Winning Back His Wife (7 page)

Was he expecting too much? Was he crazy to believe that
Neela would even consider giving him another chance? It had been five long,
lonely, heart-wrenching years. Maybe, just maybe, she could forgive him.

Sure he was a douche bag, a jerk, a bastard, a creep and
every other name KC had called him the day she found out Neela had left but
that didn’t mean he hadn’t suffered too. Even now, with her a few feet away he
was still suffering.

Five years was a long time for a man to really think. First
he did the usual thing a jackass would do. He blamed Neela. How many times had
he used all the familiar excuses? If she had been a better wife, if she had
tried to fit in, if she had been more understanding of his needs, but in the
end none of it would fly. He was the one that screwed up.

Then came stage two, thinking of all the things he would do
differently when she came back, because she would. He was sure of that. Neela
loved him.

But when six months passed and he had not heard from her nor
had she returned, he lost it.

Stage three kicked in. He grieved. He mourned the loss of
his wife, he mourned the child he wasn’t sure about and he mourned the love
they shared and lost.

Gradually he crawled back to the world of the living, going
about his days routinely. The days came and went but he hardly noticed. The
only thing Caleb Wilder was aware of was the huge void where his heart used to
be. Five years of that was enough to drive the strongest of man insane, but
somehow he had held on and now she was here.

As cruel as it was, fate had thrown Neela back into his life
and now for the first time in forever Caleb felt a spark of hope. To think he
had searched so long and hard for her and all the time she had been right here
in Washington. They did say, the best place to hide was out in the open. Caleb
had never once thought about searching right here .

With every passing day he regained a measure of the person
he was before he messed up. He was a father now.

Two beautiful little angels Neela had given him. How could
he not love her? Most women would have found the nearest abortion clinic but
not his Neela. No, instead she chose to bring his children into this world. Not
only had she managed to care for them without his help, she didn’t feed them
any crap about him being dead or that he didn’t love them.

Kaylee still didn’t even want to breathe the same air as he
did but someday he would let her know just how grateful he was to her. What
would Neela, Adam and Melody have done without her and Kevin?

He looked up and down the hospital corridor. This place had
become his home for the last couple of days. Other than the time he spent with
Adam and Melody during the day, he spent the rest of it haunting the hospital’s
corridor just waiting for that moment Neela decided she wanted to talk to him.
Three whole weeks went by and nothing.

There had been that one day when the kids were finally
allowed to see her. Kaylee had none too gently informed him that Neela would
see him too. He had entered that room with his heart in his stomach, palms
sweating, unsure of what he would say or do. Then he had touched her and all hell
had broken loose because she had felt his touch.

Something had happened that day because she refused to see
him again after that. Yet here he was like a lovesick puppy, just waiting for
her to give even a tiny hint that she wanted to see him.

Neela still had no feelings from her waist down but at least
now she could hug the kids. How Caleb wished he could be on the receiving end
of just one of those hugs.

Neela’s room door swung open and Daphne walked through it
her hands on her back. It seemed as though she had gotten even bigger in the
past three weeks. Did Neela look like this when she was pregnant?

“Why did I know I would find you out here?” Daphne asked
stopping in front of him to look up at his tired face.

“Where else would I be Daphne?” Caleb responded in that
annoyed voice she knew so well.

“Yeah, that was a dumb question. How about we sit? God, I
feel as big as a truck,” she complained, rubbing her pregnant stomach.

 Seated and a little more comfortable, she addressed her
brother who had taken a seat on the opposite side of her in the large waiting
room.

“Okay, so I am going to tell you the same thing I told you a
week ago and the same thing I told that stubborn wife of yours just now. There
is nothing more I can do for her. She needs therapy. It’s time for her to go
home.”

A frustrated Caleb ran a hand down his tired face.

“What do you want me to do, Daphne? She knows that I will
pay for her medical care but she doesn’t want my help.”

“Oh, shut up, Caleb. I am so sick of you acting so damn stupid.”
Caleb froze as he looked disbelievingly at his sister.

“You are a Wilder. Since when have you ever cared if someone
said no to you? If you want to help Neela so much, then help her.”

