Her Heart's Divide by Kathleen Dienne Read Free Book Online Page A

groceries he’d fetched for us down on the table. “It always seems to happen on the old Coller Road, and if there were any other way to get to town in under two hours, I’d take it rather than go that way again. As it is, I still might go around the mountain next time.”
    We were wondering what to say when the phone rang.
    I picked it up. “Hello?”
    “Hey, Li, it’s Allison. Is…my husband there?”
    “Allison! Aren’t you in Sedona?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack swallow hard and sit down.
    “Not anymore. There are some things I can’t say over the phone, so I cut the trip short. Flew into Roanoke a few hours ago and cabbed it home.”
    “Are you ever going to get a cell phone? I could have picked you up.”
    “They give you brain cancer, Lila,” she said very seriously.
    “You don’t have to glue it to your skull. Carrying it in your purse is fine.”
    My best girlfriend laughed. “Talk me into it later. Seriously, is…my husband there?”
    This time I noticed the pause. “Yeah, Jack’s here.”
    “Thank goodness. I had a premonition.”
    “I hope you weren’t driving when the premonition hit you,” I said, trying desperately to keep my voice neutral. Both men winced as I had when they heard my comment.
    “I wasn’t, but I really need to come over. Is that okay?”
    “See you soon. Uh, Allison, it’s been a really weird couple weeks.”
    “You have no idea. See you in a bit.”
    I turned the phone off and looked over to see that Jack had turned pale. “What’s the matter?”
    “I can’t see her—not yet,” Jack said. “I know you guys say she’s my wife, but to me she’s just a friend and a really good office manager. I need to think about what to say.” He looked at Ryan.
    My husband said, “Well, at least she’s the one of us who’s most likely to buy an alternate universe story at face value.”
    “There’s that small comfort.” Jack turned to me. “I know I’m asking a lot, but please don’t tell her anything. This is the kind of thing a man’s got to do himself.”
    “I’ll try, Jack,” I said.
    “Jack, buddy, you’re gonna go down the stairs in front of me,” said Ryan.
    “What for?”
    “If I wobble on this cast and fall down the stairs, I’m taking your ass with me. Let’s go sit by the river and drink beer.”
    “If you fall on me, I can’t carry the beer.”
    Their easy banter made me laugh. Watching them walk down to the river brought tears to my eyes. They were both so handsome, so loving and good. I loved my husband, and while I’d always been fond of Jack as a friend and a boss, knowing that he loved me as a wife had brought my old crush back to life. I loved Ryan more than anything. Was I falling in love with Jack too?

Chapter Eight
    Before I could chase those thoughts, I heard a cheerful beeping noise. Allison’s green convertible VW Bug was spraying gravel as she tore down the driveway. I leaned out of the sliding glass door to the deck and waved.
    “That was fast! What were you doing? Seventy?”
    “At least.” Allison jumped out of the car, and a minute later I heard the back door slam.
    “Want a drink?” I hollered from the kitchen. She followed the sound of my voice, and we hugged our greetings. She looked wonderful, tanned and rested.
    “No, I’m fine. Look, I couldn’t ask you this on the phone. It would have sounded too weird.” She saw my expression and sighed. “I know what you’re thinking, but seriously, this would have been really weird.”
    “You cannot possibly top the month I’m having.” I took a sip of water.
    “Did Jack show up believing that he’s not married to me?”
    I dropped the glass. Allison shrieked with laughter, but she helped me clean sweep the shards off the wooden floor.
    “Alli, it’s fine, really,” I grumbled after she apologized for the tenth time. “What made you say that?”
    “He did, didn’t he? He got here and he didn’t know he was married to me.”
    I looked at my