Stormy Surrender - By Nicole Andrews Moore Page 0,35

you. I’m going to a lawyer. We’re getting a divorce. If there’s anything you want, you should come get it.” His voice was cold.

“I don’t exactly have anywhere to put things at the moment, Blaine,” she said through gritted teeth.

“They must have a Self-Storage down there someplace. Find it!”

And in that one moment, Marti recognized that he was still trying to push her around, still trying to control her. Her spine straightened. She stood angrily. Too bad he couldn’t see her, but only hear her. “I will come get my things when I am good and ready. In the meantime, you will see that they remain undamaged. And you might want to start thinking about alimony.” She ended the call. Once again she was reminded how much she missed some aspects of having more rudimentary technology. Back when she and Blaine were dating, she would get so much satisfaction from slamming the phone down to hang up on him. It wasn’t the same with an iPhone.

She barely slept. That’s what she realized as she tossed and turned and watched the clock slowly mark the passing of the night. She had paced until nearly midnight. She tried to get the wi-fi to work, but when it wouldn’t; she decided to simply pass time until she could go to Charlotte. She would find a nice place to eat breakfast, and do some research before she came back to the sleepy little town she was now calling home…all alone.

After tossing and turning for a few more hours on a bed that had been comfortable just the night before but now might as well have been a bed of nails instead of a pillow top, she gave up. It was four o’clock. She stood, stretched, and decided to shower. At least she’d have plenty of hot water as she tried to wash away her problems. With that done, she dressed, and dried her hair. She applied make up for the first time in days. And she quietly made her way down the stairs. Even though she had wasted as much time as possible, moved as slowly as she could, and allowed herself to be distracted by any thought that came to mind, it was still only 5:30am. With the half hour drive to Charlotte, she should be there just in time for restaurant openings.

There was no one on the main floor when she hit the entry way. There was no noise from the kitchen. And therefore, she didn’t have to talk to anyone, which was pretty much what she had hoped. Heading out the door, she walked out into the frosty dark morning and crunched across the driveway to her flaming orange vehicle. If she had been uncomfortable with how loud the color of the vehicle was before, now that she knew Blaine had selected it and that he wasn’t going to be around driving it, she wanted nothing to do with it.

Her list was growing.

Remodel the house so she could move into her own space and move on with her new single life.

Trade the Saturn Vue in for something more her style.

And of course, there was the most pressing item on the list, the reason that she was heading to Charlotte with her laptop riding shotgun.

Research Vermont divorce laws and lawyers

She knew that by late afternoon she’d be dragging, but honestly, it didn’t matter. Apparently from now on she could sleep when she wanted. She could do whatever she wanted. And now was just as good a time as any to put all of that into practice. Turning onto Interstate 77, Marti headed north to Charlotte. The drive passed incredibly quickly and soon enough she found herself in South Charlotte. There were few places open at that time of morning, but one lit sign stood out. She’d never heard of Panera Bakery before, but the sign in the window promised free wi-fi and the mostly vacant parking lot promised the privacy and anonymity she craved, but could never expect to find a in a town like New Hope.

After ordering a four cheese baked soufflé, a chocolate croissant, and large hot chocolate with whip cream and chocolate syrup because after all that…what was the point of trying to watch calories, she sat in an armchair near the fireplace, set up her meal and her laptop and settled in to relax. While she knew she would have to meet with Joey at some point, she figured it would be at least afternoon before he had