Winning Back His Wife
Read Winning Back His Wife Online
Authors: A. B. Ewing
Winning Back His Wife
By A.B. Ewing
Text copyright © 2013 A.B. Ewing
All Rights Reserved
Dedicated to my best friend, Kathy Ann Royster, who
told me, I was good enough to do it.
****
Table of Contents
Caleb glared as the battered
,
blue Ford SUV driving in front of him swerved dangerously into the
oncoming traffic. He was in no mood for this. All he wanted to do was get home
and get a drink. The day had been gruesome enough and he did not have the
energy or patience to deal with this idiot.
Glancing into his side mirror, he listened to the other
motorists honking their horns, signaling their annoyance at the driver holding
up the traffic. Where was the police when you needed them? Caleb put on his
indicator then jerked his vehicle to the right, but to his annoyance the SUV
swerved right too, blocking him. He slammed on his brakes and jammed the car
horn. “BEEEEP!” He tried to pass the SUV, but again, he was blocked. Growing
angrier now he swore loudly, pounding his fist on the horn again, this time
longer than the first.
“Caleb, please let him be. We will arrive home soon enough.”
His sister, Daphne tried to reason with him.
Loosening his grip on the steering wheel, he glanced at the
woman in the passenger seat next to him. It was amazing how much she looked
just like him. She had the same dark blonde curly hair, same milky white skin, and
same facial features, just softer. She was beautiful, as were all the women in
the Wilder clan. Caleb glimpsed his sister sleeping in the back seat. KC was
just as beautiful but chose not to emphasize it. Her pouted lips painted black
were relaxed and the ghastly earring that was linked to her nose by a silver
chain was now draped across her closed eye. Her blonde hair with short red
streaks looked like an erupting volcano. It drove her mother crazy. At
nineteen, she adopted the gothic look and always wore black, baggy clothing and
heavy black lipstick. Caleb loved KC but if she didn’t change soon she would be
the death of his parents.
“Daphne, this guy is driving like a maniac. He’s going to
kill someone.” Caleb looked down at his sister’s stomach; her large, round
belly was emphasized by the sweater that she wore. “Look, I just want to get
you home to Stuart, and KC home to mom, so I can go home and get some rest.
This psycho is holding up the traffic.”
At the mention of her name, the girl in the backseat woke
from her nap.
“Aren’t we home as yet? Caleb, can’t you make this thing go
any faster?” KC whined.
“Shut up, KC! I am no happier to be stuck with you in this
car than you are to be with me, so zip it!” Caleb snapped.
“Caleb, please. I know you’re tired and I’m sure KC doesn’t
mean to be ungrateful, but I don’t like it when you shout,” Daphne O’Connor
said placing her hand gently on his arm.
She was looking at him and Caleb could see that look of
concern in her eyes - that look she got anytime she was around him.
“What’s wrong now, Daphne?”
“You used to be so carefree, so happy. What happened to you?
It’s been five years. Don’t you think it’s time you stopped punishing yourself
for her leaving…”
“I’m sorry, Sis, but this has nothing- sweet mother of God!”
Caleb cried out as Daphne turned back to the road. They stared in utter horror
as the blue SUV in front veered left and crossed the median, pummeling front
first into a red minivan. Skidding as if the road had black ice, the minivan
rammed into another vehicle to drop side first into the incline on the other
side of the road.
Caleb could hear the screeching of tires all around as
terrified motorists swerved to avoid being a part of the wreck. He brought the
GMC Sierra to a safe stop and turned to his sisters.
“Daphne, Kace, are you guys alright?”
“We’re fine!” they answered in unison.
He quickly surveyed his sisters and when he was sure they
were okay, he scrambled out of his car and raced towards the overturned
minivan.
Caleb maneuvered his way through the stalled cars, crossing
the highway, with KC and Daphne following more carefully behind.
