Betrayal - Fern Michaels [3]
“Three women. It takes time.”
“I bet it does. I called to see if I could give Emily a surprise. Ginger just had another litter, I thought she might want one. What do you say? I wouldn’t want to give her a puppy without your permission.”
Don quickly scrutinized Debbie’s white slacks. She couldn’t deal with a human hair in her perfectly decorated home, let alone dog hairs all over the house. “I would love to say yes, but Deb isn’t very fond of animals. The hair and all. I’m sorry.” Don wouldn’t have minded a pet, but Debbie would rather die than entertain the thought of one.
Don heard Alex’s sigh over the phone. “No problem. I just know how much Emily loves dogs.”
“Maybe when she’s on her own she can take a few dogs off your hands. Right now she’s pretty involved with school and sports. She made the girls’ basketball team again. You should see her. Reminds me of you, Rocket Man, when we were in high school.”
“I haven’t been called that in ages,” Alex said wistfully. “Tell Em I’ll expect a game of one-on-one while she’s here.”
Don smiled. “You can count on it. If the traffic isn’t too bad and the girls are up for the ride, we should be there late tonight, if not, midmorning tomorrow.”
“Either way, we’ll be here waiting. Kate can’t wait to see the girls.”
“They’re excited, too. See you soon, old man.” Don pressed the End button and placed the phone back in its stand.
“Alex and Kate are really anxious to see the girls,” Don said.
Debbie looked at her husband of seventeen years. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember what had attracted her to him in the first place. “Kate’s barren. She warms up to any kid.”
“That’s a mean thing to say. She loves the girls and you know she does,” Don replied, an edge to his voice.
Debbie snickered. “I didn’t say that she didn’t like the girls. I simply stated a fact. The woman is barren. She uses the girls as substitute children.”
“That’s not true, Mom,” Emily said.
“As if you would know. Wait till you have children of your own before you voice an opinion on something you have no clue about. You’re just like your father. You think you know something about everything.”
“Debbie, that’s uncalled for.” She’d been in a bad mood for days. Don was sick of her. “Stop taking whatever’s crawled up your ass out on Emily.”
Emily wanted to say more in defense of Aunt Kate, but an argument with her mother was the last thing she needed at the moment. She resumed reading her novel.
“I’m not taking anything out on Emily. I’m just going along for the ride, Don. We could’ve flown to Asheville, but as usual, you have to control whatever we do. I’m surprised you didn’t tell me what to wear.” Debbie rolled her eyes and picked at her perfectly manicured oval nails.
“Let’s not start, okay? We’ve got a long ride ahead of us, and I’d like to drive in peace.”
“If you’d fly, we wouldn’t have to suffer through this long, boring ride,” Debbie shot back.
“I like to drive. It relaxes me. You know that.”
“Yes, I do. I always do whatever you want, and I’m getting sick and tired of it. Don wants this, Don wants that. What about what Debbie wants? When is that going to matter? Or is it?”
Don floored the gas, passing a semi on I-75 at breakneck speed. He now wished he’d sent Debbie ahead on a plane. She’d spend the next ten hours bitching and complaining. He was tired of it already and they’d been on the road barely an hour.
“Well?” Debbie persisted.
Shoulders tense with both hands in a death grip on the steering wheel, Don had a vision of wrapping his hands around his wife’s neck, squeezing until she drew her last breath. God, this was a marriage? Lately the word divorce kept creeping into his mind, but each time he thought about it, he’d remember all of his hard work and just how much he had to lose. No, he’d put up with her crap a while longer.
With both girls in the backseat, Don mentally calmed himself. He didn’t want them to be as miserable as he was right now.
“For once let’s just enjoy being together. Before long the girls will be away at college. There won’t be any more family