The Perfect Husband

Chapter One

Tess Williams awoke as she'd learned to awaken-slowly, degree by degree, so that she reached consciousness without ever giving herself away.  First her ears woke up, seeking out the sound of another person breathing.  Next, her skin prickled to life, searching for the burning length of her husband's body pressed against her back.  Finally, when her ears registered no sound and her skin found her alone in her bed, her eyes opened, going automatically to the closet and checking the small wooden chair she'd jammed beneath the doorknob in the middle of the night.

The chair was still in place.  She released the breath she'd been holding and sat up.  The empty room was already bright with mid-morning sun, the adobe walls golden and cheery.  The air was hot.  Her T-shirt stuck to her back, but maybe the sweat came from nightmares that never quite went away.  She'd once liked mornings.  They were difficult for her now, but not as difficult as night, when she would lie there and try to force her eyes to give up their vigilant search of shadows in favor ... read full excerpt from: The Perfect Husband ebook