A large crowd had already gathered when he reached the other
side of the highway. Above the inaudible murmurs he heard the faint screams of
a child. Straining his ear, his head began to pound when he realized that the
screams were coming from the overturned vehicle that lay at the bottom of the
incline. Peering over the edge, Caleb saw the minivan turned on its side, about
twenty feet below. On impulse, he hoisted his weight over the severed railing
and edged his way along a protruding rock towards it.
“Hey buddy, where do you think you’re going?” one guy yelled,
stretching a hand to halt Caleb.
“To do what no one else is doing,” Caleb replied, shooting
the guy a move-or-else glance.
“Caleb, Caleb, wait!”
Ignoring Daphne’s pleas he focused on his descent down the
slope. It had been years since he left the fire service but the years he served
as one of Washington’s finest were imprinted in his brain. He was more than
capable of doing this.
He could hear Daphne addressing the onlookers, her voice
fading as he climbed further down.
“He knows what he’s doing; he used to be a firefighter. I
am Dr. O’Connor. Does anybody here have any medical training? You check the
driver of the SUV. You two come with me. I need you…”
When his feet hit the ground, he did what any firefighter
would do - scan the area for possible danger. The side where the SUV had
collided with it, was folded in as if a wrecking ball had smashed into it. All
around the vehicle was shattered glass, the wheels were still spinning and
smoke was rising from the hood. The child’s screams were replaced by a mere
whimper and something akin to fear made his heart accelerate. ‘Hold on, little
one, hold on.’
The smell of leaking gas cut through the air and Caleb knew
that could be fatal. One spark and the entire vehicle could go up in flames.
Hurrying to the crumpled hood he assessed the interior looking for any signs of
sparks. There were none. After disconnecting the battery cables and making sure
that there was no imminent danger, he went around to the side. Peering into the
front he could see the driver, a woman, slumped against the driver’s side door.
She was not wearing her seat belt. Her face was hidden by a matt of curly hair
fused with blood. In the back seat he saw what he was looking for - the child.
The little girl’s cries had died down and he strained to hear her soft cries.
She was calling out for her mother.
“Hush, little one. I’ve got you.’ he whispered as he reached
into the vehicle unhooking the straps that held her to the car seat. At least
the mother was wise enough to strap her in. Gently, he eased the child through
the shattered car glass. She was no older than three, maybe four years.
She buried her little head in the crook of his neck, her
sobs muffled by his shirt. Her mop of curly black hair had a familiar scent,
but he couldn’t tell what it was.
“Shhh, little one, you’re safe now….Shhh!”
Others were at his side trying to pry open the front
passenger door to get to the driver. He tried handing the child over to one of
the bystanders but she clasped her tiny hands around his neck tighter. Caleb’s
heart warmed at the thought of the child feeling safe with him. Standing nearby
he waited for the men to get the door open. When he was sure they could get to
the woman, he started up the hill. If the mother was dead he didn’t want the
little girl to witness that.
Daphne was waiting at the top for him.
“Let me take a look at her. How many more people are there
in the car?” Daphne questioned, quickly examining the girl as best as she
could. It was difficult doing so because she refused to let go of Caleb.
Choosing his words carefully, he looked over the little girl’s
head. “There is only the mother in car. I’m not sure how she is,” he responded.
Daphne nodded in understanding. He didn’t want to say anything that would upset
the little girl.
“She seems to be okay, just confused. Why don’t you sit
over there with her?” Daphne pointed to a spot a little distance from where she
was standing.
KC was standing at his side now, bending where he sat
cradling the child in his arms, all the while murmuring soft, comforting words.
She placed a hand around his shoulder to comfort him.
Someone had called 911. In the distance he could hear the
wailing of the sirens as it pierced through the air. Help was on the way. The
paramedics would help the mother but Daphne would assist until the ambulance
arrived.
He heard a commotion from down the incline and watched as
two of the men that he had left below, struggled to get the unconscious woman
over the barrier. Daphne pushed her way through the crowd that gathered to get
a better view.
