Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer by Rochelle Alers Read Free Book Online

idol looks and his pedigree meant nothing, because if she did not fight to empower herself, then she would cease to survive.
    She decided to press her attack. “If that’s the case, then I’m going to apply for a teaching position at one of the high schools.”
    Lee closed his eyes for several seconds. He could not believe what he was hearing and wondered to whom Rebecca had been talking. It couldn’t be any of the wives in their social circle, because those women did not work, nor did they want to work outside their homes. Hosting fund-raisers took up most of their free time.
    One thing he did know: He was losing his wife. That he refused to accept. And he had almost lost her before, when she’d discovered that he had been sleeping with a business client. He’d sworn an oath that it would never happen again— and it hadn’t. No woman would ever lure him into her bed again.
    â€œWhy don’t you join some of the clubs you used to belong to?” “And do what, Lee?”
    â€œWhatever it is you women do and talk about.”
    â€œWe talk about everything and nothing. I don’t need to sit around all day with a group of bored, sexually frustrated women who’d rather sleep with pool boys or the young men who come to landscape their property than their husbands. These are the same women who turn their noses up at women who choose to have babies out of wedlock, yet they have the morals of an alley cat in heat. No, thank you.”
    Lee smiled at Rebecca. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, Becky.”
    She shook her head. “No, we won’t. And stop calling me Becky.”
    â€œBut… your father calls you that.”
    â€œHe’s my Daddy, and you’re not!”
    Lee did not know the woman in bed with him. Something or someone had set her off, and he intended to identify who or what it was. “What do you want me to do, Rebecca? If you’re asking my permission to let you go off somewhere by yourself, then my answer is no.”
    â€œI don’t need your permission, Lee. I’m merely informing you that I intend to take the summer off. As soon as the kids are out of school, I’m going away. I’ve given you the past sixteen years of my life, and now all I’m asking for is two months for myself.”
    â€œWhat about Kyle and Ashlee?”
    â€œWhat about them?” she said, answering his question with one of her own. “You’re an intelligent man, Lee. If you’re savvy enough to run a bank, then you should know what to do to take care of your children. However, if you have a problem balancing your career and fatherhood, then I’ll call my parents and ask them to come down to look after their grandchildren in my absence.”
    Turning away from him, Rebecca switched off her lamp, then lay with her back to her husband and closed her eyes.

Six
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    If only I knew the truth, I swear I would act on it.
    â€”Paul Goodman
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    R ebecca woke up to find the space next to her empty.
    It was Saturday morning, and Lee had gotten up early to play golf. Her children were away, and she had the house to herself, at least until late afternoon when Lee returned from the country club.
    Turning over on her belly, she buried her face in the pillow, smothering the laughter bubbling up in her throat. She’d done it! She had freed herself from the invisible shackles that made her a prisoner. Now, all she had to do was decide where she was going to spend the summer. She thought about the pile of brochures she had hidden away under a stack of papers in a desk drawer.
    She took a leisurely shower, singing loudly at the top of her lungs. After going through the ritual of moisturizing her body, she pulled a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top over her underwear. Returning to the bedroom, she slipped her bare feet into a pair of leather sandals she should have discarded last summer, then went into the kitchen to brew a