A Ram in the Bush, Barbra Porter-Coleman [thriller novels to read .TXT] 📗

/> Shay smiled.
He looked at her with confidence. “Next time I’m going to have to buy you a seat closer to the court.”
“Next time?” she paused. “Who said there’s going to be a next time?”
“Well, that’s if you’ll go out with me. Can I call you?”
“Yes, call me,” she dug in her purse, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Winston.
He inspected the card thoroughly. “Oh, a lawyer,” he said. “Everybody needs one of those.”
Winston rudely shaken out of his reminiscences when he heard what sounded like a pot slamming. At that point, Winston wanted to leap right back into his dream and hand Shay back her business card and be done with the marriage. I’ve got to get out of here. Winston rose from the bed, walked over to the antique chair, and removed a pair of jeans that lay neatly across the armrest. He changed from business attire into jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of Jordan, athletic shoes. Winston detected the aroma of scorched food. He had tried to get used to Shay’s cooking, but it had been tough going. Cooking was a brand new endeavor for Shay. After getting married, she had dutifully tried to master the disagreeable task, but she was far from mastering the art as yet. Her nanny had prepared all of the family meals in her home when Shay was growing up. Shay never had to learn how to cook. Winston stood, and absent-mindedly looked at himself in the mirror. Why is she so insecure? Why doesn’t she trust me?


Shay moved around downstairs attending to her usual evening routine as Winston was upstairs in the bedroom. She dashed out the kitchen door to his car; put the key in the ignition, and her eyes immediately gazed to the odometer. “He lied,” she tried to whisper, but the fear of possible evidence of him cheating tensed her inside and she yelled. “He’s driven twenty miles more than he should have,” she said alarmed. Moving briskly to the passenger’s side, she lifted the shoulder strap of the seat belt and planted her nose against it like a hound dog, sniffing for perfumenone there. She lowered the sun visor of the black 300M Chrysler, looked for makeup stains, and checked the ashtray for stained cigarettes; but found nothing. Quietly shutting the door, she returned to the kitchen, royally pissed off because her husband had obviously been somewhere else other than work. Evidently, he wasn’t telling her something. Paranoia tightened its grip around Shay’s mind like a python squeezing its prey.
Winston walked down the stairs; his hand gripped the mahogany banister as he watched Shay pout around the kitchen from the foot of the stairs. If the jealousy could just be vanquished, there was a good chance they could build some real stability into the marriage. Walking over to his wife, taking her hand, and staring into her eyes, Winston gently whispered to Shay, “Let’s not quarrel tonight.” He tried to kiss her on the cheek, hoping to change the tenor of the evening. Shay viciously jerked her head away, avoiding his kiss, and screamed, “Where were you?” The additional twenty miles had elevated her suspicions to a new level. She waited for an explanation, imagining all sorts of trysts that might have taken place. He had to have been with another woman. He probably took her home from work. Or maybe he found his way in the copier room hugged up with some hussy—or possibly even a man? No, no… not a man! She shook that thought out of her head.
“I told you, I was at work,” Winston snapped back, his easygoing personality now shattered by the constant haranguing. Having never experienced such out-of-control jealousy before, Winston didn’t know what to expect next. He tried to explain in an elevated voice, “I went to work and then I came right back home after work. Oh, I forgot. I did have to eat today,” he intoned sarcastically.
“So where did you go?” she asked like a ticked off mother.
With his voice still elevated he said, “McDonalds, damn it! Me and a couple of people from the college, is that okay?” Tension permeated the atmosphere as Winston stood with his right fist slightly clenched. He’d never hit a woman before and never would, but his anger had led him to strike the wall a couple of times. By the expression on his face, tonight could well be a wall-banger.
“Are you sure you were with the guys?” Shay asked, still thinking about the additional twenty miles. He had to be lying. McDonalds was right down the street.
“Where do you think I’ve been? To a motel?” Winston held his arms out as if he were being frisked. “Here, come and smell for perfume. Or maybe you want to check my underwear,” he said angrily with a recollect gleam in his eyes.
That’s not a half bad idea, she thought, but ignored the bizarre invitation.
Winston accusingly danced a finger in her face. “You hid all this jealousy and insecurity from me until well into this marriage and now I’m slapped in the face with a problem.”
She snapped one shoulder back briskly, wanting to ask about the additional twenty miles on the odometer, but realized he would know she had been snooping if she did. She wasn’t ready to reveal that indicting little piece of evidence just yet. A little more evidence needed collecting.
Winston walked to the counter, scooped up his cell phone and shot Shay daggered eyes, “I don’t have to put up with this, being questioned like a criminal. You’re going to have to do better than this, Shay! I can’t live like this!” He walked out of the kitchen into the garage, slamming the door behind him.


Winston got into his car, and sped out the driveway. I wish there was a pill for her jealousy. What’s causing her to act so insane? One thing I know. If this problem isn’t rectified soon; there will be no marriage left. His patience was wearing thin. Winston connected his phone to the charger and plugged it into the cigarette lighter, then dialed a number. The phone rang twice, and a woman with a soft voice answered.
“Winston, my dear, how are you?”
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Publication Date: 07-21-2011

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