Read Online The Color of Love (The Color of Heaven Series) by Julianne MacLean - Free Book Online
Authors: Julianne MacLean
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better. I always thought, maybe someday, he would get tired of climbing and come home to Boston and settle down. Even if we weren’t together as man and wife, I sometimes dreamed that he’d be around to develop a closer relationship with her. But now that will never happen. She’ll never know what it feels like to have a real dad.”
“You don’t know what the future holds,” Audrey reminded me optimistically. “You were always very loyal to Seth, but now that he’s gone, maybe you’ll meet someone.” She quickly covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh God, that was so insensitive. I’m sorry, I have foot-in-mouth disease.”
I rested my elbows on the table. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’ve never thought about having a relationship again. Seth and I may have still been legally married, but practically speaking, we’d been separated for a long time.” I glanced down at Audrey’s wedding ring and felt uneasy about asking the question, but I had to know. “How long was it, after Alex died, before you felt ready to be with someone else?”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Alex was gone for two years when I fell for David.”
I quickly shook my head to clear any thoughts of moving on. It was too soon anyway. There were still so many emotions to deal with.
The waitress came to take our orders, and after she was gone, I leaned back in my chair. “It’s going to take me awhile to get over this. I can’t imagine a life where Seth doesn’t exist. I know we had our problems, but I did love him.”
“I know you did,” Audrey replied, “even when some of us wanted to shake you.”
I raised my water glass to my lips. “I always admired your honesty, even when it was tough to hear.” I set my water glass down again. “Did you know he had a cabin up in Maine? It was close to one of the ski hills.”
“Did he own it?” she asked.
I gave her a look. “Seth…owning property? No. He was renting it, and I hope I don’t have to buy out the lease. Seriously, I don’t even know what’s up there. All his belongings I suppose. We’re going to have to clear it all out when we work through his estate. That’s going to be hard.”
Audrey leaned forward and spoke carefully. “I’m sorry, Carla, but I have to ask. Did he have life insurance?”
I recognized the concern in her eyes, because she knew the situation. The only reason I was able to work part-time at the bank was because Seth sent me money a few times a year, and it was usually a decent sum.
It had always been important to me that I be at home for Kaleigh as much as possible. When she was younger, I didn’t want to put her in full-time daycare. Sure, I needed help sometimes—my neighbor across the hall had always been particularly kind. She was the grandmotherly type who baked cookies and took Kaleigh to the museum.
“Yes, thank goodness,” I replied, reaching for my water again. “We talked about that when I got pregnant and we each got life insurance policies. The amount of his fund should keep me going until she’s at least eighteen.”
The waitress brought our salads.
“That’s a relief,” Audrey said, picking up her fork. “But please, if you ever need help, just let us know. Garry and Jean will be there for you as well. You know that, right?”
I nodded, because Jean was Alex’s mom, and she considered herself Kaleigh’s great aunt, even though they weren’t actually related by blood, as I was only Alex’s half-sister. But that didn’t matter. They were like family to Kaleigh and me. We were blessed to have them in our lives.
I sighed. “We still have the memorial service to plan. Gladys won’t be much help. She’s taking it pretty hard. He was her only child.”
Audrey shook her head. “No parents should ever have to outlive their child.”
“So true.”
We continued to chat about plans for the memorial service—what music we would select, what photographs we’d display. Then Audrey talked
“You don’t know what the future holds,” Audrey reminded me optimistically. “You were always very loyal to Seth, but now that he’s gone, maybe you’ll meet someone.” She quickly covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh God, that was so insensitive. I’m sorry, I have foot-in-mouth disease.”
I rested my elbows on the table. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’ve never thought about having a relationship again. Seth and I may have still been legally married, but practically speaking, we’d been separated for a long time.” I glanced down at Audrey’s wedding ring and felt uneasy about asking the question, but I had to know. “How long was it, after Alex died, before you felt ready to be with someone else?”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Alex was gone for two years when I fell for David.”
I quickly shook my head to clear any thoughts of moving on. It was too soon anyway. There were still so many emotions to deal with.
The waitress came to take our orders, and after she was gone, I leaned back in my chair. “It’s going to take me awhile to get over this. I can’t imagine a life where Seth doesn’t exist. I know we had our problems, but I did love him.”
“I know you did,” Audrey replied, “even when some of us wanted to shake you.”
I raised my water glass to my lips. “I always admired your honesty, even when it was tough to hear.” I set my water glass down again. “Did you know he had a cabin up in Maine? It was close to one of the ski hills.”
“Did he own it?” she asked.
I gave her a look. “Seth…owning property? No. He was renting it, and I hope I don’t have to buy out the lease. Seriously, I don’t even know what’s up there. All his belongings I suppose. We’re going to have to clear it all out when we work through his estate. That’s going to be hard.”
Audrey leaned forward and spoke carefully. “I’m sorry, Carla, but I have to ask. Did he have life insurance?”
I recognized the concern in her eyes, because she knew the situation. The only reason I was able to work part-time at the bank was because Seth sent me money a few times a year, and it was usually a decent sum.
It had always been important to me that I be at home for Kaleigh as much as possible. When she was younger, I didn’t want to put her in full-time daycare. Sure, I needed help sometimes—my neighbor across the hall had always been particularly kind. She was the grandmotherly type who baked cookies and took Kaleigh to the museum.
“Yes, thank goodness,” I replied, reaching for my water again. “We talked about that when I got pregnant and we each got life insurance policies. The amount of his fund should keep me going until she’s at least eighteen.”
The waitress brought our salads.
“That’s a relief,” Audrey said, picking up her fork. “But please, if you ever need help, just let us know. Garry and Jean will be there for you as well. You know that, right?”
I nodded, because Jean was Alex’s mom, and she considered herself Kaleigh’s great aunt, even though they weren’t actually related by blood, as I was only Alex’s half-sister. But that didn’t matter. They were like family to Kaleigh and me. We were blessed to have them in our lives.
I sighed. “We still have the memorial service to plan. Gladys won’t be much help. She’s taking it pretty hard. He was her only child.”
Audrey shook her head. “No parents should ever have to outlive their child.”
“So true.”
We continued to chat about plans for the memorial service—what music we would select, what photographs we’d display. Then Audrey talked
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