A cold, stabbing pain hit Snow in the gut. The papers were ready to go? Was that Caleb’s doing?
“I don’t know when he’s going home,” she said, ignoring the ribbons of doubt clawing to take hold. “According to my husband, this marriage is salvageable.” Apparently, like a car or an old building. Maybe Snow should hit up Buford at the hardware store for a tub of spackle.
“What are you talking about? You left him. He didn’t hear from you for nearly two years.” Her mother-in-law’s voice dripped with icy incredulity as she reiterated every one of Snow’s sins. “How could he possibly want to stay married to you?” she finished.
Snow asked herself the same thing, but she wasn’t about to share that fact with Vivien McGraw. “Maybe for the same reason he married me in the first place,” Snow said, prepared to lie to save her own pride.
“Oh, please,” Vivien huffed, impatience clear in her tone. “Once he stops thinking with his libido, Caleb will see reason.”
It was a wonder Caleb carried any kindness at all after being raised by this heartless woman. Of course, Vivien was smart enough never to reveal her true self to the men in her life. From their first encounter, Snow had marveled at how tightly Vivien spun her wicked web of fake Southern charm and empty maternal preening. The moment she’d caught Snow sneaking out of the house, the mask had dropped and Vivien had held no compunction about letting her son’s fleeing wife know exactly what she thought of her.
The fact that Caleb’s mother had been willing to pass messages on to Snow’s family with complete anonymity was her only saving grace. But then, the longer Snow’s whereabouts stayed secret, the closer Vivien came to wiping Snow out of her family for good.
“Your son doesn’t see it that way.” Snow couldn’t help herself. As much as she knew Vivien was right, she couldn’t stand to admit as much. Not to this horrible woman.
Silence prickled through the line, raising goose bumps along Snow’s arms. Her mother-in-law was a formidable opponent. A woman unaccustomed to being crossed.
“How do you think my son will feel when he learns that you used his own mother against him?” Vivien asked, the threat unmistakable.
“I didn’t use anyone,” Snow answered, struggling to keep the panic from her voice. The guilt was harder to ignore. “Everything you’ve done was of your own choosing.”
“That’s your word against mine, now, isn’t it?”
The betrayal would kill him. Even if he gave Snow a chance to explain, the truth was still ugly and hurtful.
Her position achingly clear, Snow said, “Your son will be home before Christmas. You can start your proceedings then.”
Vivien’s voice lost a bit of its edge. “This is the best for all involved. I assume you’ll no longer need my assistance in contacting your parents?”
“No,” Snow said. “I’ll contact them directly from now on.”
As she spoke the words, all feeling left her body. This was what she wanted—Caleb out of her life for good. So why did she feel as if she was losing something all over again?
“Snow?” Vivien said, sounding once again like the dictator she was. “Don’t do anything foolish.”
“Good-bye,” Snow said, ending the call without waiting for the other woman to respond.
Closing her eyes, Snow took several deep breaths, willing the tears away. Once she regained control, she opened the phone line and entered a number she hadn’t dialed in eighteen months.
“Are you sure this is the one?” Caleb asked, turning the tiny ring between two fingers to catch the light. Hattie had put him in a small ladies’ parlor before disappearing up the stairs and returning moments later with a cream-colored jewelry box.
“I’m sure,” Hattie said, balancing the box on her lap. “That ring has Snow written all over it.”
The round diamond, held in place by four prongs and accented by six smaller stones on each side, was dainty, understated, and beautiful. Just like his wife.
“The band is platinum,” Hattie explained. “Aunt Edith gave it to me when I turned sixteen. Her first husband had been killed in World War II, and when she remarried, her second husband gave her a new ring.” The older woman’s voice turned wistful. “I think seeing this in her jewelry box every day reminded her of Uncle Harry and what she’d lost. They’d been so in love, those two.”
Caleb had no doubt he could afford whatever price Hattie asked, but now he knew there was sentimental value involved. “I don’t want to take something so personal,” he said. “I’ll make a trip down to Nashville tomorrow.”