Big Girls Don't Cry

She claimed the ball and served again. “Because I know my husband.”

AT THE AIRPORT, Isaac sat in a row of chairs one gate away from Keith. Other passengers crowded into the space between them, occasionally obstructing his view, but Isaac didn’t move any closer. He didn’t want his brother-in-law to know he was being watched, even though, from what Isaac could tell, he didn’t appear to be particularly concerned about those around him. He didn’t seem to be doing much of anything unusual—except going to the wrong city. According to the sign behind the desk, he was waiting for a flight that had been scheduled to leave for Boise, Idaho, this morning but had been delayed because of bad weather.

Boise. Why in the world would Keith be going there? Isaac might have guessed that Softscape, Inc., the company Keith worked for, had decided to send him somewhere else at the last minute. But that call saying he’d arrived safely and was already enjoying the sunshine made no sense. A man didn’t play such an elaborate charade without a reason.

What was Keith’s reason?

Isaac glanced at his watch. He’d missed his own flight to Chicago more than thirty minutes ago, so that decision had already been made. He knew he might regret his actions—certainly Reginald hadn’t been happy to hear the news—but Isaac felt strongly about getting to the bottom of his brother-in-law’s mysterious behavior.

In order to do that, he needed to follow Keith to Idaho. But if he took the same flight, he risked being seen.

He considered making arrangements through another airline, but decided it would be too difficult to coordinate his arrival with Keith’s. He was afraid if he let Keith out of his sight for very long he’d lose him.

Isaac contemplated several different scenarios before deciding that his best bet was to buy a first-class ticket on Keith’s flight. He’d board before all the other passengers, sit in the last row of coach and bury his nose in a newspaper. Unless the flight was packed, which he could already tell it wasn’t, he doubted anyone would even sit next to him. His brother-in-law would get on and most likely take a seat much farther toward the front. Then Isaac would follow him off the plane when it landed.

The woman behind the counter was telling folks it’d be at least another hour before Keith’s flight could take off. Isaac had heard her say it half-a-dozen times, so he wasn’t concerned about being able to purchase a ticket. There were a lot of people milling around, but most seemed to be waiting to go to Portland.

When a group of businessmen passed between him and his brother-in-law, he finally stood and started toward the escalators. Keith had settled in to work on his computer. He wasn’t going anywhere, at least not until they boarded the plane.

Then Isaac would be going with him.

Dundee, Idaho

REENIE COULDN’T HELP waiting up. She knew it was crazy to lose sleep when she had to get the girls off to school in the morning. But she still felt that old rush of anticipation when she knew her husband was coming home.

She sat in the living room, the filmy black lingerie she’d bought in Boise last week hidden beneath the heavy fabric of her robe, sipping a glass of white wine and playing with Old Bailey’s silky ears. Her dog had been acting a little sluggish lately, but he was eleven years old and suffered from arthritis, so that was to be expected. “You’re okay, aren’t you Bailey?” she asked.

He licked his snout and gave her a short whine, and she sighed, hoping she’d been imagining his lack of appetite and increased lethargy.

Taking another sip of wine, she listened to the wind buffet the trees against the house. A steady drip fell from the rain gutter at the side of the house, but the worst of the storm had blown over. Conditions must have improved in Boise, too, because Keith had called at nine-thirty to say he was boarding his plane. Surely, he wouldn’t be much longer.

The ring of the telephone startled her. She wasn’t used to receiving calls so late. Her husband rarely called when he was gone. If he hadn’t been delayed, she doubted she would have heard from him at all today. He would have simply appeared, luggage in tow, as he always did.

Pulling her gaze away from the silver sheen of wet pavement that lay beyond her big, sloping front lawn, she extricated herself from Bailey, who padded after her as she answered the phone in the kitchen. She hoped Keith wasn’t calling to say his plane had been forced to land elsewhere.

“Hello?”

“Reenie?”

