Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber

you enough,” she said.

      “I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

      “A ten-percent raise,” she added excitedly, covering her mouth with both hands. “This is just great.”

      Before he could react, Janice threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. As soon as she realized what she’d done, she blushed and hurriedly left. Zach figured it was just an impulsive gesture from a warm, emotionally generous woman.

      But Zach enjoyed that little hug, and found himself smiling for the next few minutes.

      At five-thirty, when the workday was technically over, he remained behind to finish up some paperwork. He wasn’t in a hurry to get home these days. Rosie was generally busy with some volunteer project or other, and Allison and Eddie were involved with their own friends and activities. Janice was closing down her computer as he walked out of his office at six o’clock.

      “I didn’t know you were still here,” he said, glancing at his watch.

      “I wanted to review these numbers one last time before I put the Mullens Company report in the mail.”

      He smiled at her. It was exactly this attention to detail that had earned her the raise. “Good night, Janice.”

      “Good night, Mr. Cox, and thank you again.”

      As Zach turned off Lighthouse Road and headed toward Pelican Court, the smile left him. It was doubtful Rosie would have dinner ready. In all likelihood, she was preparing for some function outside the house. She never seemed to plan ahead for such events, and as a result she went into panic mode, shoving something that passed for dinner onto the table. Most likely, the meal would consist of some packaged crap she’d bought at the grocery store, something that could be slapped together without any effort. Some nights she brought home dinner from the deli. There was nothing he liked less than Chinese food that had been sitting under lights all afternoon. The deli-roasted chicken wasn’t half-bad, but he was as tired of that as he was of pizza.

      Zach parked the car in the garage and loosened his tie as he entered the kitchen.

      “You’re late,” Rosie said, rushing to place silverware in the center of the table. “Dinner’s ready.”

      “What are we having?”

      She reached for a container on top of the garbage can and read the label aloud. “Lasagna.”

      “Is it cooked all the way through this time?” The last entrée she’d served was still frozen in the middle.

      “It should be. I had it in the microwave for twenty minutes.” Then without a pause, she turned her head and yelled for the kids. “Dinner!”

      “Are you going out?”

      “I told you this morning I have my book club tonight.”

      “Did you read the book?”

      “Who has time? But I want to hear what everyone else has to say.” There was a decided edge to her voice, as though she disapproved of him questioning her about her activities.

      Zach picked up the mail and sorted through it. He stopped at the VISA bill, which he’d paid off a month earlier. Slipping his finger under the flap, he slit it open. To his dismay he found a three-hundred-dollar charge from Willows, Weeds and Flowers.

      He asked Rosie about it.

      “Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. I used the card to buy flowers for the ladies’ auxiliary luncheon at the hospital.”

      “Three hundred dollars for flowers?”

      “The committee’s going to reimburse me.”

      “When?”

      “Don’t take that tone of voice with me, Zach,” she snapped. “I’m sure I’ll have the check by the end of the week.”

      “That card is for emergencies only.”

      Rosie glared at him, her hand on her hip. “That was an emergency. The lady delivered the centerpieces for the banquet, and the treasurer hadn’t arrived yet. She had to be paid. Surely even you can understand that?”

      “So you volunteered?” Zach didn’t know why his wife found it necessary to leap in and rescue the world.

      “Someone had to. Why are you so upset about this?”

      “It’s more than just this one incident,” Zach said. “It’s everything. I’m sick of the dinners you throw together because you’re in a hurry to go somewhere else. I’m sick of you rushing out the door every night, sick of the house being a mess.”

      Tears filled Rosie’s eyes, and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. “You have no appreciation for everything I do around here.”

      Zach glared right back. “Everything you do? Tell me, exactly what is it you do all day, except race from one unpaid venture to another? In the meantime, your family’s eating garbage. Our home is a mess and I haven’t seen you for more than ten minutes all week.”

      “Are you suggesting I care more about my committees than I do my family?”

      “I’m suggesting nothing. I’m saying it outright.”

      “You don’t get it, do you?”

      “Wrong,” he shouted. “I’m definitely getting the message and so are our children. The kids and I are running a distant second in your life. You fill up your days with volunteer work so you’ll feel valued and important, and frankly I’m sick of it.”

      He suddenly saw that Allison and Eddie had walked into the kitchen and were standing frozen in the doorway. Zach hated fighting in front of the children, but these negative emotions had been corroding inside him far too long.

      Rosie looked at him as if he’d physically struck her, then burst into tears and stormed into their bedroom.

      For a stunned moment Zach stood there as his children accused him with their eyes. He didn’t understand why his home life was in constant turmoil. It was little wonder that he preferred being at the office with its well-organized environment.

      Needing time to clear his head, Zach removed his tie and headed toward the garage.

      “Where are you going, Dad?” Eddie called after him.

      Zach didn’t know. “Out.”

      Neither of his children said anything to stop him and the truth was, Zach didn’t want to be delayed. Once in his car, he drove around for a while until his stomach rumbled. It’d been a long time since lunch, and returning home to a half-cooked frozen entrée held no appeal.

      It was nearly eight by his watch. Zach stopped at the Taco Shack on the outskirts of town. The Mexican restaurant was better than scarfing down fast food, but at this point he didn’t much care. Zach decided he’d order a couple of tacos and eat them in the car.

      As he stepped up to the counter, he noticed a woman sitting by herself at a table. He didn’t think anything of it until he realized she looked familiar. Turning, he gave her a second glance.

      “Janice?”

      “Mr. Cox, what are you doing here? I mean—I didn’t know you ate here.”

      “I do every now and then,” he said. The teenage girl working the counter hurried over to take his order. Zach examined the menu and decided on a chili rel-leno and a cold drink. While he waited for his meal, he sauntered back to where Janice sat.

      “What brings you to the Taco Shack on a Tuesday night?”

      She looked sweet and pretty when she smiled up at him. “I’m celebrating my raise.”

      “By yourself?”

      She nodded. “My ex-husband has our son on Tuesday nights, and I was too excited to go home and sit in front of the television all by