Susan Mallery: Wife in Disguise

With one last, deep thrust, he filled her and gave way to the sensation of release. His guttural cry joined hers as they clung to each other through the aftermath of paradise.

Later, much later, when they were both dressed and getting ready to sit down to dinner, Josie looked at him.

“Point well taken,” she said with a grin.

“Start with two hours a day,” Dr. Sanders said the following week when Josie saw her for her checkup. “Add about an hour a day, but don’t push it. You’ve recovered very nicely. I don’t want to see you have another setback.”

Josie nodded, feeling both relieved and panicked. She was being cleared to start using her cane again, albeit slowly. But in a matter of a couple of weeks, she would be back on her feet. Then what?

“I know I was really stupid before,” Josie said, smiling at the doctor. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll keep up with my physical therapy and do my exercises.”

“Don’t forget rest. That’s important.” The doctor glanced at her chart. “It’s about time for your next surgery. I believe you’re going to have two more. Is that correct?”

Josie nodded. “The good news is by taking it easy these past weeks, I’ve noticed a real lessening of pain. There are days when I hardly have any. According to my surgeon in Los Angeles, that’s only going to get better with the last two surgeries.”

“Will you be returning to L.A. for the surgeries or do you want a recommendation for a local physician? I happen to know someone who is very gifted.”

Josie hesitated. So many of her plans depended on Del. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “If I do decide to stay, I’ll be in touch.”

They shook hands, and Josie wheeled herself from the doctor’s office. Her mind raced. Was she staying here in Beachside Bay? Were she and her husband reconciling or just playing house? She knew the best way to get answers was to ask him, but somehow she never managed to find the right moment and the courage at the same time.

Del had been tied up with a client meeting, so Annie May had brought her to her appointment and was waiting in the reception area. The older woman took one look at her face and frowned.

“She didn’t give you the all-clear, did she? You look disappointed.”

Josie sighed. “No, it was good news. I can start using my cane for a couple of hours a day, building up from there.”

Her friend held open the door leading to the corridor. “I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you look happy?”

“I am, it’s just…” She turned at the end of the hall and headed for the elevator. “Now I have to talk to Del. I mean, the only reason I’m living in his house is that I’m in a wheelchair. Once I’m fine, I have no excuse.”

Shrewd eyes stared at her. “How about telling him the truth? I’m sure he’d like to know that you’re still in love with him.”

Josie wasn’t surprised that Annie May had guessed her secret. “I’ve thought about letting him know, but I’m afraid of what he’s going to say. I’m not sure how he feels about me. We’ve talked a little about the past, but not about the present or the future. Maybe this is just a fling for him.”

“Del isn’t a fling sort of guy.”

“What if he’s only keeping me around because he feels sorry for me?”

Annie May punched the button for the lobby level and twisted her mouth in disgust. “What if we all turn into flying monkeys? If you’re going to worry, worry about something realistic. Del doesn’t feel sorry for you.”

“Then what does he feel?”

Annie May shrugged. “I don’t know. You two need to work that out for yourselves.”

The elevator doors opened. Josie propelled herself toward the parking lot. “What we need is time.” She rolled to a stop. “Annie May, would you please not tell him what the doctor said?”

The petite woman walked around to stand in front of Josie. She planted her hands on her hips. “Girl, I am not going to lie for you again.”

“Don’t lie, just don’t tell him the truth.”

“Oh, there’s a differentiation. No. It’s time, Josie. Just come clean. Tell Del you’re cleared to start walking and you want to talk about the relationship.”

“I’m afraid of giving him an excuse to get rid of me. We’re not married anymore. There are no emotional or legal ties. He let me go once, why wouldn’t he let me go again? Please, Annie May, just for a couple of weeks. Then I swear I’ll tell him myself.”

The older woman pressed her lips together. “Damn. I know you’re technically divorced, but you’ve been living together and from what I can guess, sharing a bed. That sounds like marriage to me.”

“But it isn’t.”

“I know.”

“Just a couple of weeks. I want to be sure about Del before I give him an excuse to get rid of me.”

“That boy is crazy about you. He’s not interested in being on his own again.” The fiery redhead sighed. “All right. Against my better judgment I’ll keep quiet. But only for two weeks. If you haven’t come clean by then, I’ll tell him myself. You understand me?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Annie May led the way out of the building, grumbling with every step. “I’m just too softhearted for my own good. People are always taking advantage of me. I should know better.”

Josie was too busy with her own thoughts to listen. She had a brief reprieve until it was all going to hit the fan, she thought glumly. Right now she and Del were caught up in a game of playing house. What would happen when the game ended and it was time to get on with their real lives?

Three days later Josie wheeled herself into the old Miller house. Del had promised her a surprise, so she knew that it was going to look different, but she wasn’t prepared for what awaited her inside the freshly stained door.

Fading afternoon light glinted off the newly washed chandelier sparkling overhead in the foyer. To the left was the parlor, converted to a library-sitting room, complete with built-in bookcases. In front of her, the main living area’s newly polished floor gleamed. There were new windows, fresh paint and restored moldings.

“I can’t believe it,” she breathed. “Del, you’ve done an amazing job.”

“It wasn’t just me,” he said, walking beside her. “The crew worked hard.”

“It shows. Everywhere.”

She rounded the corner and faced the kitchen. The last time she’d seen it, the room had been gutted. Pipes had jutted out of the walls, and the flooring had looked as if it had been the site of a battle. Now custom cabinets covered three of the four walls. There was a double sink, granite countertops, a center island and a brand-new bay window.

“I love it,” she told him.

“Wait until you see the upstairs. We’re not done with the master suite, but it’s going to be terrific. Give me another week on that, then I’ll carry you up to see it.”

Josie felt a flash of guilt at Del’s words. She was spending nearly three hours a day on her feet, and he didn’t know. As far as he was concerned, she was still confined to her wheelchair. She knew she had to come clean and soon, but she was so afraid of what he would say. Did he want her to stay or go?

“I hope you don’t have any second thoughts,” he said, walking into the kitchen and opening one of the cupboards. He smoothed his hand across the grain of the wood.

“About what?”

“The third floor. Originally you’d wanted it as an exercise room and office.”

She grimaced. “That was a long time ago-when we were still fighting about everything from what brand of jam to buy to how to remodel this house. I really liked your plans for the third floor.”