No Direction Home (Sweet Home Colorado) Read Online Free

time I go to get my hair done, the place is packed with customers.”  Nana put Ollie on the floor and walked over to the fireplace. “She always asks about you.”  Nana picked up the wrought iron poker. “Did you know she and her husband split up last year? He was running around on her with some woman in Denver.”  Flustered, Nana glanced away. “Oh, I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have said that.”
    Grace took a deep breath . It was ironic her and Cindy’s marriages had suffered the same fate—betrayal. “It’s okay. I’m over it.”  She picked lint off the flowered sofa pillow she held against her chest. "After I became ill, I couldn’t be a real wife to Lee. And he couldn’t handle it." 
    Shadows of past hurts marched through her mind like a funeral procession...back to years ago . At the height of her pain and suffering, she had caught him in the swimming pool with a naked woman. Worse, he hadn’t even cared—he just laughed and returned to the woman’s arms, leaving Grace broken and crushed both physically and emotionally. It was a hard lesson, but well learned. The marriage was over. The next day she let him move her into a nursing home, tossing her aside like yesterday’s stale donuts.
    Nana poked the log in the fireplace with a vengeance, bringing Grace back to the present . “A real wife? That’s hogwash. The man was no good. You were going through a tough time. Instead of taking up with another woman at the first sign of trouble, he should’ve been there for you, stood by you.” 
    Grace watched bright orange sparks fly up the chimney as Nana pushed the log around the grate . She suppressed hurt feelings under the appearance of indifference and chose her words carefully. “My life has changed. I’ve had to accept things as they are, not as I want them to be. When someone is in great pain like I was, you don’t feel like making love. And let’s face it, that’s the backbone of any marriage.”  She hesitated. This was hard to talk about. “He didn’t want to wait for me to get better.”
    “Sweetheart, there’s a lot more to a relationship than sex. ”  Nana poked the log angrily. “I’m going to tell you something about Lee. I should’ve told you years ago.”  She pushed her small round wire-rimmed glasses up on the bridge of her nose. “When you were living in Denver and engaged Papa saw Lee with another woman. He thought it was some kind of business dinner or he would’ve told you and spared you this heartache.”  She frowned and hit the log again. “You don't need him. There will be someone else, someone better for you.”
    Grace stopped playing with her hair . This conversation was inevitable. She might as well get it over with. “I know about his affair with the woman in Denver. It came out when we separated. Since she is an attorney, too, they have a lot in common.”  She sighed deeply. “Actually, she lives in LA now and they’re together.”  The witch had been the woman in her swimming pool.
    Nana started toward the open kitchen . “Well, you're better off without him. And this calls for something stronger than tea. Would you like a glass of White Zinfandel?”  She picked up two long-stemmed wine glasses and a chilled bottle and headed back to Grace.
    “Sounds good to me. ”  Grace sat up and took the wine glass. “I’ve worked it out in my mind. I wish them well. I want Lee to be happy.”  She tried to push down the fact it still hurt. “In his own way, he was good to me. He was fair with the divorce.”              
    “Of course he was fair . Humph...he had no choice. You caught him in the act.”  Nana filled their glasses.
    The wine was cool against Grace’s throat . She didn’t want to talk about Lee anymore. “I want to put this behind me and get on with what’s left of my life.”  She sighed. “I need you to understand that I have to protect myself. Stress of any kind causes me to physically hurt