about the present or the future. Maybe this is just a fling for him.”
“Del isn’t a fling sort of guy.”
“What if he’s only keeping me around because he feels sorry for me?”
Annie May punched the button for the lobby level and twisted her mouth in disgust. “What if we all turn into flying monkeys? If you’re going to worry, worry about something realistic. Del doesn’t feel sorry for you.”
“Then what does he feel?”
Annie May shrugged. “I don’t know. You two need to work that out for yourselves.”
The elevator doors opened. Josie propelled herself toward the parking lot. “What we need is time.” She rolled to a stop. “Annie May, would you please not tell him what the doctor said?”
The petite woman walked around to stand in front of Josie. She planted her hands on her hips. “Girl, I am not going to lie for you again.”
“Don’t lie, just don’t tell him the truth.”
“Oh, there’s a differentiation. No. It’s time, Josie. Just come clean. Tell Del you’re cleared to start walking and you want to talk about the relationship.”
“I’m afraid of giving him an excuse to get rid of me. We’re not married anymore. There are no emotional or legal ties. He let me go once, why wouldn’t he let me go again? Please, Annie May, just for a couple of weeks. Then I swear I’ll tell him myself.”
The older woman pressed her lips together. “Damn. I know you’re technically divorced, but you’ve been living together and from what I can guess, sharing a bed. That sounds like marriage to me.”
“But it isn’t.”
“I know.”
“Just a couple of weeks. I want to be sure about Del before I give him an excuse to get rid of me.”
“That boy is crazy about you. He’s not interested in being on his own again.” The fiery redhead sighed. “All right. Against my better judgment I’ll keep quiet. But only for two weeks. If you haven’t come clean by then, I’ll tell him myself. You understand me?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Annie May led the way out of the building, grumbling with every step. “I’m just too softhearted for my own good. People are always taking advantage of me. I should know better.”
Josie was too busy with her own thoughts to listen. She had a brief reprieve until it was all going to hit the fan, she thought glumly. Right now she and Del were caught up in a game of playing house. What would happen when the game ended and it was time to get on with their real lives?
Chapter Fifteen
Three days later Josie wheeled herself into the old Miller house. Del had promised her a surprise, so she knew that it was going to look different, but she wasn’t prepared for what awaited her inside the freshly stained door.
Fading afternoon light glinted off the newly washed chandelier sparkling overhead in the foyer. To the left was the parlor, converted to a library-sitting room, complete with built-in bookcases. In front of her, the main living area’s newly polished floor gleamed. There were new windows, fresh paint and restored moldings.
“I can’t believe it,” she breathed. “Del, you’ve done an amazing job.”
“It wasn’t just me,” he said, walking beside her. “The crew worked hard.”
“It shows. Everywhere.”
She rounded the corner and faced the kitchen. The last time she’d seen it, the room had been gutted. Pipes had jutted out of the walls, and the flooring had looked as if it had been the site of a battle. Now custom cabinets covered three of the four walls. There was a double sink, granite countertops, a center island and a brand-new bay window.
“I love it,” she told him.
“Wait until you see the upstairs. We’re not done with the master suite, but it’s going to be terrific. Give me another week on that, then I’ll carry you up to see it.”
Josie felt a flash of guilt at Del’s words. She was spending nearly three hours a day on her feet, and he didn’t know. As far as he was concerned, she was still confined to her wheelchair. She knew she had to come clean and soon, but she was so afraid of what he would say. Did he want her to stay or go?
“I hope you don’t have any second thoughts,” he said, walking into the kitchen and opening one of the cupboards. He smoothed his hand across the grain of the wood.
“About what?”
“The third floor. Originally you’d wanted it as an exercise room and office.”
She grimaced. “That was a long time ago-when we were still fighting about everything from what brand of jam to buy to how to remodel this house. I really liked your plans for the third floor.”
He’d wanted the attic converted to a master suite, because he’d wanted the other bedrooms for their children. At the time, Josie hadn’t been interested in babies, but she’d changed her mind on that one. She did want children and she wanted them with Del.
If only she could find the courage to ask him to give her a second chance. To give
“I don’t say this to be mean,” he told her as he closed the cabinet and faced her. “I think it’s good we never bought this house.”
She knew what he meant. “You’re right. Our fighting would have destroyed it. If not physically, then its spirit or whatever it is houses have.”
He leaned against the center island. “You’re not the only one who has changed, Josie. I’m different, too. I accept my responsibility in what went wrong before. If I could have known what I know now, I would have done it all differently.”
What was he saying? “Me, too,” she whispered.
“I asked you before what you were going to do about this house. Have you decided?”
She shook her head. If they had a chance of working things out, then she wanted to keep the house for them. If not, she would sell it and go back to Los Angeles. She couldn’t stay in Beachside Bay and be close to Del, knowing he would never love her again.
“Are you going to stay in town for a while?” he asked.
That she could answer. She met his direct gaze and nodded. “Yes.” He’d asked the question. She forced herself to take the next step. “We’re different people today.”
“Agreed. Which complicates everything.”
How did it complicate anything? she wanted to ask. Damn him for being cryptic. Not that she was being forthcoming, either.
“Maybe we should start with getting to know each other again,” she murmured, averting her gaze, then holding her breath.
“I kind of thought we were. Or was that some other wildcat in my bed last night?”
His words made her blush but also eased her tension. “It was me.”
He came around the center island to her wheelchair. “I was teasing,” he said. “I’d very much like for us to get to know each other again. If you’re willing.”
Her heart pounded so loudly, she was sure the neighbors could hear it. “I’d like that very much.”
Del stepped into the private cubicle the bank provided for its safety deposit box customers. He sat in the chair and slowly raised the cover on the narrow metal box.
There were several documents, including the pink slips for his truck and his car, a deed to the house and copies of his and his parents’ wills. There were also two velvet-covered jewelry boxes.
He opened the first and saw a plain gold man’s wedding band. After picking it up, he glanced at the inscription
