Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
“The short answer is, I don’t know where he is and I don’t care. The long answer is, I finally left him, which I should’ve done the day after I married him—maybe during the reception.”
“Left him?” Kate couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Eileen was the quintessential subservient wife. Julian treated her like the help and talked to her like she didn’t have sense enough to get in out of the rain.
“Good for you,” Aunt Gert said. “Smartest thing you ever did.”
Kate tried to intervene. “Aunt Gert—”
“Well, it’s the truth! She knows it—don’t you, Eileen, honey?”
Eileen nodded and took a sip of her drink. “I came here, Kate, because I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Marshall—and how sorry I am that I wasn’t there for you when he died. I wanted to be. Julian wouldn’t have it.”
Kate reached over and squeezed Eileen’s hand. “I know what you were up against.”
Eileen looked at her with empty eyes. “Some kinds of abuse don’t leave bruises—not the kind you can see anyway. Julian doesn’t love me and never did. I don’t think he’s ever loved anybody but himself. He wouldn’t know how. I’m just thankful we never had kids. I don’t think I could live with myself if I had subjected children to him.”
“This isn’t your fault, Eileen,” Kate said. “Julian’s to blame—entirely.”
“Is he?” Eileen asked.
Kate expected tears but saw none. Normally eager to please and placate, Eileen was now blunt and resolute.
“I let myself be fooled for ten long years. And then after I finally opened my eyes, it took me two more to muster the courage to leave him. He told me I was nothing, and I believed him.”
“You’re far from nothing,” Kate said.
“I know—deep down, I know. I just need some time to remember who I am—who I used to be.”
“Honey, if you don’t mind my asking, what set off the alarm clock?” Aunt Gert asked. “After all this time, I mean?”
Eileen’s fingers were lightly wrapped around the stem of the sherry glass. She was slowly turning it back and forth.
“Aunt Gert,” Kate said, “Eileen might not feel like talking.”
“No, it’s okay,” Eileen said, looking up. “It was the way he treated Marshall—after he died, I mean. You and Marshall were the only members of that whole Cabot clan who were ever kind to me. The first time Julian cut me off at the knees and absolutely humiliated me in front of all of them—it was the Christmas right after we married—I went running into the kitchen in tears. You and Marshall followed me out and took me to your house to recover. Marshall promised to set up a trust fund for me so I’d have some security if I ever left Julian. He did it too. Did you know that, Kate?”
“Yes.”
“Of course, back then, I never dreamed of leaving my husband. But Marshall knew I’d have to one day. Over and over, I told myself Julian hadn’t meant to be hurtful and would be so sorry when he realized what he’d done. How stupid.”