had no doubt she would have been frowning.
He slid his glasses back down on his nose. “What’s a ten-letter word for flawless?”
“Perfection,” she said. “I found it under Delaney’s bed.”
“What? Perfection?”
“No, the wedding veil. Perfection is a ten-letter word for flawless.”
“So is Honey Leigh.” He smiled at her.
“I doubt that’s what the makers of your crossword puzzle had in mind,” she said dryly. “Delaney bought this at aconsignment shop. If she thinks I’m going to let her wear this shabby thing at her wedding, she’s going to have to think again.”
“I think it looks nice,” he said.
“You would,” Honey grumbled and set the veil down on the edge of the bed. “It’s from a consignment shop.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s tacky. It’s been on other women’s heads.” Honey shuddered.
“What were you doing snooping in her room?”
“I wasn’t snooping,” she said defensively.
“No?”
“If you must know, I went to turn down her covers so she could slip right into bed when she gets home from her date with Evan. I expect they’ll be out late since this is the last night they’ll have together for six weeks. I saw the corner of the veil sticking out from underneath her bed and pulled it out for a look. What perplexes me is why she would want to wear a used veil. I’ve raised her better than that.”
“You’re too hard on her,” he said, but thought,
Who are you, Martha Stewart?
“Cut her some slack.”
“We’ve had this discussion a million times.”
“And you always win.”
“That’s right, and don’t make me say why.”
Skylar.
Their eldest daughter’s name hung in the air between them, painful as a third-degree burn. Jim Bob blinked and stared hard at the crossword puzzle.
He couldn’t say for sure when his marriage had started to unravel; certainly Skylar’s death had been a pivotal turning point. But if he were being honest, Jim Bob would admit the marriage had been fraying long before then,and he had no real idea why. He still loved Honey, deep down inside, but they hadn’t been close in a very long time.
In fact, when he thought back on their life together, he wondered if they’d ever really been emotionally intimate. Honey was always on guard, worried about presenting a glossy image of the impeccable wife, hostess, mother, or what have you. It felt like she was a consummate actress who’d perfected a role in a long-running play, and she was determined to get rave reviews each and every night.
And she expected him to play the perfect leading man, although she never hesitated to let him know how he failed to live up to the role.
He supposed her insistence on living what she called the “proper way” came from being a blue blood with a pedigree she could trace back to European royalty. While his family, before his great-grandfather had struck oil back in the 1920s, had been nothing but dirt-poor farmers. For reasons he couldn’t fathom, foolish things like not allowing Delaney to wear a used wedding veil mattered greatly to his wife.
With a clarity undiminished by the passing years, Jim Bob remembered the first time he laid eyes on Honey. He’d been attending a summer seminar at the University of Pennsylvania, and he’d seen her striding purposefully across campus as if she knew exactly who she was and where she was going and she wasn’t about to let anything or anyone stand in her way.
That strong sense of purpose was what had initially attracted him to her. She possessed a special something that he lacked—a driving force that pushed her to continually better herself. He admired the quality, but honestly did not fully understand it. Honey was a doer, whereasJim Bob was just happy to be along for the ride. In that regard, Delaney had taken after him.
Growing up the youngest of the three Cartwright brothers, with a larger-than-life father, Jim Bob had gotten lost in the shuffle of his legendary family. He
He slid his glasses back down on his nose. “What’s a ten-letter word for flawless?”
“Perfection,” she said. “I found it under Delaney’s bed.”
“What? Perfection?”
“No, the wedding veil. Perfection is a ten-letter word for flawless.”
“So is Honey Leigh.” He smiled at her.
“I doubt that’s what the makers of your crossword puzzle had in mind,” she said dryly. “Delaney bought this at aconsignment shop. If she thinks I’m going to let her wear this shabby thing at her wedding, she’s going to have to think again.”
“I think it looks nice,” he said.
“You would,” Honey grumbled and set the veil down on the edge of the bed. “It’s from a consignment shop.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s tacky. It’s been on other women’s heads.” Honey shuddered.
“What were you doing snooping in her room?”
“I wasn’t snooping,” she said defensively.
“No?”
“If you must know, I went to turn down her covers so she could slip right into bed when she gets home from her date with Evan. I expect they’ll be out late since this is the last night they’ll have together for six weeks. I saw the corner of the veil sticking out from underneath her bed and pulled it out for a look. What perplexes me is why she would want to wear a used veil. I’ve raised her better than that.”
“You’re too hard on her,” he said, but thought,
Who are you, Martha Stewart?
“Cut her some slack.”
“We’ve had this discussion a million times.”
“And you always win.”
“That’s right, and don’t make me say why.”
Skylar.
Their eldest daughter’s name hung in the air between them, painful as a third-degree burn. Jim Bob blinked and stared hard at the crossword puzzle.
He couldn’t say for sure when his marriage had started to unravel; certainly Skylar’s death had been a pivotal turning point. But if he were being honest, Jim Bob would admit the marriage had been fraying long before then,and he had no real idea why. He still loved Honey, deep down inside, but they hadn’t been close in a very long time.
In fact, when he thought back on their life together, he wondered if they’d ever really been emotionally intimate. Honey was always on guard, worried about presenting a glossy image of the impeccable wife, hostess, mother, or what have you. It felt like she was a consummate actress who’d perfected a role in a long-running play, and she was determined to get rave reviews each and every night.
And she expected him to play the perfect leading man, although she never hesitated to let him know how he failed to live up to the role.
He supposed her insistence on living what she called the “proper way” came from being a blue blood with a pedigree she could trace back to European royalty. While his family, before his great-grandfather had struck oil back in the 1920s, had been nothing but dirt-poor farmers. For reasons he couldn’t fathom, foolish things like not allowing Delaney to wear a used wedding veil mattered greatly to his wife.
With a clarity undiminished by the passing years, Jim Bob remembered the first time he laid eyes on Honey. He’d been attending a summer seminar at the University of Pennsylvania, and he’d seen her striding purposefully across campus as if she knew exactly who she was and where she was going and she wasn’t about to let anything or anyone stand in her way.
That strong sense of purpose was what had initially attracted him to her. She possessed a special something that he lacked—a driving force that pushed her to continually better herself. He admired the quality, but honestly did not fully understand it. Honey was a doer, whereasJim Bob was just happy to be along for the ride. In that regard, Delaney had taken after him.
Growing up the youngest of the three Cartwright brothers, with a larger-than-life father, Jim Bob had gotten lost in the shuffle of his legendary family. He
Similar Books