It wasn’t Keith; it was Gabe. She knew her brother well enough to guess he was feeling badly about this morning. That was why he’d brought the girls a tree swing. But she’d already promised herself she wasn’t going to forgive him too easily.

“Hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No. Keith’s getting in soon.”

“You haven’t talked him into quitting that lousy job yet?”

“It pays the bills.”

“It makes you miserable.”

She raked her fingers through her hair. “He’s afraid he won’t be able to replace his paycheck. And he says he’s used to the traveling, that I should be used to it by now, too.”

“Are you?”

“Mostly I’m tired of having him gone. But I’m not sure it’s fair of me to demand he give up what he feels successful at, what he loves. Besides, what if he’s right and he can’t find anything better?”

“He’d be fine. It’s time he started thinking of you and the girls.”

“He’s good to us.”

“When he’s around.” Gabe fell silent for a long moment, then drew an audible breath. “I’m sorry about this morning,” he said, offering the apology he’d probably been working on all day.

Because the words sounded as though he’d had to drag them out of some place very deep, they melted Reenie’s heart almost immediately. So much for not forgiving him too easily.

Oh well. Maybe they argued often. They were both passionate people. Stubborn. Opinionated. But their arguments never lasted long. Regardless of their ups and downs, Reenie knew Gabe would do anything for her, and she felt the same way about him. “I know you’re still having a hard time with what Dad did,” she said. “But it happened so long ago, Gabe. And Lucky really is—”

“A nice person,” he interrupted. “I know. You’ve told me that before. I keep thinking I’m over whatever it is that makes me dislike her. But then I see her and…” His sentence trailed off.

Bailey, tired of waiting for Reenie to return to their cozy spot in the living room, lay across her feet.

“She’s your best friend’s wife,” Reenie said, trying to approach the situation from another angle.

“Which only complicates the situation,” Gabe replied. “Dad. You. Mike. I’m cornered.”

“Sometimes it’s better to accept what we can’t change.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Considering the accident that had stolen so much from him, she guessed it was more a matter of her poor brother reaching his “tough luck” threshold before they’d even learned about their father’s affair with the infamous Red.

“Hannah thinks I should give her a call in the morning,” he said.

Hannah. Gabe’s wife was so immovable in her love for him. If not for the strength of the relationship that had developed between them, and Hannah’s two boys, he’d probably still be closeting himself away in the remote cabin where he’d lived for two years after the accident. Instead, he’d bought a house in town and was coaching football at the high school.

Reenie wondered if she was expecting too much of him. Her brother was making progress. But it didn’t hurt to encourage him. “I’m sure Lucky would be glad to hear from you,” she said.

The sound of a car in the driveway brought Reenie’s head up. Bailey, who was hardly an excitable animal, lumbered to the door and gave a rare “woof!”

Finally. Her husband was home. She was going to talk to Keith about the Higley farm. Again. She knew having him around more often would be good for the family. Not only were his long absences driving her crazy, but she had this…this terrible sense that his traveling threatened her and their children in some way.

She knew he’d laugh at her the moment she admitted it to him. Until recently, she wouldn’t even admit it to herself. But she could no longer ignore what she felt. She wasn’t being insecure or overly possessive. Keith was becoming increasingly distant. Sometimes she’d be talking to him, possibly speculating on what their lives could be like if he did something else for a living, and his mind would just drift off. She needed his attention again. She needed him to concentrate more on her and the kids and less on work.

Hearing Keith’s key in the lock, she told Gabe she’d call him tomorrow. Now that she and Keith would be face-to-face, and alone, she was going to sit down with him and tell him exactly how she felt. His job—or his marriage. He’d have to choose.

But as soon as her husband walked through the door, she found herself in his arms and knew she wouldn’t bring up the subject tonight. She didn’t want to argue. He was whispering how much he loved her, how much he’d missed her, and his hands were slipping beneath her robe, seeking the places on her body that craved his touch.

She’d already put up with his traveling for nearly eleven years. She supposed her ultimatum could wait one more night.