“You were always friendly, happy, but not flirty.”

“Of course not,” he said. “That would put you in a terrible position. It’s different now. But Angela, I don’t want you to struggle with your conscience over me. I want you to be at peace.”

She just gazed at him, shaking her head slightly, smiling. “It’s going to be very hard not to fall for you.”

He was quiet a moment. “Praise be,” he said.

* * *

Beau texted Lauren that he was on his way over. When she opened her door, she had a tissue in her hand and her eyes were pink and wet.

“Oh honey,” he said, pulling her into his embrace. “Have you been crying for the last two hours?” he asked.

She nodded against his chest, sniffing.

He pulled her into the room and sat with her on her sofa. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“What happened after I left?” she asked, a hiccup in her voice. “I saw she went inside.”

“Hardly anything,” he said. “Most of my family has seen her drama before. I felt sorry for the boys, though. They are the ones who’ve seen the most. I asked them to escort her out, get her in her car safely. It took just five minutes and they were back inside. I don’t know if they were brokenhearted or embarrassed. Probably both. But they had places to go where they’ll get comfort without the shame of it all. Darla spent the day with her family so Drew went over there. Michael and Raisa went to her married sister’s house. Both of them will be among friends. After just a little while and a lot of goodbyes, everyone dispersed. My sister, brother-in-law, kids and my mother were all staying over at my brother’s house. They’ll head back to Redding first thing in the morning. Of course I welcomed them to stay at my house but Jeff’s is larger. And frankly, I think Pamela might be the reason they didn’t want to stay at my house.”

“Were they all upset?” she asked.

He lifted her chin so he could look into those beautiful lavender eyes. “Listen, last Thanksgiving Pamela was gone. She’d been gone. Gone for the holidays. While other people with troubled marriages are trying to hold it together through the holidays, my wife packed up and headed for Maui. She didn’t call Drew and I assume she didn’t call Michael. We went to San Diego. Yes, I made sure Pamela knew where we’d be so she could call her sons, but she didn’t.” He took a breath. “My family has been shaking their heads for years... For the most part everyone in my family has had decent marriages. Happy marriages. I’m the only one who never figured it out.”

“My sister and Chip are happy,” she said with a sniff. “But my poor mom... My dad just disappeared, leaving her to handle it all...”

“My parents were always happy as far as I remember. Lauren, I can’t tell you the recipe. But I didn’t give up early.”

“She was so heartbroken,” Lauren said. “I would never do that to anyone. I would never get in another woman’s territory.”

“You didn’t,” he said. He touched her cheek. “What’s really wrong?” he asked.

“What if I’m wrong?” she said. “What if we’re both wrong?”

“Wrong?” he asked, frowning. “Are you afraid I’m lying to you?”

“My husband lied about everything,” she said. “And your wife was so shattered!”

“Lauren, you knew he was lying,” Beau said. “You’ll know if I’m lying. You have time, Lauren. You have time to learn me, I have time to learn you. No one’s going to get backed into a corner.”

“I would never want to hurt anyone,” she said.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” he said. “And you didn’t hurt Pamela. She’s been making bad choices for so long. Trying to come back to our marriage would just be one more.”

“She won’t ever let you go,” she said.

“The doctor might not let you go, either. We might be stuck with them for a long time. So, let’s do this. I’ve already let Pamela go. You do what you have to do.”

“Oh God,” she said, leaning against him. “She’s so beautiful.”

Beau held her. “She was actually prettier when I met her,” he said. “She’s changed a lot in her appearance. She’s enhanced some body parts, reduced others. She’s very pretty, but the girl I knew was less perfect and much more real. Pam has always had an issue with wanting more. She’s never been happy with what she has.”

“You said you had no regrets,” she reminded him.

“None,” he said. “It wasn’t always easy but it was worth it. I can honestly say the boys grew up in the best home I could provide. Not a flawless home. But we did all right.” He looked into her eyes. “I never left them.”

“I got a little worked up,” she said. “I’d just met your family and this poor, shattered woman...”

