Buried [Completed]

Chapter sixteen

"Good news, honey."

Kyle was home. He came into the kitchen, set his briefcase on the counter, and went to the fridge for a beer.

"Want one?"

"Sure."

Jamie had been home from work for an hour. Dinner was almost ready. She was surprised at how quickly she and Kyle had settled into traditional roles since their marriage. He'd been such a hands-on dad, she'd assumed they would do things like grocery shop and cook together.

But recently he'd had a lot of calls in the afternoon, which meant he worked at least an hour later than her every day. So she was the one to pick up the kids and start dinner.

"What's the good news?"

"We got an offer for your trailer today."

He told her the price as he passed her the Bud he'd just opened.

"What do you say? Pretty good, huh? To tell you the truth, it's almost two thousand more than I expected."

He tapped his beer bottle against hers.

"Congratulations, honey."

"Thanks."

She wished she could feel as happy as he clearly did. Selling was the right thing. It didn't make sense to cling to the past.

"Do I need to go to the office to sign the papers?"

"I brought the contract home with me. We'll take care of it after the kids are in bed."

He put his arm around her.

"Smells good in here. I'm not sure if it's the food, or you."

"I'm cooking spaghetti, if that helps you decide."

She kissed him back, placing her free hand on his strong shoulder. Later, at the dinner table, Cory told them about a class field trip coming up to visit the local Fire Station and Sheriff's Office.

"You can come along if you want."

Cory's eyes were on Jamie, hopeful.

"Some parents do."

"Jamie isn't our parent."

Chester looked annoyed.

"Yes, she is,"

Kyle corrected his son.

"She's your step-mother. But she also has to work, so I don't think she can volunteer for your field trip, Cory."

Jamie had been planning to say the same thing. Seeing Cory's disappointment, though, she found herself changing her mind.

"I could take the afternoon off. We're not that busy right now."

"Really?"

Cory glowed and Kyle mouthed "thank you," at her and she felt even better about her decision, knowing she'd pleased him, too. Later, after the kids had cleared the table, and she and Kyle were finishing the clean-up, he raised the subject again.

"I'm really glad you decided to volunteer for the field trip. That's the sort of thing their friends' mothers do all the time."

"Sometimes fathers must volunteer, too?"

He didn't answer, just changed the subject.

"I have to go out-of-town tomorrow, a quick one-night trip."

"Coos Bay again?"

She tried not to sound disappointed, but between his ramped up work schedule and her extra chores with the bigger house and children, it seemed like they spent even less time together now that they were married.