“One morning, while I was away at school, Wilder woke up at his usual five o’clock in the morning to go to the ranch to work with my dad. He said that Mercedes was already awake when he got up that morning. Normally, she’d get up around that time to nurse Willow, but this morning Willow wasn’t awake and was sound asleep next to her in the bassinet. Wilder showered, got dressed and went to kiss Mercedes and Willow goodbye but before he did, she turned to him and said the words, ‘Don’t go.’”
I draw in a breath.
“Mercedes was always quieter, and she’d retreated into herself even more so once Willow was born but Wilder hadn't thought much of her comment. He told her he had to. That his dad was depending on him to be there for work that day, and it was a big day for fall cleaning to prepare the facilities for the winter. She seemed to understand so he kissed her goodbye and left. All day he said something felt off at work like a dark cloud he couldn’t shake, so instead of working until his usual six in the evening, he came home at noon to check-in and found Willow alone in her bassinet crying. By the time he found Mercedes in the bathtub, she had already passed away”
“Oh God, no,” I cry, my hand covering my mouth as my mind flashes to the beautiful little girl I’d just met who lost her mother in such tragic circumstances.
“Wilder grabbed Willow and left. He never went back to their apartment. My mom and dad came back to clean out the home after the police and EMTs removed Mercedes’s body. Willow has lived with my parents on Ashwood ranch ever since and hasn’t known anything different. My parents, Nash and Jovie always wanted a daughter but got stuck with two twin boys, so Willow runs the household,” he chuckles fondly.
“After Mercedes passed, Wilder just went inward and closed himself off to the world much like Mercedes had. In one of the boxes they removed from the apartment, they found a diary she’d written where she’d detailed that she’d been cheating on Wilder her entire pregnancy. At the time that she found out about Willow, she’d been struggling with what she wanted to do next in life. She’d had doubts about continuing her studies in education, was still grappling with past unhealed wounds, and was even considering leaving Texas and moving to the west coast. She’d expressed in her writing that she’d blamed Wilder for taking those choices from her by getting her pregnant at a time in her life when she’d felt like she’d finally had freedom to leave her parents and past behind.”
“Oh, no. That's terrible.” I shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around the debt of the loss that Wilder and Willow have experienced, and the heartache Mercedes must have felt. “Not only did he lose her, the mother for his daughter, but to find out that she hadn’t been faithful either had to have been so incredibly painful for him to navigate."
Cody nods. “Wilder never faulted Mercedes for cheating but he still took it to heart that he felt like he was the cause of her losing her dreams and freedom. One day he said to me that ‘people talk too much. When they say something, there should be meaning behind it.’ He felt that because Mercedes was usually noticeably quiet, he should have seen the deeper meaning behind her words when she asked him to stay that fateful day, and he should have realized she was cheating on him. He’d been so wrapped up in the ranch, and trying to figure out how to provide for thisnew baby they had that he hadn’t noticed the ways she’d been slipping away."
Finally, Wilder's reserved nature, hesitation to open up about anything personal in his life, and slowness to speak make a lot more sense.
"Is... Is Willow his?" I ask, dreading the response.
Cody nods. "After he found out about the cheating, he had a paternity test to confirm, and it came back positive for a match. The man she was cheating with was a guy who got around our town with different women. He wouldn’t have wanted anything long term with her anyways, and she didn’t either based on how she’d written her diary. The entries read like she was looking to hurt Wilder intentionally as a protective mechanism. Push him away before he could hurt her and punish him for getting her accidentally pregnant.”
I swallow and nod.
“Look, whatever Wilder said when he saw you with Willow, I’m sure it was a reflex. Wilder doesn’t letanyonemeet her. He rarely takes her anywhere, too. He’s very protective of who is in her life and knows about her on account of him not wanting anyone saying anything to her about her mother. But the fact that he brought you to the ranch should speak volumes. He cares about you, Teagan. Not sure if this was always going to be just a weekend fling between the two of you, but I don’t want you to start doubting his feelings.”
“I didn’t know that she was his daughter,” I mutter, staring out the passenger window as Cody drives. “I didn’t mean to meet her like that. I was just looking for coffee, and she showed up in the kitchen and asked me to read her a book.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Cody replies, his tone calm as he keeps his eyes on the road. “Let him cool off. I bet he’ll come around with an apology.”
I don’t believe that for a second. I saw the look in his eyes—pain buried so deep it’s a wonder he hasn’t crumbled under the weight of everything he’s experienced. I can’t imagine him apologizing. He might move past this eventually, but the real question is… do we even have a future now given the past he’s had?
“I just wish this wasn’t how things ended,” I admit, my voice catching. “I mean, I knew it had to, with me leaving for school, but I didn’t expect it to end like this. I didn’t expect to feel so…” I trail off, searching for the right word. “Sad.”
Cody shoots me a lopsided grin, the kind that’s both comforting and a little too honest. “You ever heard the saying, ‘right person, wrong time?’ Look, y’all might be right for each other, but Wilder’s still carrying a lot of fresh pain. He needs time to heal before he can really let someone in again.”
I swallow hard, his words hitting me right in the chest. He’s not wrong. I can’t compete with a ghost. And honestly, I shouldn’t have to.
We’re twenty-two years old. I’m about to start four intense years of veterinarian school. I’ve worked too damn hard and sacrificed too much to let myself get derailed by a guy—especially one who lives over three hours away, is raising a two-year-old, and grieving the loss of a cheating ex-girlfriend who also happens to be his daughter’s mom. To be fair, we both have wounds from our pasts that we haven’t addressed. Cody’s right, this isn’t the right time for either of us.
It’s just… too much. For him. For me. For whatever we were trying to be.
Cody pulls into Ryder’s driveway and slows to a stop. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Teagan,” he says, clearing his throat like he’s not sure what else to say. “Wilder’s a great guy—the best I know. If it’s meant to be, y’all will find a way. But sometimes the timing just sucks. For what it’s worth,” he says, his tone softer now, “Wilder hasn’t smiled like that in years. Whatever happens, you made an impact. Don’t forget that.”
I force a smile, my heart aching even as I nod. “Thanks for the ride, Cody. And good luck in Atlanta this season.”
I grab the door handle, jumping out of the truck, but before I can make it to the house, Cody rolls down the window and calls out, “Hey Teagan!”
“Yeah?”
“You might not want to mention to your sister’s fiancé who you were with last night.”
My brows drop.What?
He rolls his window up without another word and then backs out of the driveway, heading back to Ashwood ranch with no further explanation.
Chapter 16 – Teagan
What the hell does that mean?
