Cade could hear the soft and steady click of shoes approaching his cell. Each step was like the beat of a battle drum, reminding him that he was about to lose everything. He shook his head; the lack of sleep was playing with his mind. Some foreboding instinct told him that in the next few minutes his marriage would be over. Cade squinted his eyes and shook his head. No, he would never lose Rose. He couldn’t lose her. She was the only good thing in his life, the light that had stayed with him despite his habits.
“Your wife, Cade.” A policeman, who frequented the gambling tables alongside Cade, said with a tight clip in his voice.
Cade knew the policeman didn’t like escorting Rose to the cells. The whistles and comments shouted out as she passed were enough to make a grown man blush, though it did not surprise him to look up and see Rose looking as calm as a meadow on a spring day. She wasn’t always this way. The first two years of their marriage had been a constant stream of tears and fights until something changed. He wasn’t sure what had caused it, but she suddenly became happier, more content, though not with him. It was as if something else took his place in her heart, something other than himself. At first he suspected another man, but that theory was quickly extinguished. Being a member of one of the wealthiest families in Denver, he had the means to tail her.
There were no trysts, no secret meetings... only charity events, orphanages, and even Indian reservations where Rose handed out clothing and blankets. It drove him nearly insane. He wanted to see indiscretions on her part, something—anything—to justify what he did. He could handle their verbal fights, but the silent calm was as aggravating as the ten seconds in a duel before someone draws.
“I brought you food.” Rose handed the basket to the policeman who took it, avoiding her glance. “Are you warm enough?”
Cade rubbed his temples. Why couldn’t she scream, cry, or call him the miserable husband he was? Instead she stood there with a gentle smile, but with eyes empty of any of the romance she might have once felt for him.
“I am sorry, Rose,” he said, the timbre of his voice etched with anger. He was always angry it seemed, angry at himself, angry at Rose for being better than he deserved. “I swear this is the last time.”
Rose sighed and shook her head. “So you keep saying.”
“You’ll see I mean it this time,” He said, fisting his hands in determination.
“No, I won’t, Cade.” Rose’s voice was firm with resolve. “I am leaving to New Orleans tonight. Nell … poor Nell, may she rest in peace, left a baby without a mother or father.”
Cade stood up crossing over to her and grabbing the iron bars that separated them. “I thought we talked about this Rose.”
The slight arch of an eyebrow let him know she was suppressing frustration. “No, Cade, you told me what to do.” She broke her gaze and gently brushed a piece of hair from her face. “I love you Cade, I do, but I came to tell you that … that I am not just leaving to New Orleans. I am leaving you, too.”
Cade’s blood seemed to freeze and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the bars. “What do you mean you’re leaving me?”
Her bottom lip began to tremble and she bit down on it for a moment to steady herself. “I am taking that child. I will not leave her parentless in New Orleans.”
Cade refused to let emotion overtake him. He blinked quickly. If Rose had a baby, what did he have to offer to make her stay?
His money? He was losing most of it on a daily basis at poker.
A child? She’d wanted one from the day they married. If she procured a baby, there was nothing he could offer her. A happy marriage, a stable husband, a good man, he couldn’t give her any of those things.
“The baby is black!” he blurted out in desperation.
An amused smile tugged at Rose’s lips and Cade’s heart sank, realizing he had just justified her decision. “All the more reason for me to go and get her. Nell’s letter begged me to take her daughter out of the South. Even through the delirium of typhoid she was lucid enough to request that.”
“Rose, don’t do this. I am begging you.” Cade’s throat tightened as Rose slid off her wedding ring. “Rose!” he growled and gripped the bars, refusing to take the wedding ring she held out to him.
“I begged too, Cade,” she said softly. “I begged and pleaded each night as you went out, but the cards and whiskey were too enticing, weren’t they?”
“I couldn’t help myself, Rose.” Cade pressed his head against the bars, closing his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Some fragment of his mind begged him to wake up, but when he opened his eyes Rose still stood in front of him with the smell of fresh rain swirling around her.
Again she smiled softly and placed one of her hands over his as she stepped closer. “I know Cade, and I know I can’t help you, nor can I change you. Only one thing has the power to do that.”
Cade rolled his eyes. “I will not be lectured on God, Rose.”
“I know,” she said pragmatically with a casual shrug. “I also know that I won’t allow my new daughter to be raised in a home where your vices are put before all else.”
Cade shook his head unbelievingly as Rose placed the ring in his palm. The cold gold band seemed to mock Cade as its weight settled in his palm. This was a reality. He was losing Rose, his marriage—everything. Rose believed in marriage, through thick and thin, ’till death do them part. For her to divorce Cade meant he was despicable enough that she was willing to betray her beliefs. His wife took a step back, her shoulders relaxing as if the ring had been a weight resting on them. “I have already talked to your family’s lawyer, and he will be contacting you shortly.”
“Rose, I can change.” Cade tried to place the ring back in her hand, but she moved further away, out of his reach. “I can change, Rose. I swear to you this person you see in here is not me! It is not the real me.”
Her blue eyes glistened with controlled tears. “I know Cade, and that is the tragedy of the situation.” She turned and paused before looking back, “Good-bye, Cade. I hope you find peace one day.” With a quick inhale she turned and walked down the hall without a glance behind.
Cade sagged against the iron, dropping his head. He was heartbroken, his wife was gone, and yet all he wanted to right now was to feel the rush at a poker table and the burn of whiskey.