Her breath hitched. “Then that’s where you could start. Goodnight, Cole.” Turning, she walked toward the cheerful Christmas lights strung over the archways of the mini-hacienda.
He watched her go, his heart in shreds. The sorrow in her eyes as she said goodbye would haunt him until the day he died. He’d failed her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“What did you do?” Claudie pounced on her the minute she came through the door. “I was watching out the window! Don’t tell me you broke up with that beautiful man.”
“I had to.” She sounded like a mating bullfrog. “I had to, Claudie, and now I feel like shit.” She burst into tears.
“Of course you do.” Claudie pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry. Come over by the fire.” Arm around her shoulders, Claudie led her to the easy chair that was officially Mila’s spot. “Sit down. I’ll get you something. What do you want?”
“I don’t know.” She unzipped her parka and mopped her face with the lining of it. “I don’t know anything except this sucks. And it’s fudging Christmas.”
“Which is why I’m going to fix you some eggnog with rum in it. But first you need a box of tissues. You’re getting snot all over the inside of your parka.”
“I don’t care.”
“I know you don’t, honey. But you will later.” She hurried off and came back in seconds with tissues and set the box gently in Mila’s lap. “Want to take off your parka?”
“Not yet. Still freezing.”
“I’ll bet. When I get back I’ll build up the fire.”
“Thanks, Claud.” She glanced up through her tears. “You’re the best.”
She smiled. “I am pretty good at this.”
“Let’s stay in this house forever, just the two of us.”
“Yeah, who needs men, anyway?”
“Not me. Fudge ’em all. Fluffy fudge ’em all.”
“Attagirl. I’ll be right back with your eggnog.” She made for the kitchen.
“Fix one for yourself, okay?”
“Planning on it, toots.”
Blowing her nose, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest of her cozy chair. She’d done the right thing, so why did it feel like the wrong thing?
Cole had made his position clear, and even when he knew where she was headed with her comments, he wouldn’t budge an inch. Not in my world. Stubborn, stupid cowboy.
But he had every right to live whatever crappy life he wanted. If that meant they parted ways, so be it. But oh, the devastation in his eyes right before she turned to go. Tears dribbled down her cheeks.
Claudie’s footsteps prompted her to open her eyes.
Her sister held out a steaming mug. “Drink up. It’s good for what ails you.”
“Just a sec. Let me get out of this dang parka.” Wrestling herself free of it, she laid it on the coffee table. “You weren’t kidding. The lining is a mess.”
“It washes.” Claudie handed over one mug and took the other one over to her chair. “Wanna talk about it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Yes. You must think I’m insane. He’s a great guy.”
“Not great enough if you just kicked him to the curb.”
She winced. “I did. He’s gonna be miserable.”
