Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads, and then it’s over.Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight out of their latest book.
Eva Scott is here for ...
First Fight Friday
with a scene from
The Marriage Makeover
Being with Nick causes her to question everything she thought was true. Has she made a mistake thinking her love for Nick is dead? Can he still love her? More importantly, can he again trust after everything they’ve been through?
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She saw his body tense and a guarded look shuttered his face. "And that would be?"
"I think it might be time we got a divorce." There! She'd said it. Talia waited for Nick's reaction. Silence stretched long and deep, wrapping itself around them. The only sound Ernest, the dog, snoring. Then after the longest time, shattering the silence, he spoke.
"You do, do you?" His voice sounded soft but a dangerous tone lurked underneath.
"Well, yes. Don't you? I mean, we've been living apart for six years. I'm not even sure we can be considered married anymore it's been such a long time."
"And, who is responsible for that?"
Talia nervously twisted her fingers together in her lap. She sensed his anger lying beneath his cool, calm exterior he presented. If she didn’t diffuse the situation there would be little hope of keeping the conversation contained and civil for much longer.
"Look, I know I'm to blame for the breakdown of our marriage and I take full responsibility for that."
"You do, do you?"
"Of course I do. That's not the point."
"What is the point?"
"The point is we both need to get on with our lives and the only way we'll be able to do that is if we finalize our marriage legally." Surely he could see it was the only course of action for both of them. She had never meant to hurt him but she couldn’t undo the past. Moving forward with their lives seemed the best thing they could do now.
A look of thunder crossed Nick’s face and his eyes became stormy as he fought for control.
"You mean you need to get on with your life. I took our marriage vows seriously the day we married" he said through clenched teeth. "Until death do us part - do you remember Talia? You've run away from everything else, you are not running away from this. You are my wife and you will remain my wife. I will not give you a divorce so you can get on with your life after leaving me here to pick up the pieces of the life you left behind. The life you rejected."
"It wasn't like that, Nick! You know it. You were there. You saw what a mess I was after Adel-... after our daughter died."
"Adeline. Our daughter's name is Adeline. You can say it Talia. Have you visited her since you arrived?"
"No" she whispered, letting her hair fall over her face as she struggled to hold back the tears.
"I am surprised. But then again, why should I be? You got out of here so fast after the funeral my head is still spinning." His anger plain for her to see.
"I couldn't stay. I couldn't stay and..."
"And help me deal with her death? You left me alone with the grief of losing my child, not to mention the additional joy of being left by my wife. How do you think I explained it to people when I couldn’t even explain it to myself? How do you think I coped?" His tightly leashed fury frightened her.
"I'm so sorry, Nick. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for how I behaved. Our baby girl was dead. I'm her mother. I should have been able to save her, to protect her. I failed. I suffered from post-natal depression. The doctors properly diagnosed it later, after...."
"After you ran away," he finished for her.
"Yes," she whispered. "After I ran away."
"All those years and not once did you pick up the phone to see how I had coped." Nick sounded disgusted with her, tired and disgusted.
"It took me such a long time to claw my way up out of the darkness. By the time I did too much time had passed. I didn't know what to say to you. I kept putting it off and then suddenly years had gone by. I never meant for any of this to happen, Nick. I am so sorry." A single tear escaped her control.
He studied her for the longest time. "Why didn't you let me help you?"
"Your grief frightened me. It seemed to go so deep. I couldn't see how you could help me and I knew for sure I couldn’t help you while I was in that state. It's the honest truth." Tears now rolled freely down her face. In all these years she had never articulated that to anyone. Sitting here in her old home with her husband it almost seemed they had been transported back in time. Her grief was as keenly present as if they had buried Adeline yesterday and not half a decade ago.
"She would have been going to school this year" Nick said quietly.
"Oh, don't!" Talia covered her face with her hands and gave into the sobs wracking her body. Losing a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was like having a wound which constantly bled.
Copyright © Eva Scott
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The Marriage Makeover by Eva Scott
Nick and Talia Carmichael were childhood sweethearts. Grief over the death of their baby daughter from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome crushed their marriage. Talia moved to a new city, with a new career and life. Now it’s time to close the door on the past and ask Nick for a divorce.
Nick has other ideas. Once his wife, always his wife. He has no intention of letting Talia off so lightly and proposes terms and conditions to his agreement. It will mean moving back into their marital home, and force her to face long buried grief. Can she do as he asks?
Nick and Talia Carmichael were childhood sweethearts. Grief over the death of their baby daughter from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome crushed their marriage. Talia moved to a new city, with a new career and life. Now it’s time to close the door on the past and ask Nick for a divorce.
Nick has other ideas. Once his wife, always his wife. He has no intention of letting Talia off so lightly and proposes terms and conditions to his agreement. It will mean moving back into their marital home, and force her to face long buried grief. Can she do as he asks?
Now that you've had a taste of Eva's work, would you like more?
Other avalible titles by Eva Scott are:
RELUCTANT WEDDING PLANNER Stumbling around in the largely female world of weddings he gets a lead on the go-to girl for wedding flowers - Georgiana Mac Intyre. Georgi, reeling from a very public breakup, is not interested in men in anyway shape or form. Not even super-cute vets - even when they are clearly interested in her.
Cam shamelessly uses his story to get her to help. It has all the elements; romance against the odds, true love, orphans (you can't have good story without an orphan or two), and a bride.
T’WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
During her Christmas Eve performance, part time Burlesque dancer Miss Ginger Snap looks out into the crowd to see her first and only love, Clay Roberts. The man who broke her heart and betrayed her. The man who caused her to flee her home town to Sydney and never look back. Desperate to avoid him, she makes a mad dash for the last train back to her home town in time for Christmas.
For Clay time stands still as he recognises the dancer. He’s certain it’s Jessica King. She ran out on him at their high school graduation and he’s been searching for her ever since. After missing her train, Clay convinces Jessica to travel home with him.
Can Clay convince his one true love to give him the opportunity to atone and a second chance? Can Jess risk being hurt again by the man she loved?
Eva's bio:
Eva lives on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland Australia in the town which brought the world the Bee Gees. When she’s not writing romance you can find her out on the water kayaking, fishing or swimming. When on dry land it’s all about the shoes and the coffee (and old Bee Gees records).
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