Page 14 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

The answer to that was pretty simple. Over the past few days, trying to get him out of her mind had been like trying to lift a tractor with her bare hands—it simply hadn’t worked. It hadn’t been this much of a problem when he was gone, completely out of reach. But now that he was back, literally living in their barn, it was different. Without really thinking—well, shehadbeen thinking about him—she’d baked him a pie, and now here she was.

Stanley sat cross-legged on the floor, looking not in the least bothered by it, and began helping himself to it. Allison blinked at him in confusion. She’d been feeling somewhat guilty about sending him out of the house since the other day. By now, shefigured, he should’ve headed to a motel or something—anything was better than living in a barn.

“You’re not uncomfortable?” she blurted.

He froze with a pancake on its way to his mouth. “Uncomfortable? Why would I be?”

He bit into his food, and his eyes lit up. “This is really good. Thank you.”

Allison frowned. Sure, Stanley had always loved horses and living on the ranch, even before his disappearance. But this? This was a little over the top.

She eyed him some more. Could it possibly have anything to do with his disappearance? He’d told her he’d been somewhere all this time. Where was that, again? Frosty Mountain?

No,FrostMountain. Allison hadn’t even heard of it. Maybe it had something to do with ... well, all this?

Did it matter?Stay away from him,Celine had advised her.

“You need to get a haircut one of these days,” she blurted with a tiny smirk. “Just head down to Danny’s. You look like a hippie cowboy. How come you didn’t get a haircut all this time?”

He shrugged without looking up at her. “Didn’t need one.”

Allison took a step closer, ignoring the warning in the back of her mind. In the light streaking in from the open doorway, she could make out the details of his body. Those scars she’d seen on his forearms and abs weren’t the only ones. From where she stood, she could just make out a few more across his back.

She couldn’t help wincing at the sight. If she didn’t know better, she might’ve assumed he’d gotten into a knife fight with a gang and barely made it out alive. Whatever Stanley had been doing, wherever he’d been, it didn’t look like he’d been in the Bahamas. What could have done this to him? Some wild animal? A meat cleaver?

Once again, she had no answers. It was becoming more frustrating than ever.

This wasn’t right. Stanley was her husband, the same man she’d been in love with since college. They should both be in the house, in the kitchen, having lunch. He shouldn’t be living in a barn, for goodness’ sake.

He abandoned you,said a voice in her head.Why do you still care so much about him?

Because he’s my husband,she told it.

Yes, but he left you.

He could’ve returned to the ranch house any time since that morning. Stanley was no idiot. He knew he could sleep in the house if he wanted to, no matter how many times she asked him to leave. Yet he’d chosen to remain here. Why?

It took her a moment to realize he was staring at her.

“Uh ...” She stepped back. “I’ll be going now. Just wanted to bring you something to eat. I’ll be going now—”

“Allison, wait.”

His voice stopped her in her tracks. She held her breath, staring at him.

He climbed to his feet and drew closer until he was standing barely a foot away, his chest heaving slowly.

“Allison,” he said. “I’ve missed you. I ... I’m sorry I was gone so long. Now that I’m back ...” He paused, looking around as if searching for the right words. “I want to be around for you. I want to be with you.”

She drew a sharp breath. “Stanley ...”

“I never stopped thinking about you.” Those deep blue eyes bore into hers. His fingers reached up to touch the locket he was wearing. “Not for a day, a month, a year. I never stopped loving you. I never could, no matter what was happening to me.”

His words swept over her like a cool breeze, soothing her senses. She blinked at him, trying to come up with a response, but his words, not to mention the fact that he was standing dangerously close to her, made it almost impossible to forma coherent thought. She found herself wondering what might happen if one of them took a step closer. Those lips of his had felt warm against hers the last time he kissed her. If he could just touch them to the pulse racing in her neck...

“Allison...”

She saw him reach out with his hand to touch her cheek. The next thing she knew, she’d swatted his arm aside.

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