
spirit and passion for life, would defy doctors. Eve wanted Sharon
to be one of many who proved to the medical community that their
opinions were just that—opinions, not law.
Eve’s eyes
landed on the framed photo beside the antique iron bed. She was
twelve in that picture, wrapped in her aunt’s loving embrace. It
was the third summer Eve had spent at the inn, and during those two
months of vacation, they decided it was where she belonged. When
Eve had asked her aunt if she could live with her instead of
returning to her mother’s home, her aunt didn’t even hesitate. She
said Eve would always have a home with her.
When her
parents divorced, Eve’s father had moved across the country to
marry his mistress and her mother went from a steadfast and
reliable parent to a woman Eve barely recognized. Sharon blamed her
sister’s transformation on a mid-life crisis brought on by her
husband’s cheating, but Eve couldn’t help but feel abandoned by
both of her parents when she needed them most.
A soft knock on
the door drew Eve back to the present. She didn’t know which was
worse: reliving painful memories or facing the grim reality of what
the next days and months would bring. She would have a funeral to
plan, an inn to learn how to run, and an unimaginable loss to
grieve. The latter seemed almost unthinkable. Her life would never
be the same without Aunt Sharon. “Come in,” she said quietly, not
wanting to disturb her aunt.
Dan MacDonald,
the Lakeside Inn’s manager, opened the door a fraction of an inch.
His gaze drifted to the bed, and he sighed when a grimace passed
over Sharon’s face. “How is she?”
Eve beckoned
for him to enter, craving company to see her through the dark hours
ahead. Dan had been her rock for the past three months while she’d
helplessly watched cancer steal her aunt’s energy and enthusiasm
for life. Dan was Eve’s first love, but since she’d left Richmond
to go to college almost twenty years ago, she’d relegated him to
the back of her mind so she could focus on building a new life with
her husband. Letting go of the past was the only way she could
convince herself that leaving home was the right decision.
“She’s coping,”
Eve said gently, wishing she could do more to ease her aunt’s
burden.
“And you?” Dan
asked. “How are you coping, Evie?”
He’d always
read her so easily. She often wondered if he was the only person
who really understood her, outside of her aunt. “I’m hanging in
there.”
Picking up
Sharon’s frail hand and holding it, Eve tried to transfer some of
her strength, wishing she could give Sharon the will to fight for
another day. Eve knew wishing her aunt would continue to hold on
when she was in so much pain was selfish, but the thought of never
speaking to her again left a gaping hole in Eve’s heart that no
amount of joy or laughter would ever displace.
“Did you call
Alex?” Dan asked, sliding his hand into the front pocket of his
worn jeans.
Her husband and
former boyfriend had always tried to be civil to each other—for her
sake and because of their mutual respect for her aunt—but it was no
secret it was an effort.
“He’s in
Seattle on business.” Eve pressed her lips to the cool, thin skin
on the back of Sharon’s hand. The veins were more pronounced since
she’d lost so much weight. The fingers that used to fly across her
keyboard as she poured her heart and soul into her next novel had
been immobile for too long.
Dan scowled.
“He should be here with you. What the hell is the matter with
him?”
“He has a
company to run.”
Eve knew how
Dan felt about her husband’s work ethic, but Alex felt he was doing
what he had to do. When Alex’s father had died five years earlier,
he left his steel company to his wife, but Alex ran it. The
business employed thousands of people and supported both Alex’s
mother and sister. He owed working hard to the people who depended
on him for their livelihoods.
Eve was used to
defending her absentee husband. She’d made excuses when he couldn’t
make it to a friend’s house for dinner or had to postpone their
vacation at the last minute because of a crisis at work. It came
with the territory, or she told herself. In the face of her aunt’s
early demise, Eve wondered whether she’d been cheating herself all
these years by staying married to Alex because… she loved him. Even
after all they’d been through, she still loved her husband. But she
didn’t know if that was reason enough to stay anymore.
“Aren’t you
getting tired of his excuses?” Dan asked, clenching his jaw. “I
sure as hell am.”
Dan had been
hearing Alex’s excuses from Eve for three months. Every time Alex
promised to visit on the weekend or take a few days off mid-week,
something always came up. And now it would be too late for him to
say good-bye to her aunt. Eve had to admit that hurt. He knew how
much Sharon meant to her. Eve could really use a hand to hold, but
the only one available was the last hand she should be thinking
about holding—Dan’s.
“He’s doing
what he has to do.” Eve closed her eyes, wishing away the tears
that threatened to fall. She didn’t want Dan to see her cry. The
last time she’d cried in front of him had been the night before she
went away to college. She’d fallen apart in his arms, vowing she
would never love anyone as much as she loved him. But then Alex
came into her life and made her believe a love as powerful as
theirs was destined to last forever.
“I don’t buy
that. He has an army of people working for him. He could delegate
some of the shit he has to deal with so he could be here for
you.”
Eve didn’t have
the strength to defend her husband when she was trying to convince
herself his behavior wasn’t the straw that would break their
ten-year marriage.
“Eve…” Sharon’s
eyes fluttered open as Eve stroked her hand.
“Do you need
something for the pain?” Eve asked, leaning in closer.
“No.” Rolling
her head to the side, Sharon tried to smile at Dan.
Dan was the
reason the inn had been running so smoothly all these years, and
Sharon never let him forget it. All of the employees adored their
boss, but Sharon and Dan had always had a special bond. That may
have been because of his adoration for Eve when everyone thought
they were too young to know what real love was. Everyone except
Sharon. She’d always told Eve that love came when and if the time
was right. It didn’t care whether you were fifteen or fifty-five,
which was why she’d never given up hope. She said her Prince
Charming could very well be out there waiting to meet her. Just
because she hadn’t met him didn’t mean she didn’t expect to.
Eve loved her
optimism. Even more than that, she admired the fact that her aunt
had built an enviable life with a wide circle of friends, a career
she loved, travel, and a home she opened to anyone passing through
their small town.
“I’ll give you
two a few minutes alone,” Dan said, smiling at Sharon. “Last I
heard, Harry was throwing a fit because the berries hadn’t come in
yet and the dessert special tonight is blueberry cheesecake.”
Sharon offered
a weak smile before swallowing. “Tell him not to give you any
trouble, or he’ll have to deal with me.” Sharon’s voice was barely
more than a whisper, and every intake of breath required supreme
effort. It broke Eve’s heart to see her struggle, but she couldn’t
find the words to let her aunt go.
“You got it,
boss lady,” Dan said, winking at her. Dan squeezed Eve’s shoulder
as he walked past, and she wanted to reach up and hold it there
just because the contact felt so good. It seemed like forever since
she’d felt a man’s arms around her, holding her and promising that
everything would be all right.
Sharon waited
until Dan left before she whispered, “He’s such a good man.”
Eve smiled as
she turned to look at the closed door. “Yes, he is.”
“I think he
still loves you.”
Eve didn’t know
how to respond to that, so she said nothing.
“I used to
imagine the two of you running this place after I was gone.”
Eve held her
breath, uncertain what her aunt was preparing to say. Eve would do
almost anything for her, and if she was about to impart one dying
wish, Eve would be hard-pressed to refuse.
“But that was a
long time ago. When I still thought maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
Eve asked, wishing her aunt would go on talking forever. Her laugh.
Eve would miss her laugh most of all. When she closed her eyes, she
could still hear the wonderful robust sound, even though it felt
like months since she’d heard Sharon laugh like that.