Read Online Holiday Homecoming by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page A

sitting alone in front of the
fireplace. “Hey, what are you doing in here all by your lonesome?
We’re making pancakes. Aren’t you going to join us for
breakfast?”
    “Come in here,
sweetheart. I wanna talk to you about somethin’.”
    “What is it?”
She sat down in the leather chair across from him, leaning forward
when he reached for her hand. “What’s going on? You should be
thrilled, yet you seem… I don’t know, so somber.”
    “I’ve been
doin’ a lot of thinkin’ lately.” He slid the diamond rings around
on her fingers. “I’ve been so blessed in my life. You, Alisa, now a
grandbaby. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
    “But?”
Sierra’s heart began to race. She’d never known her husband to be
indecisive. He spoke his mind and dealt with the fallout, yet
lately he seemed to be withdrawing and it scared her. Communication
was the foundation of their relationship and they promised each
other, no matter what, they’d always talk about what bothered them.
They learned the hard way how much misery and heartbreak silence
could cause.
    “I’ve been
lucky in my life, so damn lucky.” He glanced at a row of platinum
records hanging behind his desk. “I don’t know what the hell I did
to deserve all this.” He pointed to his favorite acoustic guitar,
sitting upright in a stand in the corner. “You know how many
thousands of people have a great voice, yet they never make it in
this business?”
    Trey had
always been humble about his success. That was one of the things
she loved about him, but he didn’t downplay his accomplishments. He
worked harder than anyone she knew, and that work ethic allowed him
to believe he earned his success. “Honey, where’s all this comin’
from?”
    “All good
things must come to an end, right? Isn’t that what they say?
Nothin’ lasts forever and all that shit?” He chuckled as he
released her hand and leaned back in the leather club chair. He
closed his eyes and tipped his head back.
    She waited for
him to continue, but when he said nothing, she felt compelled to
ask, “Does this have something to do with us? Are you trying to
tell me you’re unhappy?”
    His eyes flew
open and he raised his head, looking her in the eye a long time
before he asked, “You can’t be serious. Don’t you know that you’re
my anchor? Without you, none of this…” He raised his hands,
gesturing to the awards lining the built-in books shelves. “None of
this means a goddamn thing to me. You’re the reason I wake up in
the mornin’, Sierra. You and our family.”
    Sierra finally
felt like she could breathe again when he gave her the reassurance
she hadn’t realized she needed. She hadn’t thought about that dark
time when she and Trey were divorced in so long. As much as she
wanted to forget that time in their lives, she knew it would always
be a part of her, a painful reminder of what could happen when you
took the love of your life for granted.
    “When you left
me…” His voice cracked and she held up her hand to silence him.
    “Trey, we
don’t have to go there. That was a long time ago.”
    “Yeah, but
it’s important to me that you know. Hell, I don’t ever wanna forget
what I went through back then. It reminds me to never take you or
what we have for granted, ’cause it could all be gone like that.”
He snapped his fingers. “If God took you away from me, I don’t
think I could go on.”
    “Don’t think
about that. Not tonight.” She placed a hand on his knee. “This is
supposed to be a happy time. We just welcomed our first grandchild
into the world. Let’s just enjoy that, instead of looking back on
times we’d rather forget.”
    Almost as
though he didn’t hear her, he continued. “I’d fall into bed drunk,
and I’d wake up in the mornin’ and the first thing I’d do is reach
for a drink.”
    She knew he
was talking about the time they were apart. Trey had always loved a
good party, and scotch was his drink of choice, but he