All Chapters of The Rutherford Series: Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

"Oh god, Glen, how stupid could I have been?" Her tears streamed down her cheeks and into his shirt as he cradled her head against his chest. "I should have been smarter. I knew he never would have taken care of a family; I knew it! So why wasn't I more careful?"Glen rocked her, his hand stroking the back of her head. "It'll be all right. We can get through this. I promise." Glen loved her, had loved her for years he told her. Once Nick was out of the picture, Glen stepped in before Cherish distracted herself with someone else. The two partied and eventually wound up in bed, bodies intertwined. The night she told him she was pregnant, he told her later, was the night he knew he needed her in his life no matter what, his course of action determined. He told her it was right then he decided he would quit school, move back home, and get a job in order to take care of Cherish and her baby."My dad is going to kill me," she whined into his shoulder."Does anyone know yet?" Glen asked.She

Dinner over, Glen helped his younger sister, Tanya, clear the table. While he had only been staying at his parents' place for the past week, Tanya had been there since birth with no sign of moving out anytime soon. Together, they scraped and stacked the dishes while Brenda Lansky already scrubbed away at them. Their father shifted from the kitchen table to his recliner, flipping through the channels on the television. It was a normal Monday night in the Lansky home. It just wasn't Glen's home.Once he finished his share of the after-dinner chores, Glen stepped out onto the back porch, the rain peppering the wooden roof. The wind rustled the banana palms along the fence line, making the evening storm seem worse than it was. He stood along the screen wall, arms crossed over his chest, staring out at the pouring rain.Lightning cracked the night air. Glen counted. One. Two. Three. Thunder then rumbled through the turbulent night. Three miles away. He smiled as he thought about how he woul

"Doesn't it get old? Playing house all the time?" Edwin stood at the tailgate of his truck, his foot up on the bumper, his Salem cigarette dangling between his fingers. "Hell, I tried the relationships without kids and found it stifling. Life is too short to be tied down in one spot. There's too much adventure to experience out there."Cherish stared at him, her smirk pushing up one side of her face. "You mean no one could tolerate your childishness for too long without going insane."He chuckled as he took a long pull from his cigarette. Finally, he shrugged. "Perhaps. What can I say? Life is about having fun. From what you say, that was your motto for a long time as well."She nodded, her own Marlboro Red dangling between her fingers. Glen had been after her to quit smoking, saying how bad it was for Jordie. Yet, she gave up enough of her vices as it was. She wasn't ready or willing to surrender more of what she enjoyed. "That was pre-family. Life doesn't tend to allow for that type

Having made his decision that morning, Glen couldn't focus on work, so he took off for the rest of the day. The jobs were light, and Brent could handle them himself. Glen's thoughts were a recycling of what his father told him Sunday night, Tanya's unwanted advice, and his mother's conversation with him that morning. You're miserable, and I don't blame you. The woman you love betrayed you. Broke your heart. That hurts like hell. Can you forgive her, though? Can you move past it? The two of you waded through deep waters before. Is this ocean too deep? If not, you won't fix it here. You need to be home with your family, in bed with your wife. His father was right; Glen wouldn't be able to move past it if he was away from Cherish. To fix the mess, they needed to be together. Did he want a divorce? No. Definitely not. He knew that even as he walked out the door a week ago. He just needed space to think, to move past what he felt right then. It didn't work, however. He still felt miserable.

Cherish just laid there, the night a dark blanket around her as she contemplated everything Glen said to her earlier. It was the first time she slept in her marriage bed since Glen walked out of the house over a week ago. It felt weird, lying there, alone. It had been his suggestion to try to make things as normal as possible for Jordie until they figured out their next move.They had spent the night focusing on Jordie because neither of them knew how to talk about the other. When they did talk, it was all casual chitchat about everything other than the two of them and where their marriage headed. Neither wanted to go down that road just yet, and the walking on eggshells drove her crazy. It was hard just being in the same room at times. He couldn't keep the hurt from his eyes, no matter how hard he tried, and she couldn't get past what she did, waiting for him to explode at any moment. It was always at the forefront of her mind.Yet, he came back. She really didn't think he would. Not