too involved personally to be counseling either one of them.”
“Yeah, I guess.” As he picked up his car keys from the counter, he frowned. “I just don’t understand how something like this could happen.”
She gazed at Cal’s troubled face and found herself wishing Lynn and Jim could settle their differences, not only for themselves but for their sons. Cal and Ethan loved their parents, and this estrangement was painful for them.
Once again she wondered what had happened to Lynn and Jim Bonner. For years they seemed to have managed to live together very well. Why had they separated now?
Jim Bonner strode into the Blue Ridge dining room at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville’s most famous hotel and resort. It had always been one of Lynn’s favorite places, and he’d asked her to meet him here for lunch. Perhaps its pleasant associations would soften his stubborn wife’s heart.
The Grove Park Inn had been constructed at the turn of the century to serve as a luxurious refuge from the summer heat for the nation’s wealthy. Built into the side of Sunset Mountain from rough-hewn granite, the massive structure was either ugly or splendid, depending on your viewpoint.
The Blue Ridge dining room, like the rest of the hotel, was furnished in the rustic charm of the Arts and Crafts movement. He walked down several steps that led to a lower dining area and spotted Lynn sitting at a small table positioned by the tall windows that overlooked the mountains. He drank in the sight of her.
Since he refused to visit her on Heartache Mountain, he either had to telephone or watch for her when he knew she’d be coming to town. He made excuses to drop by church on Wednesday evenings when she met with the worship committee and kept his eyes peeled for her car in the Ingles grocery store lot.
For her part, she seemed to do her best to avoid him. She always chose times when she knew she wouldn’t run into him to stop at the house, either when he had office hours or was making his hospital rounds. He’d been relieved when she’d agreed to meet him today.
His pleasure at the sight of her faded into irritation. This past month didn’t seem to have changed her, while he felt bruised and old. She wore a loosely woven lavender-and-cream jacket that he’d always liked, along with silver earrings and a silky top and skirt. As he pulled out the heavy wooden chair across from her, he tried to convince himself those were marks of sleeplessness he saw under her eyes, but they were probably only shadows cast by the light coming in through the windows.
She gave him the same cordial nod she used to greet strangers. What had happened to the enchanting young mountain girl who’d giggled uncontrollably and decorated his dinner table with dandelions?
The waiter approached, and Jim ordered two glasses of their favorite wine, only to have Lynn request a Diet Pepsi instead. After the waiter left, he regarded her inquisitively.
“I’ve gained five pounds,” she explained.
“You’re on hormone replacement therapy. You have to expect some weight gain.”
“It’s not the pills that are doing it to me; it’s Annie’s cooking. If something doesn’t have a stick of butter in it, she doesn’t think it’s edible.”
“Sounds to me as if the best way to get those five pounds off would be to come home.”
She paused for a moment before she spoke. “Heartache Mountain has always been my home.”
He felt as if a cold draft had blown across the back of his neck. “I’m talking about your real home. Our home.”
Instead of responding, she picked up the menu and began to study it. The waiter delivered their drinks and took their order. While they waited for their food, Lynn spoke of the weather and a concert she had attended the week before. She reminded him to have the air conditioner checked and talked about some new road construction. It made him ache inside. This beautiful woman who used to speak only from her heart now never did.
She seemed determined to avoid anything personal, but he knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid talking about their sons. “Gabe called from Mexico last night. Apparently neither of his brothers has seen fit to tell him you’ve moved out.”
Concern furrowed her brow. “You didn’t say anything, did you? He’s got enough to deal with as it is. I don’t want him worrying.”
“No, I didn’t say anything.”
Her relief was visible. “I’m so worried about him. I wish he’d come home.”
“Maybe someday.”
“I’m worried about Cal, too. Have you noticed?”
“He looks fine to me.”
“Better than fine. I saw him in town yesterday, and I’ve never seen him look happier. I don’t understand it, Jim. He’s always been a good judge of character, and that woman’s going to break his heart. Why can’t he see her for what she is?”
Jim grew grim at the thought of his new daughter-in-law. He’d seen her on the street a few days earlier, and she’d walked right past him, just as if he didn’t exist. She’d refused to show up at church, declined social invitations from some of the nicest women in town, and even failed to attend a testimonial dinner for Cal the Jaycees had given. The only person she’d give the time of day to seemed to be Kevin Tucker. None of it boded well for his son.
“I don’t understand it,” Lynn went on. “How can he be so happy when he’s married to such a… a…”
“Cold-hearted bitch.”
“I hate her. I can’t help it. She’s going to hurt him badly, and he doesn’t deserve it.” Her brow furrowed, and her voice developed a huskiness that indicated the depth of her upset. “All these years we’ve waited for him to settle down and marry someone nice, someone who loved him, but look who he’s picked-a woman who doesn’t care about anyone but herself.” She regarded him with troubled eyes. “I wish there was something we could do.”
“We can’t even straighten out our own troubles, Lynn. How could we expect to solve Cal’s?”
“It’s not the same thing. He’s- He’s vulnerable.”
“And we’re not?”
For the first time, she sounded vaguely defensive. “I didn’t say that.”
Bitterness tightened his chest and rose like bile in his throat. “I’ve just about had it with this cat and mouse game you’re playing. I’m warning you, Lynn; I’m not going to put up with it much longer.”
He realized right away that he’d made a mistake. Lynn didn’t like being backed into a corner, and she always met aggression with her own brand of quiet stubbornness. Now she regarded him levelly. “Annie told me to tell you she doesn’t want you calling the house.”
“Well, that’s just too bad.”
“She’s really angry with you.”
“Annie’s been angry with me since I was eight years old.”
“That’s not true. Her health is making her cranky.”
“If she’d stop putting a stick of butter in everything, she might start feeling better.” He leaned back in the chair. “You know why she doesn’t want us talking. It’s because she’s got a good thing going having you on Heartache Mountain full-time to take care of her. She won’t give that up easily.”
“Is that what you think?”
“You bet it is.”
“You’re wrong. She’s trying to protect me.”
“From me? Yeah, right.” His voice softened. “Damn it, Lynn, I’ve been a good husband to you. I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
She looked down at her plate, and then up at him, her eyes full of pain. “It’s always about you, isn’t it, Jim? From the very beginning everything has revolved around you. What you deserve. How you felt. What kind of mood you were in. I’ve built my life around trying to please you, and it hasn’t worked.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Look, forget everything I said that night. I didn’t mean any of it. I was just-I don’t know-having some kind of mid-life crisis or something. I like you the way you are. You’ve been the best wife a man could ever have. Let’s just forget all of this happened and go back to the way things were.”
“I can’t do that because
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Someplace inside you there’s this knot of resentment that formed the day we got married and has never gone
