No One But You

the three years he was sick, our lives—his, mine and Delanie’s—were focused on getting him well. Everything we did, everything.” Mourning was etched deeply in the contours of his face. “When he was gone, neither of us could handle it. Delanie couldn’t look at me without remembering. And I…I buried myself in my work. There was too much grief when we were together. Too little hope. I tried my best and so did she, but we couldn’t find our way out together. We couldn’t make our marriage work.”
    “That’s why you moved here. Those things you said…”
    “About starting fresh, and turning over a new leaf?” He nodded, his fingers finding hers as if with need. “I didn’t know who I was anymore when I wasn’t a dad.”
    “Something tells me you were an excellent father.” She meant every word.
    “Thanks.” That muscle worked in his jaw. “You have no idea what that means.”
    Never had Wyatt looked more handsome than with his heart exposed. He swallowed hard, as if gathering his self-control before he continued. “On his last day, when there was nothing we could do and I was inconsolable, he made me promise to live. To keep going as if he were right there with me, to live life with all my heart. I tell you, it’s been a long hard struggle, but I think I’m almost there. I’m finally keeping my promise to him. I hope he would be happy with me.”
    “I’m sure he would be.” She thought of the checks Wyatt had written to Mary’s Place, and the land donation. It all made sense. He was honoring not only his son’s memory, but the love the boy had given him.
    Her heart gave a painful twist. Maybe it was empathy for his loss, she told herself, nothing more. But she didn’t believe that.
    A loud bang sounded next door, echoing through the house. Mariah tensed. A man’s angry curses rang out, a door slammed shut with another bang, and a woman’s muffled cries tore at Mariah’s sympathies.
    “What’s going on?” Wyatt asked in concern.
    “Neighbor trouble. It’s bad timing and I’m sorry.” Ignoring the tight, cold lash of memories, she snagged the cordless phone on her way past the counter. “I’ll be back.”
    “I’m coming, too.”
    “No, it would be better if I go alone. The neighbor has had problems before.” She stopped at the sliding door, taking one last look at him. I wish …she thought, before stepping out into the night. She wished she had what it took to trust a man again.
    She pushed open the gate and stepped into the side yard. “Lyn? Are you okay?”
    “Mariah, it’s cold. You shouldn’t be out here.”
    “I’m more concerned about you.” She followed the shadows to where the slender woman sat on the bottom step, hurrying to swipe away tears. The faint light from her family room window added just enough illumination for Mariah to see the darkening bruise under her left eye. Poor Lyn. “You look as if you need a friend.”
    “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” The smile she tried to put on looked convincing.
    “I heard yelling.”
    “Roland’s having another difficult day.”
    “So are you. Your lip is bleeding.”
    “Oh.” Lyn dug in her jeans pocket for a tissue and dabbed at her swollen bottom lip. “Please don’t start. We’ve had this talk before.”
    “Yes, but he’s hurting you. No one deserves to be hit.” Mariah sat down on the cement step next to her neighbor.
    “Roland is a good man down deep. He isn’t always like this, but he can be…very hard to live with.”
    “Maybe too hard.” Mariah remembered how it felt, wanting to hide the shame and embarrassment. She’d walked in Lyn’s shoes. It was a bind, one she knew well. Loving a man and wanting to do well for him. Wasn’t that part of a relationship? The give and take? The extra effort to make each other happy? But sometimes that went terribly wrong. “But you don’t deserve to be punished.”
    “I should have started fixing something else for dinner. He’s tired of chicken. He likes things his way.”
    “But what about you? I wish you would be a better friend to yourself. You deserve that. You are worth more than you know.”
    “That means a lot.” Lyn bit her lip. Her chin dropped and she lowered her voice. “Sometimes I think we would be better off on our own, Emily and me, but he’d never let me go.”
    “I can help you figure that out—” The door behind them jerked open and hit the inside wall with a bang. A squat, red-faced man emerged into the shadowed