Chapter 1 : Part 3

Dreamkeepers
by Dorothy Garlock

(Page 3 of 4)

"Heaven forbid! You would be out of your mind to consider having a child by that woman. She's unhappy because she is out of her element. She simply does not fit into a cultured world."

"I'm going out of my mind, anyway. I can't concentrate on this deal with Waterman Electronics. I don't know how she'll act this evening. She may move about like a robot, or hide in the kitchen. Something has got to give soon. I can't take much more of this."

"Don't worry about tonight. I've talked to the cook about the menu and ordered fresh flowers. I'll even send over a dress for her to wear. Don't worry, Jonathan. I'll take care of things. I always have."

"Thank you, Katherine. Will Nancy be here?" "Of course. Nancy will keep the conversation flowing among the women. She will . . ."

Kelly walked stiffly down the hall and into the kitchen, where she leaned against the wall. What had she become? What kind of a fool was she to hover outside a door and listen to her husband discussing her so coldly? It seemed she had lost everything-pride, self-respect, husband.

"Coffee, Mrs. Templeton?" The cook was looking at her strangely. "It's in the dining room."

"Thank you," she murmured, but stood there for a moment before she was able to push herself away from the wall.

She met Jonathan and Katherine in the hallway. Katherine nodded coolly and went out the door. Jonathan stood inspecting her, his mouth compressed, a line etched between his dark brows. Almost guiltily she removed her fingers from the polished surface of the hall table. She had to fight the urge to lift the hem of her skirt and wipe away the offending prints.

"Why don't you go shopping today or get your hair done for tonight?"

"All right." Her voice was expressionless and she looked down at the fingerprints marring the polished wood.

"It's merely a suggestion, not an order," he snapped. "Most women would jump at the chance to have unlimited credit at the shops. You wander around this place like a ghost and dress to fit the part. Look at yourself. You wear things that make you melt into the woodwork." His lips held a slight sneer.

The pain that pierced her heart whitened her face. She looked away from him. Her gaze fell on the door at the top of the stairs, the sweet haven of her bedroom, and she longed to be there out from under the gaze of this stranger she had married. She hurt so much that it seemed a flood of tears was trapped inside her body, yet she could not cry. It was as if her pride had closed the valve on her emotions so tightly that there was no way to release them.

"For heaven's sake!" His harsh voice shattered the si lence and he stared at her angrily, for a time saying nothing more.

Kelly couldn't bring herself to look at him. Finally she heard the click of his heels on the marble floor and the slam of the front door. She closed her eyes, wincing.

Somewhere along the way they had lost each other. Kelly sincerely believed she had tried to find a place for herself among the wives of his friends. The cool reception she received on each overture of friendship was due, she was sure, to the influence of Katherine and Nancy. The men had seemed to enjoy her company, but after one informal party, when in desperation to keep from standing alone she had lingered among them to exchange bits of chitchat and laugh at their light flattery, she had felt Jonathan's piercing eyes from across the room, and Katherine's disapproval.

Cheap and vulgar flirting was the way Jonathan had put it that night when he lost his temper and lectured her with a cruel, icy tongue. He had marched her upstairs to their bedroom and made love to her as if she was a woman he'd paid for. After that, she realized, she had grown frightened of him and began shrinking from him, retreating farther and farther within herself in order not to risk his disapproval.

They had done each other great damage by getting married. She could never be anything except what she was. He could never take her lively, outgoing personality and reshape it to fit into his world. In the process of trying to do so he was destroying everything that was unique and alive about her that had attracted him to her in the first place. She had become quiet and withdrawn, a person she scarcely knew herself. If she had hurt Jonathan, she bitterly regretted it. She only knew he was not the man she had met in Anchorage and she could not continue living with him. There was only one thing to do.

Once she'd decided, Kelly's mind clicked into gear. While she packed, tears trickled down her face and ran into her mouth. She wiped her eyes and pushed damp fingers through her hair. Where had their love gone? It was dead! You couldn't take warm, sweet love and put it in an atmosphere like this and expect it to survive. Divorce was easy these days. Jonathan would find a way to get it over with quickly-and without publicity. With her gone, the blame could be laid at her feet and he could save face.

Copyright ©1982 by Dorothy Garlock

About the Author

National bestselling and award-winning author of thirty-five romances that often feature the exciting backdrop of the Old West, Dorothy Garlock is one of America's-and the world's-favorite novelists. Her books, all enthusiastically reviewed, now total more than eight million copies in print with translations in 15 languages. She lives in Clear Lake, Iowa.