“It’s okay. It’s better than okay. You have questions and you should have them. You’d be crazy to get yourself in another abusive situation. So would I. But it’s going to be all right because we have lots of time to figure each other out. We’re not in a hurry because our clocks are ticking, are we?”

“Funny,” she said with a huff of laughter.

He wrapped his arms around her. “I figured this holiday period could be a little sketchy. Unpredictable. And we haven’t even heard from the doctor yet. He could weigh in at any time. You still have that bat handy, right?”

She shuddered.

“I’m willing to just soldier on, take it one day at a time, get to the other side of all this bullshit. I don’t want a lot, Lauren. I just want to enjoy life with someone who cares about me while I enjoy caring about her. Nothing fancy or complicated. Some balance and a little compromise.” He kissed her cheek. “Everything is going to be okay. I hope.”

She sighed. “I’m kind of glad in a perverse way that your ex-wife showed up and went a little crazy. Brad must be hopping mad by now. Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant with his mean old mother. I’m surprised he didn’t burn my house down.”

Beau was quiet for a moment. “You don’t smell smoke, do you?”

“All the years I contemplated this—divorcing him and getting on with my life—I never pictured it would be like this. I never thought he’d hurt me so badly. I never thought I’d fall for a man running from a crazy wife. Can we last through all this?”

“I know I’m doing the right thing and I believe in you,” he said. “I’m not going to lie to you about anything. If you lie to yourself, I can’t help you with that. If it doesn’t feel right, you have to make the move.”

“And will you? If it’s not perfect for you, will you tell me?” she asked.

“Absolutely. I’m not going to trick you. There would be nothing in that for me.”

“No one’s waiting up for you?” she asked.

“No. They all ran for the hills after Pamela. They were probably afraid she’d come back.”

“Will you come to bed and hold me?” she asked.

“Just waiting for the invitation,” he said.

* * *

In the small hours of the morning, she snuggled against him. She felt secure. Secure and satisfied and peaceful. She lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed his chin. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you and I want to be with you forever.”

He tenderly kissed her mouth. “Me, too. Me, too.”

* * *

The week following Thanksgiving everything seemed a bit calmer to Lauren. She took Lacey out for a nice dinner and some shopping and heard all about Thanksgiving, secretly a little gleeful that Lacey had had a perfectly miserable time with Adele and Brad. Unsurprisingly, he was in a foul mood, stuck with his mother, spoiled daughter, with no whipping post on hand.

It never occurred to her last June that six months after moving out, she still wouldn’t be divorced, wouldn’t have any property from her old house. Therefore, there were no Christmas decorations. But Lauren knew how to make centerpieces and wreaths and bought herself a few flameless LED candles that lit and went off on a timer. Red and white candles. She stopped by the craft store to get florist supplies and ribbon. She knew where to get greenery scraps at a great price by driving north to the warehouses that supplied flower shops. She offered to make a wreath or centerpiece for Beau if he’d come along.

It was just the perfect distraction for Beau, loving gardens and flowers as he did.

They filled the back of his truck with varieties of fir, pine, juniper, eucalyptus, cedar, holly and other holiday greens and pinecones. Lauren put a sheet over her dining table, got out the florist’s clippers she’d bought and got busy creating wreaths and centerpieces.

Beau brought in all her cuttings and hung around to watch. He was so intrigued by her creations that she showed him how she was doing it. “Can I try?” he asked.

He was irresistible. “Sure. Let me show you. The centerpiece is easier, we’ll start with that.”

By five they had made ten centerpieces and several wreaths. Their fingers were sappy and sticky. Beau looked at his watch.

“Got an appointment?” she asked.

“I’m hungry,” he said. “How’s your beer and wine supply?”

“All set, but that’s not food.”

He went to the sink and started washing his hands. “I’ll go get us something, unless you feel like going out.”

“I want to use up all these greens while they’re fresh,” she said. “I’d eat anything you feel like eating.”

There was a tapping at the door and when she opened it, there stood her boss, Bea.

“I’m sorry. I should have called. This was impetuous. It’s about work...”

“Come in,” Lauren said. “We were just making Christmas decorations. Bea, this is my friend Beau and Beau, Bea is my supervisor at Merriweather.”