Sherri finished drying herself and opened the door. She looked at the clothes laid out for her. They were new. She moved to the closet and opened the door. The walk-in closet had all of her clothes and several new things that still had tags on them.
She spun her chair around and crossed the room to the dresser. When she opened the drawers, she discovered all of her things were here…plus several new items.
He’d certainly been confident that she would fall in with his plans. Why not? He’d made certain that she had no place to go except here. She hated to admit that he’d been right about everything. She really couldn’t have taken care of herself. What she had trouble understanding was why he’d do this for her. He’d put himself out to see that she had everything she needed, including Lucifer. Which was another thing. He’d once mentioned that he was allergic to cats. She’d been disappointed because she’d always loved them and once she settled into her apartment she had found the kittens. Thank goodness Joan had wanted one, too.
Now here they were, content to be nearby. It was difficult to be upset with him; he’d done so much for her at a time when she’d desperately needed help.
She took underwear out of the drawer and with a great deal of effort managed to get the pants over her cast. She was already exhausted. Hannah had laid out a simple pullover dress that was new. Sherri slipped it over her head. She pulled the sling over her shoulder and slipped her arm into it.
She was as ready as she would ever be. She saw no reason to wait for Greg. With new determination to be nicer to him, Sherri left the room.
Five
Out in the hallway, Sherri went back the way she and Greg had come into the house. She stopped at the French doors and admired the view. Greg had been given a truly wonderful gift. She knew he must miss Millie very much. Sherri wished she’d stayed in touch with her. As the minutes passed, she began to relax. It was difficult to believe that such a pastoral place existed only a few miles from downtown.
She was startled when Greg spoke behind her.
“Ah, there you are. Enjoying the view, I see.”
She turned and faced him. “Thank you for all that you’ve done, Greg. I’m sorry that I’ve been so rude to you. It’s just that—” She couldn’t find the words to continue.
“I know. You’d made a clean break, and I was the last person you wanted in your life.”
She nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.
“Understood,” he replied tersely. “I know how difficult all of this is for you. I just want you to know that you have a place to stay here for as long as you want it.”
She gave a quick shake of her head. “Don’t you think having me here is unfair to Hannah?”
He looked puzzled. “Why should it be? One more person in the house isn’t going to make much difference to her.”
She almost rolled her eyes at his obtuseness. “In my opinion, having your wife looking after your ex-wife is asking a lot of her.”
He made no effort to hide his amusement. “It certainly would be…if she were my wife. But then, she’d be a bigamist and I might have to arrest her.” He turned her chair and they went to a small dining area not far from the kitchen. It was a cozy area with a bay window that brought the beauty of the lawn into the home.
“Hannah is happily married to Sven and I’m happy to have both of them living here. Actually, they live in the garage apartment, but that’s close enough.” He looked past her, flashing his heart-stopping smile. “Looks delicious, Hannah, as usual.”
Sherri glanced around and saw the tray Hannah carried. Behind her, a large blond man carried two wineglasses and a bottle of wine.
“Sven,” Greg said, “this is Sherri. She’ll be staying here until she literally gets back on her feet. Sherri…Sven.”
Sven’s smile dazzled her with its brilliance. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to be immune to all men but Greg.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Sven is one of the best landscapers in the area. He has a thriving business, including a nursery not far from here. He takes care of this place, but refuses to take money for it.” Greg smiled at Sven. “Not a good way to run a business, you know.”
Sven shrugged. “It’s only fair. You don’t accept our rent payments.”
“I definitely get the best of that deal.”
While the two men talked, Hannah quickly placed the food on the table, lit the candles and refilled the water glasses.
Sherri looked at her food and sighed.
“Something wrong?”
“I see that I’m on a soft-food diet. I suppose this is better than clear liquids.”
“The doctor said to keep you on a soft diet for another week. If you have no problems, you could have normal meals again. Believe me, once you taste Hannah’s cooking you’ll know it was worth waiting for.”
She looked at his plate. Mmm. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and what appeared to be fresh green beans. She almost whimpered with longing. Oh well. She picked up her soup spoon and began to eat. Actually, the food was delicious, much better than the hospital’s food.
The room was so quiet she could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the house. She needed to get away from Greg for her own emotional preservation. Right now, though, she intended to enjoy her meal and being in Millie’s home once again.
Once she finished her meal, she said, “This was so good. My compliments to the chef.”
Greg grinned. “My secret weapon to coax you into continuing to stay here.”
She looked at him and he met her gaze. “I don’t understand any of this, Greg. Yes, we used to be married. It didn’t work. We’ve both moved on. Why in the world would you decide to take over my life like this?”
“Is that what it looks like to you?”
“That’s what it is. I’m pretty much confined to this chair until my bones heal.” She paused and said, “Did this chair belong to Millie?”
Greg nodded. “She fell last year and broke her hip.”
“I can see her now, zipping around the place. She was really something.”
“Yes, she was. I miss her a great deal.”
“So, why am I here?” She came back to her question. “And don’t answer a question with a question, okay?”
“I was hoping that we could use this time together as a chance to deal with some of the issues that caused the divorce.”
She frowned. “You’re looking for closure.”
He nodded slowly. “Something like that. You moved out without any warning. You gave me no chance to deal with whatever was bothering you.”
