Small-Town Girl

She struggled to keep resentment out of her voice. “Sounds like you have something specific in mind.”

“I do. I think we need to move.”

She froze, certain she couldn’t have heard correctly. “Russell?”

“I know how much you love this house. And you’ve done a beautiful job with it. But we’re in a rut.”

“Russell, this house is perfect—and I’m not talking about the bloody furniture or the color on the walls, for heaven’s sake.”

“But—”

“We’re close to Ben’s school, and his friends…. And what about the ten thousand we just spent on landscaping?”

She considered Russell’s long commute to work. “Do you want to move closer to the university, is that it?”

“No. Farther. Much farther.” Russell cleared his plate and Ben’s from the table. Hunching his lean, large-boned frame over the sink, he rinsed them for the dishwasher.

Julie sat, waiting for him to tell her exactly what he had in mind. Finally, he returned to the table. Gripping the back of his chair, he took a fortifying breath.

“This may seem like it’s coming out of the blue, but I’ve been tossing around the idea for years now. Ben’s accident is only the catalyst.”

Cold dread pinned Julie to her chair. Years, Russell had said. And yet until this moment, he’d never even hinted he wasn’t happy living here.

“I’d like us to move back to Chatsworth.”

Her nervous tension snapped on a burst of surprise, then outrage. “You can’t be serious.”

Russell had been born and raised in Chatsworth, Saskatchewan. The small prairie town was lucky to boast five hundred citizens at most. Usually Russell and Ben went by themselves to visit Russell’s parents, but Julie had tagged along often enough to know exactly what life in that small town would offer her and her son.

Nothing.

Russell couldn’t be serious.

“If you and Ben want to go visit your folks, that would be fine with me.”

“I’m not talking about a visit.” Russell pushed away from his chair and strode to the window. “I know I should have discussed this with you, but…I’ve—I’ve tendered my resignation at the university.”

“You’ve quit?” If he’d slapped her on the face, she couldn’t have been more stunned.

“Our family needs something different, Julie. Something slow paced and more meaningful. This city is sucking it out of us.”

“Sucking what out of us?” He wasn’t making any sense. Vancouver was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Russell had worked hard to become a full professor at UBC. And her job at West Coast Homes was a dream come true for her.

“The happiness, the spontaneity, the…the joy.”

This was too much. She got out of her chair and gave it a hard shove over the tile floor. Then she advanced on Russell, her voice angry but very quiet. “How the hell are we supposed to be feeling any joy right now? Our son was in a coma for five days. He almost died.”

“Well, thanks for the news flash. Now here’s an update for you. Our son is alive. But did you see his face at the dinner table tonight? He’s floundering, Julie. We’ve got to save him.”

She covered her mouth. Yes, poor Ben was floundering. Trust the English professor to come up with just the perfect word.

“And you think moving to Chatsworth is going to help?” She knew she sounded scornful, but how couldn’t she? Russell’s idea was preposterous.

“I do. And so do my parents.”

Oh, no. Now he was dragging in Betty and Larry Matthew, two of the very biggest reasons she’d rather move to the Arctic Circle than to Chatsworth, Saskatchewan.

“You’ve talked to your parents about this?”

“Actually, they brought up the idea. Apparently the woman who used to teach grade five at the elementary school is moving—her husband wants to go to law school in Saskatoon. They’ve put their house up for sale. It’s small, but it’s lakefront, and it’s only blocks from the school.”

This was sinking in. Russell had quit his job. He’d found a new job, a new house. “You mean this. You really want to move to Chatsworth.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, Julie. I realize you love your career…but this way you could afford to stay home for a while.”

She’d never wanted to stay home. When they’d discussed having Ben they’d both agreed on a nanny for the first five years, then day care once he started school full-time. “What about the cottage?”

“We can keep the place in Saltspring. Come back for holidays.”

But this wasn’t how their life was supposed to be! They’d planned everything before they’d married. Worked out every detail. And in ten years it had come together for them. They had it all, exactly what they’d wanted.

“We need to enjoy each other more. Family has to be our focus now, Julie.”

And it wasn’t before?

In her stomach, she felt the familiar burning of guilt. If only… Were there any more bitter words in the English language?

She wanted her life back, exactly as it had been. But maybe she didn’t deserve that. She knew Russell didn’t blame her for Ben’s accident. Such a thing would never even occur to him.

But maybe it should. It had to her.

And Ben? Did he blame her, too? Julie couldn’t answer that one. Because Ben suffered from retrograde amnesia. Their son couldn’t remember anything that had happened the day of the accident. Probably he never would.

CHAPTER THREE

LYING ON HIS SIDE of the king-size bed with Julie at least a foot away, Russell recalled the last time he’d made love to his wife. The Friday before Ben’s accident.

The April night had been warm and Ben had had plans to camp out in Jeff’s backyard. With a rare evening to themselves, he and Julie had strolled down to the ocean and back, then he’d made pasta and they’d shared a bottle of wine out on their new deck.

Later, in the dark, he’d brought out an old quilt and spread it along the portion of the deck screened by lattice and honeysuckle.

“Russell…?” He’d loved the way she’d said his name, softening and smoothing the two syllables with her English accent. Her speaking voice was the first thing he’d fallen in love with.

“Come here.” He’d kissed her and slowly seduced her out of all her clothing.

“What if…”

He’d silenced her nervousness with another kiss. “No one can see us.”