A Wife by Accident by Victoria Ashe Read Free Book Online Page A

situation.
    She thought she might even be missing Gary some—probably caving in under the stress at work and the sheer emptiness of the big stone house while he was away. Charlie stopped by to check on her from time to time, but after a full week and then two had passed, she found herself straining her neck toward the door at every sound.
    Soon after Gary had gone out of town, the much-anticipated shipment of furniture had arrived all the way from Vermont and Hayely couldn’t wait to show it off.
    The den looked like something from a hundred years ago with its heavy mahogany wood and rich brown leather. The desk and chair she’d chosen for Gary simply oozed understated power. A rug twisted with muted colors rested between the furniture legs and the hardwood floor below. With a painting of the English countryside she’d particularly liked and a plant or two, Hayely called that room complete and moved her efforts fully to the master bedroom.
    When Gary returned he would find a giant bed with four posts carved of mahogany in the same style as his desk downstairs in the den. Those gauzy, cream-colored curtains she’d envisioned were in place, as was the rest of the bedroom furniture. She even painted the walls a dark cream and hung a large, medieval-looking tapestry full of reds and blues against one of them as a finishing touch.
    Then her attention turned toward her own room. Why the movers had instructed her things delivered to the bedroom next to Gary’s was beyond her. Surely he wouldn’t have requested such an arrangement, but then, it was the second largest bedroom. The location was probably her fault—she realized it when she walked into the room. There in the corner was her own stone fireplace, just as she’d requested.
    As night fell, she started a small fire and curled up in front of the hearth with a book. She pulled her comforter off the bed and smoothed it out underneath her for some cushioning. Some thick, plush carpeting was definitely in order.
    Hayely’s mind wandered from the novel in her hand as she stared off into the hypnotic flames. What would she do with herself in just five months? If office work wasn’t her calling, then what was? The only time she was truly content was when she was working in this house for Gary. But that would all end soon—too soon. Six months rang out like a harsh jail sentence at first, but now she almost dreaded the end of that time.
    She was so absorbed in her thoughts and so very tired from the day’s work that she didn’t hear the sound of a car arriving in the winding driveway outside.
    •
    The yellow cab slipped through the rain and turned its wheels against the circular curb near the front door. Gary stepped out of the taxi, tipped the driver and pulled his luggage inside. From the silence that met him, he assumed Charlie had returned to his own house and Hayely was probably asleep upstairs.
    “Anybody home?” He kept his voice low just in case.
    Charlie rose from the kitchen table as his boss entered the room. “Good trip?”
    Gary nodded and looked around the transformed kitchen and out into the formal dining room. “You really ought to just move in, too. You practically live here anyway.” He paused and took in the changes around him. “She’s made quite a bit of progress, hasn’t she?”
    Charlie nodded in return. “So what did Mr. Bellmark have to say?”
    “He nearly confirmed that the children’s home is up for sale. He has plans for it, but he hasn’t confided in me what they are. It’s hard to believe that the time has come already. Did you know he’s almost eighty-years-old now?”
    Charlie shook his head. “I haven’t seen him in years. Seems like a lifetime ago. Any luck convincing him to let you buy it from him?”
    Gary chuckled low in his throat. “I don’t think he believed me when I told him I wasn’t going to let anyone bulldoze the place.”
    “I wouldn’t doubt it. You were just ten years old then.”
    Gary gave Charlie a