"Angels- 01 - A Season Of Angels" - читать интересную книгу автора (Macomber Debbie)

УI understand,Ф Glen was quick to assure her. УIf youТd rather not talk about yourself, thatТs fine. I donТt want you to think IТm pressuring you.Ф
УYou arenТt,Ф she said, touched by his gentleness and how hard he worked to please her. УItТs only fair that I tell you about Jeff .а.а. he was my husband.Ф
УOnly if you want,Ф he said and sipped from his coffee. As he did, Jody noticed what nice hands he had. Large, but gentle. They were the kind of hands that comforted a child, that shook on fair deals, and were rarely clenched in anger.
УI met Jeff shortly after he graduated from college,Ф Jody continued. УI was going into my junior year and we fell deeply in love. We dated for several months and talked about marriage. The next thing I knew Jeff had sold his car so he could buy me an engagement ring.Ф She paused as she remembered how sheТd wept with joy the night heТd given it to her. For weeks afterward he took a bus to job interviews. УTo make a long story short,Ф she continued when she could, Уhe got a job with Boeing and shortly after that we were married. Timmy wasnТt a planned pregnancy, but IТve thanked God for my son every night since I lost Jeff. I .а.а. I donТt know what I would have done if it hadnТt been for Timmy. He .а.а. he gave me a reason to live.Ф
She paused, needing a moment to collect herself.
УJeffТs job entailed a lot of traveling. He was always very good about keeping in touch with me. Timmy was only ten months old when Jeff was sent on assignment to Berlin. We set a convenient time for him to phone me each day. When he didnТt call one evening I knew immediately that something was dreadfully wrong. I tried his hotel room several times, but there wasnТt any answer.Ф
Her voice wobbled and Glen reached for her hand.
УA week passed with no word. Nothing. I was frantic and so was JeffТs mother. Together we traveled to Germany. We stayed there nearly a month, in an effort to learn what we could.Ф
УYou mean he just disappeared into thin air?Ф Glen asked as they pulled into Winslow, the dock on Bainbridge Island. The sound of the cars driving off the ferry was followed by those boarding. The activity in the cafeteria increased.
УIt seemed that way. We did everything we could, pulled every string, made a nuisance of ourselves at the police station and the American embassy. The best we could figure then was that Jeff had gone for a walk along the Spree River, which was close to the hotel. ThereТd been a string of muggings and beatings that year. The only scenario the authorities could give was that Jeff had been the victim of such a crime and either been thrown or had fallen into the river. I toured every hospital in the city. Gloria, JeffТs mother, did as well. She insisted Jeff was alive, and refused to give up hope.Ф
УAnd you?Ф
УI held on to the belief as well because the alternative didnТt bear thinking about. Soon there was nowhere else for us to look, no one for us to see. We didnТt have anywhere else to turn, and had no choice but to return to the States. Gloria lives on the East Coast and after I returned to Seattle, she continued to pressure the powers that be.Ф
УDid she learn anything?Ф
УNothing .а.а. but I did.Ф Those early months had been a living nightmare to Jody. УAs much as I believed in JeffТs love for me and Timmy, I couldnТt help wondering if this disappearance was planned. I know it sounds ridiculous now, but you have to understand my mental state at the time. I .а.а. had him investigated. If there was another woman in his life, I needed to know about her. I had to find out if this was some kind of cruel hoax.Ф
УWhat did you learn?Ф
Jody focused her gaze on the caffщ latte. УVery little. The only remote possibility came from a background check, and I discovered Jeff had been approached by a government agency, the CIA, I believeЧone of thoseЧwhile he was in college. He turned down the offer. My father had a good friend in government who did some discreet checking and they reported back that what IТd found out was true. Jeff had been recruited, but declined, and that was the end of it.Ф
УHowТd you manage to live?Ф
УIt wasnТt easy because I wasnТt working at the time. Within a few months my finances were a nightmare. My parents helped me out as much as they could, but I didnТt want to live off their generosity. I couldnТt. Jeff had disappeared, but because there wasnТt a body I couldnТt collect his insurance or any of the other benefits that would normally be available to a widow. Somehow I managed to hold on for nine months, with the help of my family and a few good friends. Eventually I was forced into filing for a divorce in order to sell some property. That gave me income to return to school and live on until I could get a job.Ф
