Trish cackled. With the curious tilt of Shadow’s head, she figured it probably came out sounding a little bit like a Halloween witch’s evil laugh. “You are sonotthe man in my life.”
“Of course I—”
“Listen here, Henry.” Trish had never been so bold with him before, but the coming tirade made her feel confident. Surer of herself than she’d ever been. Bravely, she stated, “You don’t support my dreams to be a published romance author.”
“Well, that’s because—”
“I’m not done,” she snapped. “I’m not going to waste away in a cubicle at some corporate job simply because it sounds more respectable to your friends and family. I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not. And I’m done with us. Have a nice life.”
“But—”
“Good-bye, Henry.” Trish ended the call, then proceeded to block his number. She had nothing more to say to him.
She dropped back against her pillow with a heavy sigh. Shadow combat-crawled up the bed until her head was close enough that she licked Trish on the cheek and rested her head on her chest.
Rain pattered against the roof, a sound that used to soothe Trish to sleep. But after more than ten attempts to close her eyes still failed, she pushed away the covers. She showered, tired of laying around and strangely renewed with energy. The refreshing shower was all she needed. She decided it was time to pack her things and lug her suitcase to her car.
“You’re leaving without saying good-bye?”
Glenda stood on the porch, safely tucked under the roof out of the downpour, with folded arms and an unimpressed scowl.
Trish stepped onto the porch, trembling with the emotions she had been trying desperately to hold in. “Of course not.” But tears leaked from her eyes. Glenda wrapped her in a soothing hug, despite her soaked clothes. “Everything’s fine,” Trish said immediately, afraid her tears might be misunderstood. “With Kate’s baby. Healthy eight-pound baby boy, and his dad made it home.”
“Lina called us an hour ago.” Glenda rubbed a comforting hand along Trish’s back.
“I-I just can’t stay.” The thought of seeing Wade again made her sure her heart would split open. The cold expression on his face as the elevator door closed would stick with her for a long time. Maybe forever.
“You’re not driving all the way back to Omaha on no sleep, are you?” Glenda scolded. “Because Iwillwrestle those keys from you if I need to. Which gives me a great idea for my next book!”
They laughed together, and Trish pushed away the tears from her cheeks. “I’m going to stop in Rapid City. Stay the night at a hotel.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What?”
“Give me half an hour. I’ll have you follow me to my place. I live there, remember?”
“I don’t want to be any trouble—”
“It’s no trouble, dear. It would be a delight to have you as a guest. I’d feel better about you driving in this downpour if I kept an eye on you. Plus, I still owe you that conversation about my publishing team. We can talk books all day. No mention of cowboys at all. I swear.” She gave her famous wink. “Unless you want to talk about how to put all this into a future book.”
Trish wasn’t sure how Glenda knew about Wade, but she didn’t ask. “That sounds perfect.”
“You wait here,” Glenda instructed. “I’ll be packed and ready to go in a jiff.” She headed toward the stairs, but only made it a couple of steps before she spun around. “On second thought, hand me your keys.”
“What?”
“Sweetie, you’re emotional. I’m not going to risk you acting on some irrational impulse and driving away before I’m ready.” Glenda reached out her hand. “I care about you. Hand ’em over.”
Trish did it without much fight, touched by her new friend’s concern. “I’ll wait right here.” She watched Glenda speed walk down the gravel road toward her personal cabin, a cardigan raised above her head to ward off some of the rain, until she disappeared around a bend toward the writer cabins.
Then her eyes fell on the driveway. In every romance novel she’d ever read, this was the moment when the hero came barreling down the drive to stop the heroine from leaving. He told her he was wrong; that if she left, his life would be empty and meaningless.
Only, Wade didn’t come.
Trish left a heartfelt thank-you note for Lina on the kitchen island, a tear splashing onto the card and smearing the wet ink. But she didn’t have time to write a new one.
Once Glenda’s car was loaded and she’d given Trish back her keys, she wrapped Shadow in a hug. They both said quick good-byes to the other writers making them promise to keep in touch, and prepared to drive away from the Holbrook Ranch for good.
