Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [99]
“Did you have an appointment with an attorney?” he demanded.
“Yes,” she hissed back.
The admission so deflated and discouraged him, he released her hand and slumped against the bedroom door.
She could have slugged him then and he wouldn’t have cared. He sincerely doubted he would’ve felt anything beyond the numbness that had taken hold of his heart. She wanted a divorce.
Breathing hard, Margaret stood in front of him. “I didn’t originally contact him about filing for divorce,” she said after a long pause.
Puzzled, he chanced looking up. Her hands were braced against her hips, but the defensive stance was gone, replaced with a more guarded one.
She surprised him by suddenly moving into the room, sitting on the end of the bed, her back toward him. “I did talk to an attorney. Divorce was one of the options he presented.”
Matt swallowed hard. “That isn’t what I want, Margaret.”
She snickered softly. “At this point, I’m not overly concerned with your wishes.”
He suspected that was true.
“I needed to know what my legal rights are in regard to Sheryl and her…baby.”
“I talked to an attorney, too.”
“I knew that,” she said, sounding matter-of-fact. “But I wasn’t interested in talking to the same attorney you had.”
Rather than question her reasoning, he asked, “What did your attorney say?”
“Nothing that I didn’t already know. We’re financially and emotionally responsible for your…daughter. It’ll mean you and Sheryl will have to develop a parenting plan. The child will be spending time here, vacations, holidays—for at least the next eighteen years. She’ll be part of our lives.”
“She’s my responsibility, I’ll—”
“Get real,” Margaret snapped. “If we’re married, she’ll be in this house, eating, sleeping, calling you daddy right along with our child. She’s going to need your love—and mine.”
As Margaret had just reminded him, he wasn’t the only one involved in this. The child would be a constant reminder of his faults, of the pain he’d caused his wife. More than that, he was asking her to love his daughter. No wonder Margaret was feeling overwhelmed. So far, all he’d sought was her forgiveness, her acceptance. That had been paramount in his mind. Everything else—the ramifications of fatherhood and of Margaret being his child’s stepmother—had escaped him.
“You’re right.”
She didn’t respond. Her back was to him so he couldn’t see her face, couldn’t read her thoughts or gauge her feelings.
“Do you want out of the marriage?” he asked bluntly.
“I don’t know yet.”
“I said I’d fight for you, fight for our marriage, and I meant it.” He exhaled sharply. “But if you really want out, then I’ll abide by your wishes.”
He stood and started to walk away.
“Why the change of heart?” She seemed genuinely curious.
“It’s asking too much of you…I wanted, needed, your forgiveness, but this goes beyond that. Way beyond…”
“Yes,” she whispered brokenly, “it does.”
With nothing more to say, Matt left the bedroom. Sadie was back at the sink peeling potatoes when he walked through the kitchen.
She glanced at him and then did a double take. “What happened?”
He shook his head, unable to answer.
“That bad?”
“That bad,” he echoed.
Fifteen
Buffalo Bob replaced the telephone receiver, but continued to grip the phone. He needed to hold on to something. Anything.
Pain, followed by escalating anger, charged through him. He felt breathless, as though he’d been kicked in the gut. Not knowing what to do, he sank into the chair and waited for the shock to pass. He had to be in control of his own emotions before he could deal with Merrily’s.
“Bob, I—” Merrily came into the office and stopped short when she saw the look on his face. In that instant she must have known. “What is it?” she asked, her voice small and fragile.
For the life of him, he couldn’t answer her. Not yet.
“Bob?” she cried.
“That…that was Doug Alder,” he whispered hoarsely.
“He heard about the adoption?”
Bob nodded and slowly got to his feet. “Sit down, sweetheart.”
“Sit down? Does that mean you have something to tell