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Dolly Departed dtdf-3

Page 23

by Deb Baker


  "I think there will be some emotional scars for a few others. Ryan and Melany have a long way to go."

  "Everything will work out for Ryan and Melany," Nina said with a knowing look on her face. "What about you?

  Where's Matt Albright?"

  Gretchen sat at the very top of Camelback Mountain. She barely noticed the birds, or the beautiful sunny February day, or the spectacular view of the city below her. She chewed her lip and waited. The inside of her mouth was raw from worrying it.

  Late afternoon, and the lower cliffs of the mountain were crowded with inexperienced climbers. Groups of them sat on the big boulder, the same boulder where Matt had held her hand and kissed her.

  She remembered his exact words. "Once my divorce is final, you have to give me a chance."

  "I'd climb a mountain for you," he'd said when he called to remind her of the court date and time. As though she could forget. The divorce hearing had begun at one o'clock.

  "I expect you to climb all the way to the topmost peak,"

  she had said, laughing.

  "The top!" he'd replied. "I'll never make it that far."

  "The top," she'd insisted.

  Neither of them had mentioned the other possibility-

  that the divorce would be postponed again.

  Gretchen checked her watch. Four thirty. Three and a half hours since the final hearing was scheduled to begin. He wasn't coming.

  Her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her pocket, reading his number on the caller ID. Her dwindling spirit fell further. He was calling to say he wasn't coming. She didn't answer the phone.

  Now what? Keep waiting? The divorce might never happen. Gretchen had to move on with her life. She stood up. Her phone rang again. Him again. She sighed and answered it. "Hey, I know, it didn't happen. And I can't wait-"

  "I'm a free man," Matt said. "Single. Dashing. Intelligent."

  Gretchen glanced down the mountain. So why wasn't he climbing to meet her? Had he reconsidered, decided to give bachelorhood a try? Maybe he wanted another fashionmodel Arizona woman like Kayla.

  "You're wondering why I'm not crawling up the mountain on my belly, right?"

  "It crossed my mind."

  "If we're going to get our relationship off on the right path, we have to be willing to make an effort."

  "Okay." Where was this going?

  "Both of us."

  "Absolutely."

  "I thought," Matt said, "you should meet me halfway."

  Gretchen grinned.

  "I'm up past the boulder. See me waving?"

  Gretchen did see him.

  "This is as far as I've ever gone. Get your cute bod down here to meet me, woman."

  Gretchen tucked the phone into her pocket and started down the mountain.

  FB2 document info

  Document ID: fbd-9bcfe6-1ad6-404c-ab9a-cc58-cf8f-6bfc5f

  Document version: 1

  Document creation date: 09.06.2011

  Created using: calibre 0.8.4, Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 software

  Document authors :

  Alaskin

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