His Marriage to Remember - By Kathie DeNosky Page 0,42
apology. For the past couple of days, he had been the husband she always dreamed of and it wasn’t his fault that she still harbored resentment from trying to explain what she needed from him over the past couple of years. He hadn’t gotten her meaning all those times. It was unfair for her to expect him to understand it now.
“Sam, I’m—”
“Bria, I didn’t mean to—”
They both stopped for a moment to stare at each other.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I thought the gazebo would make you happy. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, breaking the uneasy silence. He moved the hand she hadn’t noticed him holding behind his back and held out a beautiful bouquet of colorful wildflowers. “Since you won’t hear of me driving yet, I couldn’t go up to Stephenville to a flower shop. But I thought you might like these.”
The sincerity in his voice and the hopeful look on his face caused tears to fill her eyes. “Sam, you don’t have to apologize,” she said, shaking her head as she took the flowers. “It’s my problem. I shouldn’t have—”
“Let’s just forget it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I know how difficult it’s been on you since the accident and how much stress you’ve been under.”
His understanding caused her to feel even worse and she couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks. “It was my…fault, Sam. I shouldn’t have—”
He pulled her close and held her to his broad chest. “Please don’t cry, sweetheart.”
She knew he hated seeing her cry, and just knowing that she was making him uncomfortable caused her tears to fall even faster. Sam was a good man and the love of her life. It had taken every ounce of strength she possessed to leave him the first time. How would she ever be able to do it a second time? Did she even want to try?
She knew she couldn’t return to the way things had been before she left him, but she wasn’t certain she could face a future without him, either. It was something she was going to have to give serious thought to, but it would have to wait until her perspective was restored. She was certain that being in his arms again was clouding her judgment and something as important as the decision of whether or not to stay with him in order to give their relationship another chance needed to be made with a clear head.
“I—I’m sorry,” she said, sniffing back the last of her tears. “I didn’t mean to start sobbing. I know it makes you uncomfortable.”
Releasing her, he put a bit of space between them, then gently framed her face with his hands. “It’s all right, Bria.” He gave her a smile filled with such understanding it was all she could do not to burst into tears all over again. “I couldn’t care less about my comfort. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Before she could respond, he stepped back and, taking the flowers from her, walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it. “Where’s the green vase you used to keep up here?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” she said evasively. She couldn’t tell him that it was in Dallas with the rest of her things. “Just get one of the large iced-tea glasses and put the flowers in that.”
“We’ll have to get you another vase,” he said, filling a glass with water and putting the flowers in it. He sat it in the middle of the table, then turning, nodded toward the stove. “What can I do to help get supper ready?”
Bria barely managed to keep her mouth from dropping open. Sam hadn’t offered to help her in the kitchen since they were first married. Then after he hired Rosa to do most of the cooking, Bria didn’t often have the opportunity to cook, let alone have him help her. It was just one more thing that she had missed during the past three years.
“I was getting ready to peel a few potatoes and carrots for the stew I’m going to make,” she said, walking over to finish rinsing the vegetables she had put into the sink earlier. “Would you like to take care of that while I cut up an onion or two?”
“Hand me a knife,” he said, smiling.
“By the way, I called Rosa and gave her another week off with pay,” Bria said conversationally. She really hadn’t had a choice. As sweet as she was and