Page 24 of Sing Me Home
“I just want the divorce. How long will it take?”
He sighed. “Did you establish residency in California?”
“No, I moved there…after. Lorne and I never stayed anywhere more than six months. PEI, Ontario, then to Sioux Falls, Billings, Pocatello, Salt Lake, and finally Vegas. Lorne is a wanderer. Avagabond.” I wiggled my fingers to show what I thought of that fancy term.
It had sounded so cool when I met him. Like a grand adventure. But I’d quickly found out it meant living in poverty. Having nothing but the clothes on your back. Literally. Nowhere to lay your head at night, barely enough food to stay alive. The excitement had worn off after two months. I’d begged him to let us settle down somewhere but he wouldn’t.
“That actually works in your favor,” Holden said. “If you’d changed your legal residence, you’d have to live here for six months—planning to stay—before we could even file. But since you haven’t, we can move forward. We’ll still have to try and serve him, though. Where do youthinkhe is?”
“Hiding somewhere in hopes I never find his sorry behind.” I pressed my fingertips to my mouth, thinking. “Mexico, maybe? Sometimes he talked about going to Cabo.”
“What about his parents? Could he be staying with them?”
“His mom passed away when he was little. His dad and stepmom live in Nova Scotia. But good luck getting their help. I already tried. They don’t want anything to do with him.” Which, according to Lorne, was pretty much how they parented—and let me tell you, it showed.
Holden rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, we have to give it an honest effort. And then, if we still can’t find him, we have to run a notice in a court-approved newspaper for four consecutive weeks. He has fifty days to respond. If he doesn’t, we can file for a default divorce.” He exhaled loudly. “It could take eight to twelve months, best-case scenario.”
The thought of being Mrs. Lorne Green for another year made me want to toss the protein bar Aunt Peyton had shoved at me as I walked out the door.
I rubbed my temples. “And if by some miracle we can locate him? How long then?”
“You’ve already been separated for well over six months. So, if he showed up on your doorstep and signed the papers, no contest? A couple of weeks.”
I snorted. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Charlie,” Holden started—but then his mouth clamped.
“Just say it.”
“What were…no.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Whydid you marry that guy?”
“Ah, yes, the question for the ages. Right up there with ‘What happens when we die?’ and ‘Why do McDonald’s ice cream machines never work?’”
He scowled at my playful answer.
I blew a raspberry and glanced at the barn where Cash was slaving away to help me. “Don’t worry, Uncle Holden. Lesson learned. I won’t mess up anyone else’s life.”
His head snapped back and his frown deepened, even more displeased than before. “What does that mean?”
A montage of me and Cash played through my mind. The Hawaii Kiss, his songs for me, his arms around me this morning, and a thousand memories from high school that, looking back, were all filled with his love. I just hadn’t known it.
Then, I snapped the metaphorical rubber band. Because I was not wife material. Not for Cash anyway. Not anymore.
I looked back at my uncle, full of resolve. “It means I’m never getting married again.”
He looked taken aback. “You’re too young to be jaded like that.” He thought for a few seconds and let out a small sigh. “You know I had a stalker, right? A long time ago?”
I nodded. “I’ve seen the scar on Aunt Christy’s arm.”
Holden’s stalker had tried to run the two of them over with her car. Thankfully, they came out alive, with only Christy getting a compound fracture. The psycho lady wound up with nearly a life sentence in prison.
Our parents never let us forget. They wanted to make sure we all knew what stalker behavior looked like and what to do if it happened to us. Being related to so many famous people made anyone with the last names Dupree or Bishop easy targets.
Holden ran a hand over his jaw. “Every time I tried to have a relationship, she messed it up somehow. Usually in such subtle ways that I couldn’t prove it. But I knew it was her. And no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake her loose.” He shifted his feet. “I used to think the same thing as you. Thought I was better off alone and that I didn’t deserve to love someone and have them love me back. But now? I wake up every day and thank God, literally, that Christy took a chance on me.”
My answer was immediate. “Because you deserved it. You’re a really good person.”
His response was just as immediate. “So are you. You deserve it as much as I do. As much as any of us. Why don’t you know that?”
