204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [80]
“Not yet.”
“Did you get the test results?”
Charlotte felt the tears fill her eyes and was grateful that Harry was lying on her lap. Petting him soothed her and just then, with her fears close to overwhelming her, she needed him.
“Mother?” Will said more loudly this time. “Are you still on the line?”
“I’m here.”
“What did the doctor say?”
She hesitated. “Will, I know it would be a terrible inconvenience to you and Georgia, but I was wondering if you’d mind making a trip to Cedar Cove in the near future.”
“Mother, what did Dr. Fred tell you?”
Charlotte bit down hard on her lower lip. “I’m afraid I have cancer.”
Twelve
Zach didn’t want this separation, but Rosie had taken the choice away from him. His soon-to-be ex-wife was the unreasonable one. He’d been shocked and hurt when she’d had him served with divorce papers. Basically he had twenty-four hours to vacate the family home. He was stunned that she’d resort to seeing an attorney and setting everything in motion. Yes, they’d talked about it, but that had been in the heat of an argument. He certainly hadn’t expected her to kick him out of his own home.
Since she was obviously determined to go through with the divorce, Zach hoped they could at least handle the whole process in a civilized manner. Nothing he said or did would convince Rosie that he wasn’t involved with Janice. He’d given up reasoning with her. If his wife had so little faith in him, he was better off without her.
Finding an apartment within a reasonable distance of the house, however, had proved to be a challenge. Luckily Janice had been able to help him look; otherwise, he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done. Rosie knew his work schedule better than anyone, and he’d hoped she would appreciate that with quarterly taxes due and the rush of year-end figures he needed to complete for his business clients, his free time was limited. In that hope, he’d been mistaken. Rosie didn’t seem to care.
Zach was trying hard to maintain a positive attitude for the sake of his children. His relationship with Allison and Eddie was the most important thing to him. He intended to remain a large part of their lives, no matter what the terms of the divorce.
“Do you have to leave?” Eddie asked, looking forlorn. His son sat on the end of the bed in the master bedroom while Zach packed up his half of the closet.
“For now that would be best.” Zach refused to drag his children into his problems with Rosie. They were innocent. Rosie was the one he blamed. She’d been acting like a jealous shrew for weeks, although he figured that was just a symptom of her insecurity—an insecurity he’d done nothing to cause.
“I want you and Allison to come over to my apartment with me, okay?”
“To stay?”
This was difficult. “Your mother and I need to work that out. Right now I just want you to see where I live.”
“Okay.” Eddie sounded like he was trying not to cry. “Can I come any time I want?”
“Of course! My apartment is your home, too.”
Eddie shifted on the mattress and sat on his hands. “Do you still love Mom?”
“Of course I do.” Zach set a work shirt on the stack already in the middle of the bed, then sat down beside his son. He placed his arm around Eddie’s shoulders and struggled for the right words. “Sometimes two people who love each other can’t agree on certain things anymore. When that happens, it’s better if they live apart.”
Eddie lowered his head. “Mom said the same thing.”
Funny that they could agree on the rationale for divorce more than they could agree on anything to do with their marriage. They hadn’t spoken much in the past few weeks. All communication had been through their attorneys, which was ridiculous as far as Zach was concerned, since he’d continued to live at home.
“Allison says this whole divorce is bogus.”
Zach noted that bogus was currently a favorite word of his daughter’s. He didn’t bother to respond.
“Will you talk to Mom?”
Not if he could avoid it, Zach mused. They no longer argued, and for that he was grateful. If anything, Rosie went out of her way