“Please make some room.” Daphne shouted and sure enough,
the people scattered. The men were over the barrier by then placing the woman
on a spot which Daphne was pointing to. He watched as his sister knelt
gingerly at the woman’s side and pushed the hair away from her face. Daphne
gasped, went still, and then covered her mouth, stifling a cry. Something was
wrong. She looked up at him and from the short distance he saw that his
sister’s face was as pale as if she’d seen a ghost. Something was wrong.
Quickly she drew her gaze away from him and resumed examining the woman.
He handed the little girl over to KC and his feet
reluctantly moved toward his sister. As he drew nearer, he surveyed the
unconscious woman’s face, and then froze.
No, it couldn’t be. God no! It couldn’t be. His knees
buckled and he stumbled backward, crumpling to the grass. He couldn’t believe
what he was seeing.
“Caleb, I need you to keep it together. Please, Caleb, keep
it together. She’s alive. She’s still alive.”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His tongue felt
heavy. His sister glanced at him again. The woman who lay fighting for her life
before her was Caleb’s wife, Neela Wilder.
****
Caleb looked on helplessly as Daphne focused her attention
on his wife. She was still kneeling next to Neela, her pregnant stomach making
the task a little more difficult than usual. She ripped open Neela’s
bloodstained T-shirt and placed an ear to her chest. She quickly probed Neela’s
body, starting at her chest, then lower to her feet searching for broken bones
or punctured organs. She examined the wound on her head and pressed her hand to
stem the flow of blood.
Caleb heard the ambulance closer now, and felt the knot in
his stomach loosen a little. Daphne may be a Doctor but there was only so much
she could do without any equipment. She just needed to keep Neela breathing
until the ambulance arrived. What the hell was taking them so long?
He crawled the few feet that separated him from his wife - the
woman he had not seen in five years, the woman who haunted his dreams for all
that time. Was she really lying here? Where had she been all these years? He
had so many questions.
He wanted to touch her now and not even hounds from hell
could stop him. He raised his hand and only then did he realize how much he was
shaking. Gently, oh so gently he touched her face and Caleb felt emotions so
strong rise up in him that it made him lightheaded - hurt, anger, pain, fear…
love.
Yes, love! Here in front of him lay the only woman he ever
loved, the woman who owned the rights to his heart, whose heart he once held.
Her cinnamon-colored skin was even softer than he remembered; it stood out in
comparison to his pale, milky one. Her eyes which he distinctly remembered
being brown, were hidden behind closed lids, lids that were accented by long
curling lashes. Long black curly hair now tainted in blood was fanned out below
her head and her lips; those lips that he had kissed so many times were
slightly parted and Caleb could not stop his finger from gently tracing the
outline. He drew in a long breath and felt his lung constrict. God, this could
not be real.
“Caleb, Caleb... Caleb. Please look at me!
He dragged his gaze away from his wife long enough to look
at his sister.
“She’s okay. She’s okay, Caleb. There doesn’t seem to be
anything broken and her breathing is stable. I don’t know if there are any
internal injuries but she seems okay. I know it looks bad but the blood isn’t
that much. Caleb, are you listening to me?”
He must have nodded because she continued talking.
“I need you to stay with her; I need to talk to KC.”
Stay with her? There was no way in hell he was ever leaving
her side again. The devil himself couldn’t pry him away.
What did she need to speak to KC about? What she needed to
do was let KC take the child to the hospital and…the child! He swung around to
where his two sisters stood and once again Caleb felt breathing was the most
difficult thing to do. The girl had called out for her mother. She was Neela’s
daughter. The baby she was carrying when she left.
Daphne was saying something to KC and it must have been
about him because she looked at him and then to the little girl in her arms,
and as recognition dawned, her body started shaking. He could tell she was
crying. Daphne reached her hand out to wipe a tear from her sister’s face and
said something to her again. KC nodded and walked away from her.
Slowly she came towards him, carrying the sleeping child and
without being prompted Caleb opened his arms to receive his daughter.
Sitting next to his wife he held her limp hand in one of
his and cradled his daughter in the other.
At the thought of how close he came to losing his wife and
the daughter he didn’t know existed, Caleb Seth Wilder sat at the side of the
road on a wet June afternoon and cried his heart out.
****
