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Chapter Sixteen

Elizabeth must have imagined that heated look in Jason's eyes. He stepped past her, his "'scuze me" barely audible.

Once they were alone in the kitchen, Emily gently nudged the swinging door closed, assuring them even more privacy.

"Talk about some serious vibes," she murmured as she slid the butcher's knife out of Elizabeth's hand and replaced it with the head of lettuce she'd just washed.

"Tear that up instead," she suggested.

"Safer than having you cut off a finger."

Elizabeth's fingers tightened, easily reducing the head into quarters.

"He has a helluva nerve," she muttered.

Emily's eyebrows lifted. "Why's that?"

"Coming into the post office yesterday. Kissing me senselessly. Then apologizing."

Bits of lettuce flew as she tossed bite-size pieces into the salad bowl that Emily had set out.

"The nerve, indeed."

"And A.J. with his stupid comments. I swear, Emily, I'm beginning to think moving away from Pine Valley might just be a good idea. There's an opening at the Salem post office. I saw the notice today."

Emily looked startled.

"You don't really mean that, do you? Pine Valley's your home."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped.

"No. I don't really mean it. Oh, why did A.J. have to come back now of all times?"

"Maybe it's high time he did," Emily said softly.

"I...what?"

Her friend shrugged, looking faintly apologetic.

"If it makes you and Jason wake up to each other, then I can only think that's a good thing."

She tossed tomato wedges into the salad bowl and reached for a cucumber.

"You said yourself that you were in love with your husband, Elizabeth. Maybe it's time you told him so. Particularly considering the circumstances."

Her voice was pointed as her gaze flicked to Elizabeth's midriff.

Elizabeth sank down onto the bar stool.

"How'd you guess? Did Rebecca tell you?"

"Of course she didn't. Just because she's my sister-in-law doesn't mean she'd break a confidence with a patient."

Emily poured a glass of lemonade and set it in front of Elizabeth.

"I recognized some of the signs. That fainting episode, for one thing. And you have that look."

"Great," Elizabeth laughed brokenly, her forehead pressed to her palm.

"Pretty soon the whole town'll know, too. Seeing as how it's so obvious to others."

"Obvious to me," Emily chided gently.

"You know that you must tell Jason."

"I know. I know. Things are just such a mess."

"Then put on some gloves and clean up the mess. You know I used to envy you, Elizabeth. Because you had so much more freedom when we were kids than I did. Gram was so strict about everything. My dress, school, church, my friends."

"Your grandmother cared." Elizabeth said.

"My mother — before she died — didn't much care what I did as long as it didn't interfere with the path to her gin bottle."

"What I failed to realize when we were kids, though, was that what I perceived as your freedom was far outweighed by the responsibilities you bore. And for whatever reason, it's left you feeling like you're undeserving of the love that any wife should feel right in expecting from her husband."

"Just because you and Nikolas didn't start your marriage under the best of circumstances yet are now as happy as two pups in clover doesn't mean that is going to occur for Jason and I. We've been married years, Emily. Don't you think that if he . . . loved — " she had to push out the word " — me, he'd have said something by now?"

Emily picked up the salad bowl and headed toward the swinging door.

"I don't know, sweetie. You love him, but it doesn't seem like you've ever told him that."

To be continued...

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