Page 5 (1/2)

"Make sure we see each other again," she said

Hyde opened the front door "Thirty seconds, sir"

I nodded to her, grabbedone last look before closing the door behind me

CHAPTER TWO

TAYLOR

"CHEER UP, BUD I bet she’ll be at the house by shift’s end," Jubal said, watching me fold laundry

"You’ve said that every shift since she left," I gruo pants The color was fading

When Falyn did the laundry, she so brand new for months I cooked dinner and took out the trash; she’d do the laundry and the dishes We tag-tea Hollis and Hadley fourtwins One of us held down flailing legs and pulled out baby wipes while the other cleaned and re-diapered I’d take Hollis to soccer, and she would take Hadley to volleyball For nine years, orked like a well-oiled otiation, one, I had no one to cole, no dinner for four I’d been doing my own laundry for two s with the kids--andlike shit One er and hooked it on the rod insidefirebreaks in four years Only being home for six e, so I hung up my pulaski and took a full-time job with the city fire department

In the end, it didn’t matter what I did Falyn wasn’t happy

"How are the kids liking the new school?" Jubal asked

"They’re not"

Jubal sighed "I wondered if it would be tough for Hollis I’m surprised you let her take hi my head "Besides, she’s his ht to pull the biological card now"

Jubal nodded "True" He patted ood h"

My cell phone rang I held the receiver toI needed privacy He walked back into the living area, and I swipedthe phone to my ear

"Hi, honey," I said

"Hi" Falyn was uncomfortable with terms of endearment now--as if I shouldn’t care about her because she’d left ry I begged and pleaded and even threw tantrums, but all that did was push her further away Now, I listenedmy brothers had all learned early on They still had their wives

"I was just thinking about you," I said