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    After All: Willow Bend Romances, #4
    After All: Willow Bend Romances, #4
    After All: Willow Bend Romances, #4
    Ebook136 pages2 hours

    After All: Willow Bend Romances, #4

    By Mona Ingram

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    About this ebook

    "I want a divorce."

    Carla thought she was prepared, but what woman knows how she'll feel when her husband of twenty years says those words? With her life turned upside down, Carla forgets to tell him that she's pregnant. Seeking to make sense of what happened, she confides in the least likely person in town. Jeffrey Lambert turns out to be a good listener, but that's all he can ever be... isn't it?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMona Ingram
    Release dateFeb 11, 2021
    ISBN9781927745625
    After All: Willow Bend Romances, #4
    Author

    Mona Ingram

    Mona Ingram loves to make up stories and is the author of more than four dozen romances. Most mornings she can be found at her computer, trying to keep up with the characters in her current work, many of whom invariably want to go off in a completely different direction than she planned. But that’s the joy of writing. An avid bird watcher, Mona is particularly happy when she can combine bird watching with travel.

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      Book preview

      After All - Mona Ingram

      WILLOW BEND ROMANCES

      Book Four

      After All

      by

      Mona Ingram

      Cover Design:

      Elizabeth Mackey Graphic Design

      Copyright © 2021 Mona Ingram

      All rights reserved.

      This is a work of fiction.

      Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locations is entirely coincidental.

      Willow Bend exists only in the author’s imagination.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Chapter One

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Carla couldn’t concentrate . She pushed back from her computer and looked out over the production floor. Most of the garment workers were bent over their sewing machines, ear buds in place... no doubt listening to their favorite music. Jasmine was just coming back from her break, followed closely by Randy; judging by the smiles on their faces, they’d been to visit their children at the Child Care Center. So far Bella on the Bend only employed two males in the assembly area, but they’d worked out well and Carla was always open to hiring more. The company had no men working assembly at their Santa Monica facility but here in Willow Bend the town was only just beginning to recover and company policy was that men be given equal opportunity for employment.

      Carla made a mental note to consult with Melissa about expanding into the unoccupied floor space. Bella’s father should also be in on the conversation; Ronald Thompson knew all the workings of the facility, having been the one to oversee the physical changes when the space was converted from the Lambert Textile Mill. At the rate the company’s online business was growing, Carla had no doubt that they’d double their output in two more years, maybe less. She sighed. Might as well get a line on more equipment while she was at it.

      Normally the prospect of growth would excite her, but not today. She’d been feeling out of sorts all day and had found it difficult to focus. If only Bella lived closer! Carla worked closely with the employees, but she didn’t care to discuss her personal life with them.

      Jasmine.

      The young woman looked up.

      I’m going to leave now. I called Melissa, but she’s not in her office so I left a message.

      Concern clouded the other woman’s eyes. Are you okay?

      Yeah... sure... everything’s fine. I just have a few things to do.

      Jasmine smiled. Well, it’s a nice day out there; enjoy.

      I will, thanks. Carla walked quickly through the building, managing to avoid speaking with any other employees. Once inside her car, she turned on the air conditioning, let her head fall back against the head rest and tried not to cry.

      She thought again about talking to Bella. Theirs was a friendship that had endured since childhood. Carla had been the one Bella told when she found out she was pregnant and the friends had supported each other ever since. Bella was not only busy running the company, she was married to Rafa and deliriously happy whereas Carla was feeling increasingly isolated.

      She raised her head and looked at the beautiful old brick building that had once housed the Lambert Textile Mills. In one way or another, the lives of everyone she knew – as a matter of fact, the lives of most people in town – had been affected by the mill in some way. When it closed, many families had to move away to find employment; others were reluctant to leave and managed to survive on greatly reduced incomes. Now, many of those same people and their families looked to Bella on the Bend as the central employer in the area. Even Carla’s parents, who owned and ran the town’s only bakery, had made cutbacks during those first unsettled years. But, like most Italian Americans, they were hard workers, and La Paneterria was now back to its former glory, offering a range of mouth-watering pastries alongside the daily staples.

      The warm glow of the afternoon sun seemed to make the bricks of the former factory glow with life. In a way it was ironic that Jeffrey Lambert, son of the mill’s owner, was now the town’s Economic Development Officer and was responsible for encouraging new businesses to set up in Willow Bend. Things had truly come full circle...

      Carla fastened her seat belt and turned the key. Her trip down memory lane had done nothing to alleviate her feelings of unrest; it was time for her to confront the elephant in the room.

      She entered the silent bungalow and went directly to her bedroom where she changed into shorts and a tank top. Her destination was a comfortable lounge chair beneath a willow tree in the back yard, her go-to spot when she needed to think. Nabbing a bottle of water from the fridge she went outside, glancing at the empty dog kennel before settling down beneath the tree. She’d wanted to get a dog ever since moving back here, but Ethan was adamant that an animal would only ‘tie them down’. She probably should have gone ahead and chosen one from the shelter. She deferred to him far too often, and that was the crux of her problems, not to mention her unhappiness.

      Carla wasn’t sure exactly when she and Ethan had started to grow apart. When he’d been offered the position of Artistic Director at one of Atlanta’s premiere theatres, she’d been proud of him. Ethan had been bitten by the acting bug in high school here in Willow Bend, and his current position was, in his words, his reward for years of hard work in New York, in Los Angeles and now back here in Atlanta. Fortunately, Willow Bend was close enough to Atlanta that they never felt separated. Ethan practically lived at the theatre and Carla was able to be close to her family here in Willow Bend. It was win-win... at least until recently.

      Carla pressed the water bottle to her temple, enjoying the cool sensation as she let her thoughts drift back to roughly four months ago. She’d been in Atlanta for the weekend, having timed her visit to coincide with the last performance of Ethan’s current play. They’d been enjoying a quiet dinner at a small Bistro which was favored by the theatre crowd. As they ate, they were interrupted several times by people Ethan knew congratulating him on the play’s successful run. It was easy to see how well respected he was and for a brief moment she’d felt a pang of jealousy that her husband had followed his dreams while she’d followed along, never out of his shadow.

      At the time she’d tamped down the notion, telling herself she was being disloyal. Putting on a bright smile, she’d added her congratulations, and they’d taken a quick trip down memory lane... at least Ethan’s lane... touching on the highlights of his career.

      She moved the candle to the side of the table so she could see him properly. Would you say that the theatre is your passion? she asked. Have you ever wanted to do anything else?

      He gave her an odd look. Something else? Why would I do that?

      She shrugged. I don’t know.

      The look he gave her was condescending. It was a foolish question, but I forgive you.

      You forgive me? How kind.

      Carla, what’s gotten into you?

      Do you really want to know? She had no idea where that had come from, but it felt good.

      I’m not sure. What’s this all about?

      It’s about me, for a change. What I want. My passions.

      He picked up his brandy snifter and studied her for a moment. "I thought I was your passion."

      She recognized the deflection and didn’t bite. You were... I mean you are.

      He pulled back, clearly affronted.

      Hear me out Ethan. Please. She wished she’d thought this through a bit more, but she’d started now.

      Remember when you quit working at the textile mill and we went to New York? You followed your passion and I was so proud of you. I still am, but it’s always been about you. New York, then Los Angeles, then back here to Atlanta. I’ve trailed along in your wake like a dutiful wife. She paused to take in a breath. The thing is, I have passions too.

      Why didn’t you ever say anything?

      "I tried to, believe me. Remember that time in LA when I tried to show you my sketches? You barely glanced

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