Read Online The Good Wife by Jane Porter - Free Book Online

“Hear me?”
    “Yes.”
    “Yes, what?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Now go play nicely, you’ve only got fifteen minutes left and then we’re heading home to make dinner.” Sarah watched as Brennan chased after Gabi, who no longer wanted to play with her cousin and was telling him so in no uncertain terms.
    “They’re fine,” Meg said.
    Sarah turned to look at Meg, who was sitting bathed in late-afternoon light. “Are you?” she asked softly.
    “What?” Meg asked, folding her arms across her chest.
    “I’m worried about you, Meg.”
    “You don’t need to be. I’m a tough girl.”
    “That’s not the same thing as happy.”
    “Happy is overrated.”
    Sarah studied Meg’s tense expression, trying to work up the courage to ask her the question that had been burning inside of her since their conversation in the dining room. “Did Chad make you happy?”
    “Oh, Sarah, why?”
    Sarah dropped onto the bench next to Meg and faced her. “Because I want to know. I want to understand. Were you happy when you were with him?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You don’t know?”
    “I’ve closed a door on all that. What happened was so hurtful, I’m better off not remembering.”
    “But if you loved Jack, what was Chad?”
    Meg groaned and looked away, focusing on Tessa and Ella, who were now swinging together in one swing with Ella on Tessa’s lap. “A diversion,” she said flatly.
    Sarah glanced around to be sure there were no little bodies around and that they wouldn’t be overheard. “Didn’t you love him?”
    “Not the way I love Jack.”
    “But you . . . you slept with Chad for weeks. Had this torrid affair with him. And you’re telling me it meant nothing?”
    Meg turned her head, met Sarah’s gaze. “I won’t say it meant nothing, but it certainly wasn’t love and marriage and a baby carriage.”
    “Why?”
    “I just never saw myself with him. Not long term. And I tried, but I couldn’t picture him with the kids, going to their events, or living in our house, or me living in his.”
    “So what was he? Just a fling? Sex?”
    Meg grimaced. “I guess.”
    “You guess?”
    Meg looked back to Tessa and Ella, who were swinging high now, and Ella was laughing uncontrollably. Meg’s lips curved, her expression softening. “They’re so sweet together,” she said softly. She continued to watch them another few moments before glancing at Sarah. “Affairs aren’t what you think they are. At least, my . . . relationship . . . with Chad wasn’t what I thought it’d be. When it started, I felt so many emotions. I felt so much. I . . . loved feeling so much. When you’ve been with someone for a long time, you forget what those other emotions feel like, and then all of a sudden they’re back, and intense, and they, uh . . .” Her voice drifted away.
    Sarah stared at her sister’s profile, holding her breath, waiting to hear the rest, because it was important. She needed to hear this, understand this. Because maybe if she understood how affairs happened, and why they happened, maybe she could prevent one from happening again. Maybe she could figure out how to keep Boone faithful, and keep her marriage safe. “They what?” she prompted.
    “Seduce you.” Meg made a soft, bruised sound of pain laced with regret. “Destroy you.”
    “But you’re not destroyed. You’re strong. Remember?”
    “That’s right. I’m tough.” Meg smiled faintly, and yet the expression in her eyes was one of defeat. “I’m Mary Margaret Brennan. I can do anything.”
    “That’s right.”
    Meg’s eyes watered. “But if I could take it all back, and undo the damage, I would. In a heartbeat.”
    * * *
    J ack grilled steaks on the patio for dinner, and even though the temperature dropped the moment the sun set, they still ate outside at the wrought-iron table, bundled up in sweatshirts and sweaters, Meg’s rustic yet expensive lanterns flickering, casting yellow and orange light across the