The Wanted Short Stories Read Free Page B

were with a female client doesn’t sit well with me. Why did he feel the need to keep that a secret? If he had told me, I’d be okay. All I’m doing now is wondering why he hid it. If he hid that, what else is he hiding?”
    Ari covered the phone and said something to someone else. “Ellie, I think Jeff knows I’m talking to you. What do I do? What do I say?”
    “I’m sorry I put y’all in the middle of it.”
    “Ellie, do you honestly think Gunner would ever cheat on you?”
    I looked down at the floor and closed my eyes. “If you asked me that same question two weeks ago, I would have said never. Last night, when he came home from a meeting with Karen and Bill, he was standing on the porch, talking to her on the phone. I was on the other side of the door. I was going to open it, but then he started talking to her. Why was he talking to her that late at night when they just left each other?”
    “What was he saying?”
    “He told her that he understood why she was being picky and that he would do whatever it takes to make her happy with the design.”
    “Ellie, you are reading way too much into this.”
    Then, I heard Gunner’s voice. Shit.
    “Ah hell, get ready to grab the phone,” Ari said.
    “Ellie? My God, what are you doing? Where are you?”
    The sound of Gunner’s panicked voice caused my heart to drop, but a part of me was glad he was worried. It served him right.
    “I, um…I’m fine, Gunner. May I please speak with Ari?”
    “Baby, please come back home. I swear to you, Ellie, I would never do anything to hurt you or the kids. Y’all are my life. Please…just stop acting like this, and come home.”
    And there it was. He was being the Gunner from the last two weeks, the one who had kept accusing me of acting like a child.
    I stood up and balled my hand into a fist. “That is exactly why I left. Please enlighten me, Gunner, as to how I’m acting. Like a spoiled brat? A child maybe? Jealous and bored housewife perhaps?”
    He sighed. “Ellie, I don’t think you’re any of that. I’ve just been really stressed out with this job, and I want to do a good job for Bill.”
    “Why, Gunner? You have a job. You own one of the biggest cattle companies in central Texas. You’re a partner in a fast-growing breeding business. You’re a father to two beautiful kids who hardly got to see their father before he took on his new job. And as far as I’m concerned, when was the last time you touched me or held me in your arms or told me you loved me?”
    “Ells…”
    “I can tell you when the last time was—the night you went to your first evening meeting with your client. ”
    “I swear to you, nothing has happened. I have no feelings for her. What do I have to do to prove that to you?”
    A sob escaped my mouth. “I think we need to be apart for a few days. My mother can help with the kids. I’ll call her, and—”
    I heard Gunner crying, and my whole world shattered.
    “Ellie, no. Please don’t leave me.”
    I took in a deep breath. “I’m not leaving you. I love you, Gunner, more than the air I breathe. I feel like I’ve been slowly losing myself the last few months, and then after all this with your new job, I just need some time to myself. I’ll call the kids in the morning.”
    “Ellie, wait. Just tell me where you are.”
    “I love you, Drew.”
    I quickly hung up the phone. I lay down on the bed and slowly let myself fall apart.
    What did I just do?
    Oh God, what did I just do?

 

    “Daddy, is Mommy going to be calling soon? She was gonna call after dinner.”
    I glanced up and smiled at Colt. Alex and Colt were sitting on the kitchen island, watching me make their lunches for tomorrow.
    “Yeah, buddy. She’ll call soon.”
    Alex looked at me, and I swore, she had tears in her eyes. I tried to smile bigger, but she looked away from me.
    “Daddy, is Mama coming back home? She started crying this morning on the phone. She sounded so sad when I talked to her.”
    My heart