УThey never found a body?Ф
Jody looked out the window, the night was inky and thick, and her heart felt more so. УYes, eventually they did, but it took nearly three years.Ф
УMy God, what happened?Ф
A tingling sensation roved up and down her spine even now, after all this time. УI .а.а. received word from the German police that theyТd found a body caught in the cable beneath a bridge. They believed it was Jeff. They needed me to provide dental X rays and claim the body.Ф
УIt must have come as a terrible shock.Ф
Jody managed a nod. УIt was. As best the authorities could figure, Jeff was mugged, beaten, and knocked into the river and left for dead. The body was so badly decomposed that there wasnТt any real way of telling us much more than that. The news came at a bad time. Timmy had the chicken pox and I donТt think I could have borne returning to Germany. Those weeks in Berlin three years earlier had been the most painful of my life. I thought to ask JeffТs mother to go, but she was always a bit eccentric and after JeffТs death she became more so.Ф
УHow do you mean?Ф
УShe continually insisted Jeff was alive and was furious with me when I divorced him. Our relationship was strained afterwards. She claimed sheТd talked to spirits in a sщance, and Jeff had sent a message to her. He wanted Gloria to tell me how terribly disappointed he was in me because IТd divorced him. I didnТt talk to her much after that.Ф
УShe insisted he was alive and that sheТd been able to talk to him in a sщance? It sounds like she had a rough time of it.Ф
УShe has. I donТt know that sheТll ever fully recover.Ф Then again, Jody didnТt know if she would either. УMy father, bless his heart, volunteered to make the trip. The dental X rays matched and thatТs the end of it. That was nearly five years ago now. JeffТs been gone a total of eight years.Ф
УIТm sorry, Jody, I really am. Jeff must have loved you and Timmy very much.Ф
УI know he did. I get angry with myself that I doubted him even for that little bit.Ф
УAnyone would have.Ф Glen took their empty cups and deposited them in the garbage. He slipped into the seat and seemed unnaturally quiet. УI donТt pretend to understand the grief you experienced, but I was in a relationship that lasted for three years. Breaking it off was one of the most emotionally difficult times of my life.Ф
УWould you think I was prying if I asked you what went wrong?Ф
His mouth moved into a half smile. УNot at all. You were frank with me and deserve the same consideration. I loved Maryann and wanted to marry her, but sheТs a successful attorney and, well, IТll simplify it by explaining that her career is more important to her than marriage. Somehow or another we got involved in a game of ultimatums. I wanted a wife and children. Maryann claimed she wasnТt ready for either. In the end she suggested a compromise. She thought it was a good idea for us to move in together. I wasnТt willing to fall into that trap, and that was more or less the end of it.Ф
УYou still love her, donТt you?Ф
Glen lowered his gaze. УI think itТs very much like you and Jeff, I donТt think IТll ever stop loving her. ItТs been several months now and nothingТs going to change. IТve accepted that and apparently so has she. We still bump into each other in court occasionally, and itТs awkward, but thereТs nothing left for either of us to say.Ф
УThen it doesnТt bother you that I have a child?Ф
Glen straightened in his seat. УBother me? I consider your son a bonus.Ф
УDonТt say that until you meet him. HeТs quite a character.Ф
УIТm looking forward to doing exactly that.Ф
They were nearing the Seattle dock and Glen stood, eager for them to be on their way. He glanced at the gold watch on his wrist. УYou think Timmy might still be awake?Ф
Jody laughed and nodded. УIТm sure of it. HeТs anxious to meet you too and please donТt hold it against me if he asks you a lot of personal questions.Ф
УDoes Timmy like sports?Ф
УHe loves them. According to his coach, heТs going to be a dynamite pitcher someday.Ф
УReally.Ф Glen actually beamed. УI was the pitcher for our high school team.Ф
УYou were?Ф This was like a match made in heaven. Almost too good to be true. УIf you mention that to my son, heТll be your friend for life.Ф
Their pace was fast as they headed toward the car. GlenТs hand was at JodyТs elbow and although they were walking up a steep hill, it didnТt seem to thwart their enthusiasm.
As Jody suspected, Timmy was dressed in his pajamas waiting for her return. The instant he heard the front door open, he raced from the family room like pistons firing awake an engine. He stopped abruptly in front of Glen and threw back his head to look up at him.
УHow tall are you?Ф
УSix-two. Is that tall enough?Ф Glen asked, crouching down so that they met eye to eye.
УThat depends.Ф