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"Sure, you do." Mick wiped a beer glass and set it on the counter next to the other shiny glasses he'd been wiping as he got them out of the dishwasher.
"Our lives are in New York, Mick. Bea and Sol are here. You guys. My new job."
I'd pulled out of the partnership, and we'd settled on terms. I was actually walking away with some money, which had been a relief. I really wanted to have my own business, but not right now. It took too much time away from being a mother, and I didn't want to live my life feeling bone-tired. We would have a little less money, but we would be fine.
"The cost of living in Montana is way less," Mick continued.
"I hate that place," I muttered.
"No, you don't. If you went with Rowan now, you'd be fine. Sweetheart, we can all see he's not going anywhere. The man's in love with you and your kid."
"I can't move to Montana."
"It's an option you need to think about. The other is him selling his ranch. You know he'll do it."
I knew. He talked about it once in a while, and I hated when he did. I could be a physiotherapist anywhere, his ranch was, in fact, not geographically mobile.
"His brother, his mother…ah…they're all such horrible people. I don't want Flora around that toxicity."
"You thought Rowan was like that, too, but he's changed. Maybe you'll find that his brother has turned a new leaf. Give it a chance. If you don't, you're going to regret it. And you know me, I'll not be graceful about it, I'll hound you with the, I told you so, shit."
I thought about it five hundred different ways but the idea of leaving New York and moving to Montana where I'd have no one but Rowan scared me. Here I had a support system. There, I had no one. It had been debilitating last time. I had felt helpless. That feeling would be compounded with Flora by my side.
I was still mulling it over when Rowan finally made it back to New York. He looked beat—there were dark circles under his eyes, and his face was weathered. It didn't help that he hadn't shaved. My guess was that he'd gotten off his horse, taken a quick shower, and taken a flight to New York.
He hugged me at the door and leaned against me. "God, I missed you. You feel so damn good."
Flora came running. "Rowan, you're here. You're going to go trick and treating tomorrow with me."
He left me and picked up Flora in a hug. He kissed her cheek, and his smile was big, wide, and genuine. "I hear that you're going to dress like a judge."
"I'm going to be the Notorious R.B.G."
"I love it, sweetheart. And I can't wait to go trick and treating with you. But right now, I'd love some food. You hungry? Let's find out what your mum cooked for us."
It was such a domestic scene that my heart, which had been broken, felt like it was completely whole again. I knew I had to make some tough decisions, and I had to make them with Rowan. I had never been in a relationship, ever, and neither had Rowan. This once-a-week business was working, but how would it be to live together? Would we fight all the time? Would we be fine? Would it get boring?
I unpacked Rowan's bag while he put Flora to bed. He had left more and more of his things at the condo. His toiletries were in the bathroom. I laundered his clothes along with ours. I knew he had a lot of money, and yet he seemed comfortable spending his weekends in my small home. He never complained that there was only one bathroom, and it was small. Or that when he worked on his laptop, he had to do it at the dining table because I didn't have a home office or desk.
Based on how he worked with his hands on the ranch, I knew he wasn't like Ace, a snob. And, as he said, he'd been on a trail with no shower and not much sleep for over a week; a proper bed at this point was a luxury.
I went into Flora's room and found him fast asleep next to her, the book he was reading on his chest, Flora resting on his shoulder, also sleeping.
They both looked absolutely adorable. My big, rugged cowboy in a little girl's princess bed. I pulled the duvet over both of them. He was probably not comfortable because he didn't exactly fit in her bed, and he was sleeping half sitting up. But for now, I let him be.
Art came by to drop off some books he'd picked up for Flora at a hospital book sale.
"Where's Rowan?"
"He fell asleep reading to Flora. You want a drink?"
"Sure."
We sat at the dining table with glasses of wine.
"He's tired. This going back and forth is exhausting him."
Art nodded. "Yeah, Mick told me you're worried. You love this guy?"
