The Imperfect Marriage novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: The Yard

Lowell's father shook my hand with both of his and held on too long.

"Mr. Stenbeck's lovely bride," he said. "Congratulations. And condolences on the, ah, family drama. My son has been a fool."

"Yes," I said. "He has."

"I'd like us to be friends."

"I'd like you to let go of my hand."

He let go, smiling wider.

The executor looked at the sky.

They left ten minutes later, and Ross stood on the porch watching the sedan until it turned out of sight.

"He wasn't invited," he said.

"The judge invited him."

"She's fair. She's also enjoying herself."

He turned to me, and for a second the whole performance was gone from his face.

"Thank you for the pots," he said. "Nobody remembered the pots."

"I remembered."

"I know."

He looked like he wanted to say much more, and instead he rubbed the back of his neck and told me to put on boots.

"Where are we going?"

"To work. You wanted to see what you were married into."

The Stenbeck Marine yard sat on the harbor side of Rice's Point, a mile of gravel, cranes, and cold steel under a sky the color of dishwater.

A freighter the size of a city block sat in dry dock with its belly open to the weather.

Welders in hoods threw blue light across the hull.

"Two hundred feet of hull plating," Ross said. "We're replacing it. Four hundred days of work."

"Do I need to know the details?"

"No. They just make me proud."

He parked, got out, and came around the truck to open my door.

His hand found the small of my back.

Keep reading free with an account. Start The Imperfect Marriage from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.