Buried [Completed]

Chapter thirty-two

It was a huge relief for Jamie to be sitting at the kitchen table with Stella and Amos and eating some of Stella's homemade chicken soup. Dougal had filled them in on the situation, so they weren't asking her a bunch of questions. They were just letting her be. After about thirty minutes, Amos, who never was one for sitting still, said he was going out to the workshop for a bit. 

"Want some pie, honey?" Stella asked when it was just two of them. "Tea. Or coffee?" 

"Tea would be nice." 

Once it was made, Stella asked if she wanted to go lie down. "Maybe you feel like being alone?" 

Jamie shook her head firmly. That was definitely the one thing she did not want. At least not yet. 

"I screwed up, Stella. I should have listened to Dougal. Marrying Kyle was a big mistake." 

Stella put her hand over Jamie's. "I'm so sorry. When did things start to go sideways?" 

"Little things at first. I thought we were going to be equal partners, but he started working later and later. Soon I was handling most of the stuff at home and with the kids. And then he manipulated me into quitting my job." 

"Did you actually leave Howard & Mason?" 

Stella knew how much she loved working there, and what her ambitions were for the future. 

"I did. I'm just praying they'll take me back." 

"I'm sure they will." 

"I hope so. I just feel like such a fool. The first time Kyle paid any attention to me at all was when I dropped by a yard sale he was having, not a week after his mother moved to Portland. He asked me out for coffee, and was in full pursuit right from the start. I figured he was finally seeing me as a grown woman, not as his friend's little sister. But I think the truth was he needed someone to take his mother's place. Up until then, his mother had cooked meals, run the house, taken care of the twins." 

"He could have hired a nanny for that." 

"Well, maybe he was attracted to me, as well. But I don't believe he ever loved me. I don't see how he could have loved Daisy, either. Maybe he just isn't capable of caring about other people." She frowned into her teacup. "Though, I must admit, he does seem to love his children. And his parents." 

"You want my advice?" Stella asked. "Don't try to figure him out. Men like that aren't worth the trouble. You're free of him now, and that's what matters." 

"What about the kids, though, Stella? Chester, and especially Cory, were just starting to trust me. And now I'm going to walk out on them?" 

Stella sighed. "No. I'm not suggesting you do that. If Kyle is arrested and ends up in prison, someone's going to have to look after them, aren't they?" 

* * * 

Dougal held Charlotte until she fell asleep in his arms. Once he'd finished giving his statement at the Sheriff's Office, Charlotte asked him to bring her home, and then she'd asked him not to leave. So he was staying. This thing with the librarian had snuck up on him. He wasn't sure how. And he sure as hell didn't expect it to last. But who the hell knew. Maybe it would. 

When Charlotte had been asleep for over half an hour, he slipped away from her, got dressed, and went out to her porch. The sound of the ocean was a comfort tonight, but he couldn't help thinking that somewhere in this country— possibly in the very town of Twisted Cedars, Librarianmomma was plotting her next move. Was she, right this moment, thinking of Dougal the way Dougal was thinking of her? Maybe. From the tone of the emails it was clear this weirdo was trying to make a connection with him. On that thought... in that moment... time seemed to halt.