The Rose Ring
Page 32
Sweat trickled down his back. “I can’t lose her. If she ever knew… I can’t allow that to happen. Not ever.” Chris slowed his steps and glanced around at the unfamiliar neighborhood. A bank-owned sign on a white post leaned sideways in the middle of the yard a few feet away. He surveyed the empty driveway and the lock box attached to the front door.
Mustering the will to move, Chris’s last exhausted steps onto the fragmented driveway made him stumble and fall heavily against the concrete. His elbow gashed open, but he didn’t care about the pain. Resting his arms over his knees, his mind sorted through memories of Elizabeth.
Her whispered “I love yous,” or the way she nuzzled alongside him. Her touch set him afire, but the uncontrollable blaze he never wanted quenched, had gone out. His companion, his helpmate, had disappeared.
A picture materialized in his mind betraying what he truly wanted. The images from earlier in the afternoon were too enticing. He allowed them to carve into his heart.
His phone vibrated. Lost in the moment, Chris shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone and flipped it opened.
“Chris?”
“Who’s this?”
“Hmm… ” a sultry voice murmured on the other end. “I never thought you’d forget me so soon.”
He cleared his throat. “This isn’t a good time, Allison.”
“I wanted to make sure you were all right. Thought you would have called after you got back to the office.”
“I… Katherine’s in the hospital.”
“Oh, Chris. Is she all right?” Allison’s provocative tone, turned serious, rattled him.
He shouldn’t have told her about Katherine or, for that matter, anything. Regrets mounted, and Chris sensed steel bars closing around him with every word she spoke.
“I’m coming. Where are you?”
“No!” He jumped to his feet. “You can’t! Elizabeth will find out. She can never find out about—”
“Us, you mean?”
“There is no us, Allison.”
“You need someone. You’ve needed someone for months, and I filled that void. I want to be there for you again. Tell me where to meet, and I’ll be there.”
Chris wrestled to answer. He desired to be cared for and to be wanted. Allison made him feel all those things and more. But right now, he was more concerned about Elizabeth finding out. “You tell me.”
“Since you don’t want me at the hospital, how about the office?”
“Fine.” He snapped the phone shut. Chris didn’t care to be forced into anything, but he couldn’t think of any other way for this to work out. He’d tell her what happened was a mistake. She knew he didn’t love her.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket, took a quick look around, and headed toward the hospital. The massive building stared down on him as conviction ate at his core. A photo sitting on the mantel at home flashed in his mind — Elizabeth holding their precious daughter, kissing her cheek. Tears filled his eyes. He’d framed that picture himself.
Determined to protect his life from shattering around him, Chris knew what he needed to do. Hopefully Allison wouldn’t stand in his way.