Page 62 of Winning Back His Wife
“Long distance can’t be any worse than being apart for the past year.”
A flutter of hope emerged. “I suppose that’s true.”
“It is true. But don’t decide right now,” he said to her relief. “Think about it. Think about what it’ll take to turn your ‘I can’t’ into an ‘I want to.’ Will you do that for me? For us?”
Affection for Cullen deepened. He might have been a stranger when they got married, but she’d picked a great guy to marry even if he had a few faults. “Yes, I will.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Now get some sleep.”
She wanted him next to her all night. “Will you stay, please?”
“You’re going to have to kick me out. Though I can’t promise you I won’t sneak under the covers if it gets colder.”
“You can get under them now.”
“Let’s not test my self-control too much.” He kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Lavagirl.”
Sheltered in his arms, Sarah had a feeling she would have very sweet dreams. Maybe a couple of hot ones, too, starring the handsome and incredibly fit Dr. Gray. She hoped she woke up knowing the answer to his question.
What would it take to turn her “I can’t” to “I want to”?
* * *
The next day, Cullen put away the dishes while Sarah looked at the newest data from Mount Baker. Everything she’d told him last night tumbled around in his head. He couldn’t believe they’d been married and knew so little about each other.
I’ve never seen a successful relationship or experienced one. Only broken ones.
He ached for her. But he needed to know stuff like that if they wanted their marriage to work. Sarah needed help. Therapy, perhaps, maybe together the way his family had done. That could help her move forward so they could work things out. If she wanted to work things out...
All he could do now was wait and hope.
* * *
The next two days passed quickly. Too quickly for Sarah. She had no idea what to say to Cullen. Fortunately, he’d been working at the hospital and on a ready team, so she could avoid the confrontation. But she couldn’t put it off much longer.
Rays of morning sunlight streamed in the kitchen window. Sarah made herself a cup of chamomile tea. Cullen sat at the kitchen table reading the paper. Today was the beginning of three days off for him. He was looking forward to it. She had mixed feelings. “Want something to drink?”
He lofted a smile her way. “No, thanks. But I’ll take another blueberry muffin. Then maybe we could talk.”
She picked up a muffin for him, but nerves made her almost drop it. If Christmas magic did exist, in June or December or whenever, she wished it could come to the rescue now.
He glanced over the paper at her. “Sean invited us to a BBQ tomorrow night. Everyone will be there. I went ahead and told him we’d attend.”
She hoped people wouldn’t want to talk about her and Cullen. But given the phone calls after the dinner at the Willinghams’ house, she knew the chances of that were slim to none.
Her cell phone beeped with a text message.
“Must be Tucker,” she said. “He’s early this morning.”
“Tell him you’re still recovering, if he wants you back.”
“I’m nearly self-sufficient now.”
His gaze locked on hers. “You ready to go back?”
“No.”
With a little smirk, he returned to reading the paper.
Sarah’s cell phone rang. Tucker’s ring tone. That was odd. Considering the text was most likely from him.
She walked to the recliner, picked up her phone and saw the words Steam Blast on the screen. Her heart slammed against her chest. Forcing herself to breathe, she hit the answer button. “What’s happening up there?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SARAH’S WHITE-KNUCKLE grip on the phone, her stiff posture and the rise in her voice told Cullen all he needed to know. It was time for her to go. A weight pressed down on his chest, right over his heart.
She disconnected the call.
He took a deep breath. “Tucker wants you back.”
“Another steam burst occurred this morning.” She gathered her papers and shoved them into her laptop bag. “Tucker needs me there. Now.”
No. The word positioned itself on the tip of Cullen’s tongue ready to spring out into the world. Sarah couldn’t go to Bellingham. She wasn’t healed enough. Not exactly true, but he would do or say whatever he had to in order to make her stay. He wasn’t ready to let her go. If she went away, she might not come back. Especially with things so up in the air between them. “Now?”
