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“Oh, no.” Wade waves him off. “You need to be worried about resting. We could be out looking all night—who knows how far we’ll have to go. If we need help, I’ll call Carson or find Hunter. You just rest, Dad.”
“Well, I guess that’s understandable,” he says with a sigh, leaning back in the chair. “I’m sure he just found somethin’ to go chase. Those hounds are like that.”
“Oh, I know.” I try to force a laugh through the worry, trying to appear much less distraught than I really am.
Wade ushers me out of the room and we head right out the main back door—the same area that Bear took off from. “So you have no idea what direction he went?”
I shake my head, my stomach clenching with nerves as my eyes scan the darkness. “Usually, I hear him if he’s gone off and tree’d something.”
“Maybe he’s just out running around then,” Wade says, clicking on the flashlight that he grabbed on the way out. “Maybe we should head over toward the barn? There’s all kind of smells over there.”
“Sure,” I reply, falling in step beside him.
“Don’t worry, Callie, we’ll find him.” He lightly pats me on the shoulder.
I nod in agreement, doing my best to hold back my tears.
“So how old is Bear?” His voice comes out a little awkward. It’s clear he’s trying to keep my spirits up. And it’s...
Endearing.
“He’ll be six next March,” I answer, the panic subsiding just slightly. “I’ve had him a long time.”
“Wow, I didn’t think he was that old. He’s got the energy of a puppy. I bet he was a real cute one, too,” he adds, a soft laugh escaping his lips.
“Bear!” I shout as we close in on the barn. “He was an adorable puppy. He was a birthday present, so when I first saw him, he had on this silly little red bow,” I say, my mind filling with the image of my sweet little Bear, just a baby in my arms.
“From your ex-husband?”
“Yeah, back before we were married, actually,” I clarify, not like it actually matters when I was married to Nick.
“Ah, I see,” Wade says, his voice coming out a little quiet. “Bear! C’mon boy!” He whistles, pointing the flashlight from side to side. “And how long were you two married, again?”
Why does he care to know?
Pulling a bit of my bottom lip into my mouth to chew on, I consider just how much I should share with Wade. I’m still not even sure what I’m doing here or if it’s in my best interest to keep opening up to this man…
Over the last two days, I’ve done a really good job of keeping my distance—which was probably for the best because I finally had a breakthrough with my writing. In spite of that, I know good and well I shouldn’t have walked out on him the way I did. He didn’t deserve that. I just ... needed some time to think.
This entire situation is beyond confusing. And for some reason when I’m around him, I toss all logic out the window.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” Wade says to my silence. “I know things have been weird between us ever since that kiss—but you really are becoming a close friend, Callie.”
A friend. Great.
“Yeah,” I mumble out, hating the hurt that hits my chest with the terminology of just being a friend.
After a few moments of awkward silence, I decide to just tell him the story about my ex-husband so he stops being so curious about it. “Nick and I were together a really long time—all through high school and college. I thought he was the one, but it took him forever to propose. He did, finally. We got married. Then less than two years later, he cheated on me with a business associate, divorced me, and then moved to New York City.”
“He cheated on you? Seriously?! I mean, I already didn’t like the guy, but now, I hate him. What a jerk,” Wade grumbles out beside me.
“Yeah, he is...”
Wade stops and turns toward me, his face like stone as he stares at me in the darkness. “Listen, if I ever meet this Nick guy, I will personally make sure he knows how stupid it was of him to cheat on you. You are an amazing woman—anyone can see that—and I can’t imagine anyone being dumb enough to do something like that. Especially to you.”
My heart stutters a little bit before leaping into my throat. “Well, thank you,” I say, touched by his protectiveness over me.
“Also, he needs to quit texting you,” Wade continues.
