The Miles Between Us Read Online Free PDF

“Why not, for the love of God?”
    “Because Danny did it to her, and it destroyed their marriage!”
    Rose’s eyes clouded, and she wrinkled her forehead . “I don’t understand.”
    “After Katie died , Danny decided to be a dick. He went behind her back and had a vasectomy. When she found out, she left him.”
    “That’s why they separated ? I thought it was because of Katie. So many couples, if they lose a child, have trouble holding it together.”
    “There was that, too . But it was the vasectomy that tipped the scales. That’s why I can’t do that to her. Don’t you think I’d get snipped tomorrow if I could?” He drummed frustrated fingers on the tabletop. “I won’t betray her trust like that.”
    Rose sipped her coff ee and considered. “Of course,” she said, “there’s always celibacy.”
    It was his turn to snort . “As if.”
    “I’m just weighing the options.”
    “Yeah? Well, you can toss that one out. Been there, done that. Don’t plan to do it again in this lifetime.”
    Rose snorted . “You haven’t been celibate since you were twelve.”
    “Seventeen, for your information, Ms . Smart-Ass. And I have. After Danny died. For two frigging years.”
    Rose’s eyebrows went sky high. “No way. My brother, the rock star? The one with a girl in every port? No way in hell.”
    “Two years,” he repeated . “Two of the longest, loneliest years of my life. And I’m not a rock star. I’m a professional musician.”
    “ Semantics,” she said. “Nothing more than semantics. I don’t get it. Two years? Why?”
    “Because! ” he snarled. Then he sighed, leaned his elbows on the table, and rubbed his temples in an attempt to dislodge the headache that hadn’t been there five minutes ago. “Because,” he said, “I was waiting for her.”
     
    * * *
     
    Without Casey here, the house echoed with emptiness. His wife was everywhere. In the ceramic floor tiles ordered direct from Italy, in the stained glass windows that showed up in delightfully unexpected places. In the smell of freshly-baked bread that permeated the air. Even in the colors they’d painted the exterior. Casey told everyone who’d sit still long enough to listen that they’d designed, planned, and decorated the house together, but in all honesty, it had been her baby from start to finish. He’d done little more than give his approval to her ideas. He trusted her implicitly, and what did he care, anyway? He just wanted to be with her, in a place they could call their own, a place where she hadn’t slept with Danny, a place where the memories belonged to just the two of them. If she wanted to paint the living room ceiling purple, he wouldn’t care, as long as she was happy.
    He made macaroni and cheese for Emma, the kind that came in a box with a foil packet . It was quick and easy, and she usually loved it. But tonight, she picked at it fitfully, still traumatized, still unable to understand why her mother wasn’t here. He’d had one hell of a job peeling her away from Casey when it was time to leave the hospital. By the time he managed to separate them, his wife and his daughter were both in tears.
    “Just o ne more bite,” he urged, as Emma vigorously avoided the spoon he was trying to tempt her with. “Just one more bite, Emmy.”
    “ No!”
    “Are n’t you hungry, kiddo? I know you want your mom, but she can’t come home until the day after tomorrow. You need to eat.”
    “Mum ! Mum mum mum .”
    Oh, boy . He’d just reopened the can of worms he’d been desperately trying to keep the lid on. “Shit,” he said.
    “ Sit,” Emma repeated.
    If Casey was here, she’d be giving him the Death Glare right about now. She was adamant about him cleaning up his language around Emma, who was already beginning to repeat everything he said.
    “Bad word,” he said. “Bad Daddy.” Emma looked at him as though he were spouting Martian. To illustrate his point, he slapped his own hand. “Bad Daddy,” he