Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [95]
“Then so be it,” Dennis shouted, shocking her by banging his fist on the table.
She leaped at the unexpected noise. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Calla. You. Everything. I’ve stood silently by, put up with her bad moods and insults for years. I’m not having a teenager talk to me like I’m scum, nor will I allow her to insult my wife.”
“She’s my daughter—”
“I’m your husband.”
“Don’t you see—”
“All I see,” Dennis said, rising to his feet, “is the two of us walking on eggshells in an effort to appease her. I’m fed up with it, fed up with watching what she does to you—the way you feel whenever she rejects you.”
“I was the one who lied to her…I should have told her…”
“You were protecting her just like you are now. She doesn’t need your protection anymore. Furthermore, she doesn’t want it. She was seventeen last month and it’s time she grew up. Time she accepted responsibility for her own life instead of blaming everyone else.”
“But—”
“You’re allowing the guilt you feel about your first marriage to affect our lives. I won’t stand for it any longer.”
Trembling, Sarah sank into the chair. “I can’t believe you’re saying these things. Don’t you realize…Don’t you understand?”
“I understand that you’ve placed me in an impossible position. If Calla can’t treat me with the respect due another human being, then she’s no longer welcome in my home.”
“This is my home, too.”
Dennis sadly shook his head. “I’ve told you the way I feel. How you respond is up to you, but if Calla’s ever here when I come home, I guess that’ll be my answer, won’t it?”
“She’s my daughter….” Sarah didn’t know why it was so important to keep reminding him of that, especially when the girl had chosen to live elsewhere. Calla had repeatedly turned her back on Sarah. The situation just never seemed to get better, despite all her efforts, and now it was creating tension in her marriage.
Dennis reached for his beer, raised it to his lips, then put it down. “I need to think,” he said. “I’m going out for a while.”
“You’re leaving?”
He was already halfway out the door. “Yeah,” he said, “I’m leaving.”
Sarah watched him go, then buried her face in her hands. The entire conversation had gone badly. She’d been angry and frustrated and she’d taken everything out on Dennis.
Sarah felt sick again, both emotionally and physically. She was trapped between the two people she loved most in this world. Calla had been rude and spiteful to Dennis all along, going out of her way to cause problems.
If that was her goal, then she’d succeeded.
Sarah acknowledged that her daughter had inflicted numerous cruelties on Dennis and that Dennis had never let her goad him into overt anger. Maybe it was time for some decisive action. Maybe Sarah had to stand up for her husband and say no to Calla.
Dennis didn’t return for dinner. Because of the baby, Sarah forced herself to eat, but she could only stomach a few small bites. At ten, she turned out the lights and went to bed. After years of sleeping alone, she was surprised to discover that a bed could feel so empty.
Sleep was impossible. Shortly after midnight, when she heard the front door open and the floor creak, she tossed aside the covers and hurried into the dark living room.
“Dennis?”
“I’m here.” He switched on a table lamp, casting the room in a muted glow.
She flew into his arms, hugging him. “I’m so sorry,” she wept, “so sorry.”
He nuzzled her neck, his hands in her hair. “I’m sorry, too. I’ll try to be more patient with Calla.” He breathed the words, as though it’d taken great effort to speak them.
“No—you’re right. We can’t let Calla behave this way. I won’t let her come between us.”
Dennis held her face tenderly between his hands and kissed her. “I love you, Sarah Urlacher.”
“I love you, too,” she said, and slid her arm around his waist. She led him toward the bedroom, knowing she’d be able to sleep now that she’d made peace with her husband.
“I’m supposed to do what?” Jeb demanded of Maddy as they drove into Buffalo Valley.
“We’re having a meeting about the town park,” Maddy