“You certainly don’t have to agree to this. It would take an exceptionally strong person to revisit the scene of the crime so to speak and place yourself in a vulnerable position once more.”
Ashley moaned because his comments pierced the very core of her turmoil.
“In fact in ten years, I only know of one other couple on the verge of divorce who entered together, and they left the program early. For them, it didn’t work. But Mr. McKnight seems anxious to try.
“Today is our kickoff. I’m giving a lecture in the auditorium in five minutes. If you’re interested in helping your husband, talk to him and let me know what you decide by the end of the hour. If you decide not to go through with the program, I’ll need to give your place to the next couple on the list.”
While her thoughts reeled, he patted Cord’s shoulder, then walked down the corridor.
Stunned by the news that Cord was a smoker, she stood there in a daze. “When I married you, I thought I knew everything about you, but it’s evident I only scratched the surface. All weekend I assumed that you must be dying of a terminal illness and Greg was afraid to tell me.
“Instead—I discover you’re here because of a smoking problem! It’s too absurd.” An angry laugh escaped.
“It’s serious to me,” Cord said in a quiet voice. “Even more so now that I’ve found out you’re pregnant.”
Ashley didn’t have a comeback for that. During the last six months of their broken marriage she had no idea what he did apart from her because they spent so little time together. He and Sheila, along with several subordinates, ran the administrative end of the lucrative McKnight potato chip company. The various plants located in northern Utah and Idaho had produced a phenomenal business for three generations and it was still growing to meet the demand.
Sheila smoked a lot. Ashley could always tell when Cord had been with her because he came home from the office with telltale signs of tobacco clinging to his clothes. Under those circumstances it would be easy enough for Cord to fall back into an old habit.
Naturally she wanted him to stop, if only for his own health’s sake. She supposed that knowing he was about to become a father would provide the extra incentive.
But one week without Sheila? Ashley mused waspishly. She couldn’t imagine how either Cord or his stepmother would survive that long without each other.
Yet he obviously felt he needed help or he wouldn’t have checked in to the hospital. But a couples program?
She’d heard smoking was a very difficult habit to break, and she admired anyone who was successful. Certainly a program like the one run at the hospital sounded as if it might work because it was attempting to deal with a person’s whole psyche.
She moistened her dry lips. “It would never have occurred to me that you were a smoker.”
“I put it behind me when I went to work for the forest service and thought I’d licked it.” There was a distant pause. “Evidently I haven’t. Now that you know the truth, I wouldn’t blame you if you walked away.”
She took a shaky breath. “If I do that, then you won’t be able to participate.”
“It doesn’t matter, Ashley. I can afford to get the help I need through individual therapy. But when I heard about the clinic, the idea of couples working on the problem together made a lot
of sense.”
She hated to admit that she agreed, but she had serious reservations. “I don’t feel comfortable about taking the place of another couple who wouldn’t otherwise have the funds to get this kind of help.”
Cord’s jaw tautened. “That was one of my concerns, too. I’ve already told Dr. Drake that if you did join me, I would insist on paying for our stay and the therapy involved.”
His admission didn’t surprise her. In all areas but one, Cord was the most honest, decent human being she’d ever known.
“It was a mistake to have called you,” he muttered darkly. “If you’re ready, I’ll walk you out to your car.” He cupped her elbow to usher her toward the elevator, but she pulled back. His dark brows furrowed in question.
“Cord—since you’ve gone to this much trouble, I have to assume you’re intent on quitting smoking. I’ll stay through your first meeting with the therapist, but beyond that, I can’t promise anything.”
His body stilled. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I—I came this morning, Cord, and I’ll see it through that far at least.”
“But your job?”
“The person who was going to replace me when I went into labor is with Mrs. Bromwell now. Early this morning I made the decision that no matter what happened between you and me, I wouldn’t be going back there. It’s not going to be a problem since we all agreed that anything could have happened during these last four weeks.”
“You’re right. Our baby might decide to come early.”
“It’s possible,” she admitted, “but the doctor says there’s no sign of that yet.”