“Daphne…”

“Oh no, you are going to hear me out. She doesn’t want to
see you. What did you expect? You screwed up big time, sure, but she’s here
now. If she doesn’t want your help, so what? The point is she needs it. End of
story!” Exhausted from her mini tirade, Daphne leaned back against her seat.

“Caleb, no one knows more than me how much you love Neela.
She’s still hurting but you may need to hurt her some more if you really want
to help her. Trust me she will thank you for it later,” she explained in a
gentler voice.

“You just have to figure out how you are going to do it.”

Caleb didn’t know how long he sat in that waiting room after
Daphne left, the wheels in his head turning. She was right. It was time he took
charge. Neela may not want his help but she needed it and whether or not she
wanted it, she was going to get it.

Mind made up, he rose from his seat, straightened up his
spine, took a deep breath and marched of in the direction of Neela’s room.
Brace yourself, my beautiful wife, here I come.

*****

So, okay, Daphne was right. She was being a stubborn ass.
What was she gaining from refusing to see Caleb? Nothing, zero, zilch, nada!

What use was she to Adam and Melody if she couldn’t walk?
The fact was, she needed Caleb’s help.

True, she was still hurting from his betrayal. True, she
still loved the man and true, she may never be able to forgive him. At the end
of it all he had what she needed to get better - money!

It was amazing how much clearer something seemed when you
weren’t being a stubborn fool.

Sitting in front of the window, Neela continued to look out
the closed window wrapped up in her thoughts.

Caleb had consumed so much of her thoughts these past weeks,
it wasn’t even funny.

The man had completely demeaned her, cheated on her, smashed
her heart to smithereens but still she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

Memories of those pictures with him and Lori remained
imprinted in the back of her mind and even now thinking about them brought
tears to her eyes.

She had loved Caleb so much, given him everything and all
she had wanted in return was his love. Ha, so much for that. All she had gotten
was a broken heart.

Well, not really. She had gotten Adam and Melody. They were
her heart and her soul. Sometimes during those first months away from Caleb,
she felt as if she would go mad from the hurting, but her babies were always
there. A part of her from the beginning, they nestled so safely inside her womb
- Caleb’s babies!

They had been her reasons for holding it together all those
years ago and now they would be the reasons she would swallow her pride, tuck
away her love and accept Caleb’s help.

Wheeling away from the window, she was about to reach for
her cell phone when  Caleb came crashing through her bedroom door mad as hell.

He came to a halt in front of her chair, his massive frame
towering above her. Dear God, this man was magnificent.

“I have something to say and you are going to hear me out,
whether you like it or not.” How dare he speak to her like that? He had no
right.

She opened her mouth to let him know just what she thought
about his He-Man tactics but he cut her off.

“I said you are going to listen and you are going to. I know
I messed things up between the two of us and I know you hate me, but you need
help only I can give you. Hate me all you like Neela, but I will not let my
children suffer because of your need to get back at me.” This time when he
paused, she sat there looking up at him in shock.

Taking advantage of her silence he continued.

“Daphne said you need therapy and that’s what you are going
to get. You have been cleared to leave, so tomorrow you are going home with me
where you can get the help you need. When you are better and can stand on your
own two feet you can do whatever you want but as long as you need that wheel
chair I’m in charge. Got it?”

He was right. As much as she hated depending on him she
needed him right now. So when the simple “yes” escaped her lips, Neela had the
pleasure of seeing Caleb look as confused as a deer in front of a headlight.

****

She said yes. Without even arguing, she had said yes.

He wasn’t prepared for that. Nor was he prepared for seeing
her sitting in that damn chair in nothing but a robe. Even like this, no
makeup, hair unkempt she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

She was coming home with him and the kids. Good! When she
was there, then he could move to the second part of his plan - winning back his
wife!

Now all he had to do was figure out how the hell he was
going to explain about Lori. He had no idea what Neela would do when she found
out about the baby.

****

She was paralyzed, not dead. There was no rule anywhere that
said a woman could not lust after her husband.

Caleb was as fine as any man could get. Even the years had
not diminished his masculinity. Now as Neela watched her husband playing with
his children, she was awed by what a perfect specimen he was.

Caleb was a large man and he only seemed to have gotten
larger in the past five years. He was more chiseled out now, his body better
defined.

