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“Thank you. For everything. Being kind. Letting me stay here.”
“It’s no trouble. I’m happy to help.”
“I appreciate it.” She glanced out the window. Max walked a saddled horse out of the barn, mounted, and off they went into the sunset washed pasture. “I’m sorry I’ve made him unhappy again and reminded him of our past. I’ll be gone as soon as I can get back into my place and he can forget me again.”
Mr. Wilde’s blue eyes met hers. “Some women you never forget.”
She appreciated the sentiment. It touched her. “Maybe. But the fact is, he’d like to.” About to cry again, she turned and walked out, knowing she was right and feeling those broken pieces of her heart shatter once more.
She needed to get out of here before she made things worse.
Chapter Six
Max finished brushing down his horse and settling Ziggy in his stall for the night when he turned and found his dad standing at the gate. “What’s up?”
“You tell me.”
Max shrugged like he didn’t know what his dad meant. “I’m headed in to take a shower. You going out or something?”
His dad put his hands on the top of the gate. “Are you going to ignore her the whole time she’s here?”
“You can thank Hunt and his damn meddling for her being here.”
His dad grinned. “You think Hunt set this up to get you two back together?”
“That’s never going to happen. And yes, Hunt invited her, when he damn well could have taken her home with him.” He knew that wasn’t a viable option, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t stay mad at Hunt for it.
“They have a new baby in the house.”
“And a perfectly good guest room where she could stay and cry all fucking night and wake up screaming from her nightmares.” He’d barely slept. He’d been tormented listening to her last night, feeling her pain and wanting to do something for her. Hold her. But he couldn’t open that door because it was too damn hard to see her, let alone be that close to her.
She thought the worst of him.
She ended things.
“She was attacked.”
He’d seen the aftermath of that and still cringed when he thought about watching the doctor stitch her head wound closed.
“She watched the man she was seeing be murdered right in front of her.” His dad unnecessarily laid it on thick.
Max held his hands out and let them drop, unable to do anything about that. “I know. And still, I’m the last person she wants to say a bunch of stuff to that won’t matter to her anyway because there’s no changing what happened.”
“You could be her friend.”
“After what happened, she made it clear we can’t even be that. Why do you think I’m so fucking mad about it?”
His dad shook his head and gave him a sad half frown. “You want to be mad. The thing is, you’re hurt.”
“You’re damn right. And for good reason.” He’d been accused, and then refused even the benefit of the doubt or a chance to defend himself.
His dad pushed. “And still you went to the hospital last night.”
“I never said I didn’t care if she was hurt or in trouble. I didn’t squash Hunt’s offer for her to stay here until she can go home.”
“Why not?”
He didn’t want to answer, but the words came out anyway. “Because I need her to be okay.”
