BooksBarbecue
Back Balance of Power
Chapters (53)
  1. BALANCE OF POWER
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About The Creators
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY

His hand was still on the phone. His eyes were on his hand. It had taken only a moment for the pros and cons to flash through his brain. He lifted his hand and sat back, a sour look on his face.

These weren't exactly new or deeply buried feelings. Neither was the bitterness, which set in next. If only Sharon supported him instead of condemning him. It wouldn't make him try any harder to be home earlier. He couldn't. His hours were what they were. But it would make him feel like he had a real home to go to instead of a seminar on What's Wrong with Paul Hood.

He thought of Nancy Bosworth again. Not long before, he'd bumped into his old flame in Germany. Never mind that she'd been the one who ran out on him years before. Never mind that she'd shattered his heart. When he saw her again he felt drawn to her because she was someone who wanted him, uncritically. She had only kind and flattering things to say.

Of course. Hood said, his conscience taking Sharon's side. Nancy can afford to be generous. She doesn't have to live with you and raise two kids and hurt for them when Dad's not there.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd wanted to hold Nancy Jo Bosworth tightly and he'd wanted to be held by her. That he'd yearned to crawl into her arms because she wanted him there, not as a reward for being good to his kids. That was passionless.

Then he thought about Ann Farris. The beautiful and sexy press liaison liked him. She cared about him. She made him feel good about himself. And he liked her. There were many times when he'd had to fight the urge to reach across the desk and touch her hair. But he knew that if he ever crossed that line, even a bit, there would be no going back. Everyone at Op-Center would know. Washington would know. Eventually Sharon would know.

So what? he asked himself. What's wrong with ending a marriage that isn't working the way you want it to anyway?

The words hung in his brain like a medical diagnosis he didn't want to hear. He hated himself for even flirting with the notion of divorce, for despite everything he loved Sharon. And she had thrown in her lot with him, not with Renaldo. She had committed to building a life with him, not around him. And there were some things women would always be more possessive of than men. Like kids. That didn't make her right and him wrong, her good and him bad. It made them different, that's all. And differences could be worked out.