“Is there anything I can do?” She had to atleast offer. “I know you want to be there for her. But if I can help in anyway?—”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” He spoke softly, his voice a little more relaxed than when they’d first started this conversation. “I know you deserved more from me after we were together. I left with a chip on my shoulder, but it didn’t have anything to do with you.”
She wondered how true that was but didn’t question him on it for now.
“You had good reason to be concerned for your daughter.”
“I could kill Brandon for doing this to her. She’s only eighteen. He’s the reason she lost her mother.” Quiet anger rumbled through the phone. “What kind of father treats his kid this way? He could be putting her at risk, and he damn well doesn’t have the excuse that he didn’t realize the danger.”
“Having children doesn’t make a person a good parent.” She’d been reminded of that tonight after the call from Patrick. How could he have walked out on his kids?
Remy was quiet for a minute. “You asked before if you could do anything for Sarah.”
“I meant it.” And she was touched that he trusted her enough to ask.
“I thought I’d let her assist the crew during the filming at Last Chance Vintage. We’re going to be in town anyway and she’s been lobbying to take a more active role in learning about production.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“Since I won’t be on the set all the time, I’d be grateful if you could, you know, look out for her. With all this distraction of the letter from prison, I haven’t gotten to speak with her about her college options or her frustration with livingin Miami. And tonight I think she was hanging around with some local kid she has never mentioned or brought around—Lucas.”
“Lucas Maynard?” She remembered Sarah saying he’d changed. Not that she knew much about the trouble he’d gotten into in the past, but in a small town you heard rumors even if you didn’t want to.
He hesitated for a moment, and she could hear the late news playing in the background on his television. He must be in his room at the B and B.
“Is that a bad thing?” he finally asked.
“I don’t know, actually.” She didn’t want to spread idle gossip, especially when she wasn’t positive she was thinking of the right teen “I’ll ask my sister-in-law. I think he’s in Ally’s grade at school.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“And Remy, of course I’ll do my best to keep an eye out for Sarah anytime you’re not around.” She didn’t know if it was wise to tangle their lives up more, but she couldn’t possibly say no if it meant supporting a family who’d been through so much.
She was doing the Dress for Success event for the same basic reason—to give single parents the tools they needed to care for their families.
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I know last night didn’t turn out exactly the way we thought it would.”
“Some parts turned out better,” she teased, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Definitely. But other aspects got a whole lot more complicated.”
She closed her eyes, remembering the way he’d made her feel. The urgency underlying every touch.
“They don’t have to be.” She didn’t need her hand held.Didn’t have to be a part of his life just because they’d slept together.
“I just don’t want you to feel obligated?—”
“I won’t.”
“Or give you a false impression?—”
“You can’t.” She cut him off sharply, unwilling to hear him spell out all the reasons they couldn’t be together. “I’m not going to fall for another guy who is…unavailable.”
“Okay then,” he said carefully, making her wish she hadn’t been so abrupt.
“So will you be at the store tomorrow when the filming starts?” She changed the subject, not sure what else to say about where they stood.
He was right—they hadn’t meant to be in this position afterward. But now that they would have to be around each other in the aftermath, she would try to make the best of it.