When he had peeled off the shirt and jeans he was wearing,
to join Adam and Melody in the pool, Neela’s mouth had gone dry.

How was it possible to still love a man this much after he
had hurt her as he did? Was something wrong with her?

There were times when she looked at him and saw the man she
fell in love with. It was times like these she wanted to forget the past,
forget the hurt and start over.

But then Lori would always pop up in the back of her mind.
Caleb’s infidelity was the hardest of all things to forgive. Maybe if she
hadn’t seen those pictures it might have been easier.

In the six weeks since her re-entrance into his life there
had been no mention of Lori or the affair and Neela was no sucker for
punishment. If Caleb wasn’t talking, she wasn’t asking.

Helen Wilder had not made an appearance thus far either and Neela
was just fine with that.

So many times in her brief marriage Neela had taken the
verbal abuse from that woman when Caleb was not around. How many times had she
heard that she wasn’t good enough for Caleb? That Caleb would soon tired of
her? That Caleb would never remain faithful? Well, it had all been true. Caleb
had proven that.

She wasn’t good enough for him five years ago; why would she
be good enough now?

Adam’s screams of delight as his father hoisted him high in
the air snapped her out of her thoughts.

One thing was clear now though. She should never have kept
Adam and Melody from Caleb. She should have known that he would love his
children, that he would be a great father. Seeing him now with Adam and Melody
made her heart ache for all the time together she had deprived the three of.

Neela’s eyes travelled across the large backyard, taking in
every inch. This was a big change from the condo living she had shared with
Caleb in the beginning of their marriage. She had so wanted a home much like
this - somewhere for the kids they would have someday to play, a backyard for a
dog.

Caleb’s answer was, “Not now, Neela, maybe in a couple of
years.” The condo was closer to work so it was easier for commute. So what had
she done? She played the part of the submissive wife and accepted Caleb’s
decision.

Yet here they were, five years later in the house she
wanted, with the man she loved and the kids they made. All that was missing was
the dog. Then why was she so unhappy?

Caleb had been nothing but a loving husband and father since
her arrival at the house two weeks ago. He had been at every one of her
gruesome, painful, therapy sessions. He had taken good care of the children and
he had given her his undivided attention.

He worked from home and Neela knew that it must be a
challenge not going to the office every day now that Wilder Inc. had gone
international but yet he stayed.

This is the man she wanted five years ago. God, why couldn’t
he have been like this back then? Why now? Why when she had been hurt so bad by
his lack of support and infidelity? Why now when she was still hurting so bad?

“Mummy, Mummy, look at me! I’m an airplane. Higher, Daddy,
higher!” Melody pleaded for Neela’s attention as Caleb raised his daughter over
his head, to bring her sailing down into the water.

“I’m looking, baby,” Neela responded from the lounge chair
where she had been placed an hour ago by the male nurse Caleb had hired.

God, she would do anything for this to be real. Just for
them to be a big happy family.

Eyes back on Caleb again, she silently wished the past away,
longing for this moment to be the rest of her life.

Somehow he must have known she was studying him, because his
eyes came up to meet hers. Neither of them looked away.

“You play a little while, okay? I’m going to keep your Mummy
company.” Caleb threw at his children. Neela watched as her husband waded
through the waist high water, his large muscles flexing with every moment.

Sexual electricity shot through her body, her breast
tingling at the sight he made. He didn’t exit the pool the traditional way,
instead he opted to use his palms and hoist himself out. Water trickled down
his chest and large forearm; his wet hair slicked back, his trunks sticking to
him like a second skin.

Why did she feel he knew exactly what he was doing to her?
Licking her dry lips she made a conscious effort to try to contain the tottering
of her heart as it threatened to explode through her chest.

****

It was such a challenge being around her day in, day out and
not being able to touch her. She just lay there on the lounge chair in that one
piece bath suit without a clue as to what a vision she made. Those long, thick,
cinnamon colored legs, stretched out before her motionless. How many times had
she wrapped those legs around his back, or thrown them over his shoulder as he
rode her to heights of passion? How many times had he buried his face in her mane
of beautiful silky hair as she took him so deep inside her? Even tied up in a
simple ponytail as it was now, it still did the weirdest of things to him.
Neela would always be the woman he wanted - the woman that consumed him day and
night. Even if she never walked again she would be his life.

