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“Thank Buster’s wife for that,” he said.
Reese wasn’t sure why she should be so surprised. “Buster is married?”
“Oh, right. You wouldn’t know if you hadn’t kept in touch with anyone in town,” Darren said, then excused himself and headed back into the office.
Reese followed.
“No, I wouldn’t,” she said. “And, no, I didn’t.” The right words didn’t come to her so she just went for it. “Remember how you said young people always blame themselves for everything, even things that aren’t their fault?”
He nodded as he took a seat behind the desk. She perched on the edge, making escape impossible without asking her to move. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned back in the swivel chair. “Yes.”
“It’s because young people make foolish mistakes,” she admitted. “I was one of those young people who made a terrible judgment call, but I stand behind my reasons for leaving Cider Creek and the house I grew up in. Losing you was the only mistake I made and it was huge.”
He held up two fingers. “No, you made two when you started dating my uncle.”
“Not that it matters now, but he was much older and manipulated me,” she said. “The only dating experience I had was with you, and it spoiled me into thinking all men were honest. I never believed I deserved that again after the way I treated you. I was young and naive. And, got what I deserved when I found out he was cheating with multiple women in the office.” The admission was hard. Confessions usually felt good afterward, which was the reason people finally owned up to something. Admitting she’d been played for a fool was embarrassing. “I thought I was mature enough to handle anything when I left Cider Creek. But I was dead wrong. I sank into a hole because I missed you so much I could barely breathe. And then your uncle started showing up at my house, bringing food. He said I didn’t look like I was eating, and he wanted to make sure his star intern was doing okay with the big move.”
Darren sat there, stone-faced. She had no idea if she was getting through or just making a bigger fool of herself, but she had no plans to stop now that she’d gotten the ball rolling.
“Do I regret leaving home?” she asked. “The answer is no. Do I regret the way I left you? One hundred percent, yes. Would I change everything if I could go back and do it all over again?” She nodded even though he stared down at the wood flooring. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you and I have no right to ask anything of you, but—”
He looked up, catching her gaze and stopping her in midsentence. “We’re already friends, Reese. You don’t have to ask.”
A tear escaped, streaking down her cheek.
“With the twins and running the ranch, I can’t say that leaves a whole lot of time left over for anything else,” he said. “But we started out as friends and I’d like it very much if we could get back to that.”
“Same for me,” she said.Gratefuldidn’t begin to describe the way she felt at the possibility he wouldn’t hate her for the rest of her life. The notion they might actually be friends, even if it was distant, made her feel like anything was possible.
She was also realizing how quickly she’d adjusted to being away from her cell. Normally, it was like an additional appendage and she got heart palpitations when she couldn’t find it for even a couple of minutes. Then, there were those times she searched for it while it was still in her hand. Those were doozies. But, mostly, she was glued to the small screen.
Being around Darren almost had her wishing she could lose her phone more often. This was probably the most she’d spoken to one person without constant pings from her phone. She babysat a lot of her clients and the termbabysatwas appropriate. They could be demanding and throw temper tantrums when they didn’t get their way.
Despite someone being intent on erasing her permanently, she was surprisingly calm when she was close to Darren. It was a foreign feeling now.
DARRENDIDN’THAVEthe heart to kick Reese in the teeth when she was baring her soul. He was being honest, too. He didn’t have a whole lot of time for friends, but this ordeal had brought them back together and he still cared whether or not she lived or died. He would like to hear from her every once in a while, even if it was from afar. The girls wouldn’t be little forever and he needed to remember that fact, because he should also think about having a small life for himself. Something separate that wouldn’t make them miss him like they already would their mother. Like he’d told Stacie, maybe it was time to think about dating again. The thought of having someone to talk to at the end of the day, even if it was just a phone call to check in with each other, was becoming more and more appealing.
Of course, that all had to be put on hold now that Stacie had lost her mind and his former in-laws might be suing him for custody.
“So as your friend, I’d like you to talk to me about what’s going on right now,” Reese said, interrupting his heavy thoughts.
“I was just thinking about custody and doing what’s best for the girls,” he said. “A long court battle where I’m in a fight with their grandparents will only push us further apart. We’d been working together okay. Or at least I thought we had. It’s hard to believe they’re bringing up the possibility of fighting me for custody again. I thought I’d proved myself more than capable of bringing these girls up alone in the last year.”
“They are probably still grieving, which doesn’t excuse their behavior,” she said.
“I gave them plenty of latitude on that one,” he said. “But at some point, I have to remind them that I was married to their daughter.”
“You must have missed her something awful,” Reese said with the kind of compassion that could heal an open sore in two seconds flat.
“I still do,” he admitted. “When the girls do something new, like the first time Ivy walked. She’s the youngest but is never to be outdone by her older by two minutes sister. Ivy got this big grin on her face and then just threw herself toward me. My heart nearly exploded at seeing my girl take her first steps, but then the sadness hit because her mother should be here to witness it, too.”
“Kids shouldn’t have to grow up without a parent,” Reese agreed as a mix of emotions passed behind her eyes that she immediately tried to cover.
“I’m a jerk,” he said. “I’m sorry. You grew up without your father because—”
“You don’t have to apologize,” she interrupted. “Besides, we were talking about your family, not mine.”
He shook his head. Seeing the pain in her eyes made him wonder if he would see that same look in his own daughters one day.
