Читать книгу A Love To Remember - Angela Weaver - Страница 13

“I love you more, hummingbird,” she repeated once again before hearing the tattletale click on the other end of the line. Barbara Clayton hung up the phone and walked outside the three-bedroom cottage she’d called home for the past decade. Her first instinct was to find her husband and tell him about Sasha’s phone call. But her second thoughts won out. Turning left, she exited the walled garden and started down the worn path that would take her to the beach.

Memories rode the wind. She recalled their university days. When Camden, Arthur and she had long talks in the university library about migratory birds and human encroachment on the national forests. Always short on money, and big on ideas, they’d talked about saving animals. Barbara sat on a flat rock, curled her legs up, and hugged them to her chest. Resting her head atop her knees she stared at the ocean as the salty twang brushed across her cheeks. Minutes or hours passed as she sat immersed in her memories until a shadow crossed her face.

“Hey, sweetheart, I looked for you in the house and I thought you might be here. What’s got that faraway expression on your eyes?”

“I was thinking about Camden.” She shook her head slowly. “I still can’t believe he’d dead.”

Her husband was silent for several moments. “I know.” He sat down, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close. Even after over three decades of marriage, they still fit. She’d gained inches, he’d lost hair and they’d both lost sleep worrying about their work and daughter. But despite the ups and downs, she still felt that marrying him was the best thing she’d ever done.

Barbara laid her head on his shoulder and looked out over the sea. The waves continued to rise and fall, providing a semblance of something constant in a world of change. “Why did things have to end so badly?”

“Camden lied to us, butterfly.”

She smiled softly at his pet name for her. She studied birds and he studied bats, yet they both shared a passion for butterflies. “But I could forgive him that.”

“I could forgive a man for hiding the truth, but you can’t help wonder what else he’d hidden.”

“He was a good man.”

“Who did an excellent job of fooling us into thinking he was a run-of-the-mill British man bent on making up for his country’s past. But to find out that he’s from one of those wealthy families that were actually responsible for all the natural damage that we’re struggling to make right. It turns my stomach.”

“You can’t help what family you’re born into.”

“I made him my daughter’s godfather. He was a member of our family and he was keeping secrets. Now when I go to give a lecture, or I’m offered a position at a university, I question whether it’s because of my qualifications or Camden’s influence. Not to mention I can’t get over the fact that he funded Sasha’s scholarship and fellowship.”

She closed her eyes. Secrets. She still held one from her husband and if she didn’t tell him about Sasha’s being included in Camden’s will she’d have another secret.

Maybe when he calmed down.

She watched the waves knowing Miami was ninety miles in the distance. Her husband crossed his arms over his chest and stared toward the water. “Money is the root of evil. History has shown us that. Never doubt it. I’m just glad none of this ever touched Sasha.”

Barbara looked away and kept her mouth closed.