He saw the way she was looking at him in the pool. It was
the same way she had been looking at him for the past couple days - with lust!
She may still hate him, may never forgive him but she wanted him. He would take
it.

Lowering himself on the chair next to her, he silently
studied her. She was no longer looking at him; instead she had her eyes trained
on the twins in the pool or at least she was pretending to be looking at the
kids.

Caleb could feel the heat emanating from her body. His eyes
dropped lower and through the fabric of her suit he could see her nipples
pebble. God, she was so turned on right now and so was he.

Caleb felt the tightening in his groin and in an effort to
hide his obvious arousal; he draped a towel across his thigh.

Grabbing the opportunity he turned back to his wife. She
still wasn’t looking at him.

“Neela?”

“Hmmm?”

“Will you look at me?” he pleaded in such a gentle voice.

“The kids…” she began to use the obvious excuse.

“The kids are fine, Neela. Please look at me.”

Hesitantly she gave in but when she did Caleb’s breath
stilled in his chest. The last time he was this close to her was the day of the
accident and even then she was covered in blood. But here, now, with nothing
but air between them, Caleb was not prepared for her natural beauty of his
wife.

This is what had drawn him to her the first time. The way
she didn’t have to do anything to be beautiful. She just was!

On its own accord, his hand came up to cup her jaw. When she
didn’t flinch or turn away, he briefly closed his eyes, thanking God for small
mercies.

Opening them back, he commanded her attention by staring directly
into her eyes.

“I love you, Neela….”

“Caleb...” she protested making to turn away.

“No please, please hear me out. You don’t have to say
anything. Just listen. Okay?” After a moment or two she licked her lips before
she nodded.

“I know saying I’m sorry doesn’t mean much, but I
am
sorry Neela. I’m so sorry for hurting you the way I did. I know you may never
be able to forgive me and I’m not asking you to.” Caleb paused searching for
any kind of reaction from her. When none was forthcoming, he continued.

“What I
am
begging you for, is one more chance - a
chance to be the husband I should have been five years ago. I want to take care
of you, Neela, you and our kids. All I need is one more chance. Do you think
you can give me that?”

Pulling her face free, she shook her head. “I don’t know,
Caleb. It’s been so long, so much has happened. What you did with Lori, you
don’t have any idea how much that hurt - how much it still hurts. Seeing those
pictures with you and her like that. You betrayed me Caleb. You took my heart which
I gave to you freely and trampled it in the worst way. I don’t know if I could
ever trust you again,” Neela argued, staring back at him, her beautiful brown
eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Lori’s name triggered all kinds of warning bells in Caleb’s
head but he pushed it aside. The issue of Lori and Craig would be something he
would deal with later. Now was not the time.

“I know! Not a day has gone by that I have not thought about
and regretted what I did to you. I know it was wrong and hurtful but I can’t
change the past baby. I can promise you that if you give me a chance, I will
spend the rest of my life trying to gain your forgiveness, your trust and your
love back. I promise!” He continued to plead his case.

She didn’t turn away, just continued to look at him with
that hurt look in her eyes. He was the one guilty of putting that look there.

She deserved to be so much happier than this. Caleb did the
most natural thing that came to him. He took her chin in his hands and drew her
lips to his.

The world exploded on impact. She tasted so good just as she
did all those years ago when he kissed her for the first time. There was no
hurry. There was nothing sexual about this kiss. It simply said “I love you!”

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and
breathed, “One more chance, Neela, please.”

Before he could hear her answer, the chime of the doorbell
echoed across the house.

Swearing under his breath, he hesitated a little before he
got up to get the door.

All the way through the house he prayed that whoever was at
the door would hurry and leave so he could get back to his family, back to his
wife. Caleb was sure she was going to say yes. His heart lifted at the thought.
She was going to give them another chance.

That same heart fell right back down into his stomach when
he opened the door and saw the woman standing on the other side.

“Caleb darling, I got so tired of waiting for your call, I
just thought I’d stop by,” she purred as she walked past him and entered the
house.

****