Her mother’s jaw dropped.
“And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to hear you say that it was always going to end this way, and I should have listened to you and Dad.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Sky tilted her head. “Really? You’re not biting your tongue right now to stop yourself from telling me that if I’d chosen someone from your church, like Tony, I would be happy?”
“Sky, I know your father and I pushed Tony on you a bit—”
“A bit?”
“But…then we saw you with Becket. And I know your father’s had a hard time with it, and I did at the start, but now…”
Sky frowned. “Now what?”
“Well, after I saw how happy you were together, he grew on me. Your happiness is all I’ve ever wanted, darling. Of course, as your parents, we sometimes think we know best.”
“Sometimes?”
“But you showed us that we don’t.”
Sky swallowed, the pit in her belly deepening.
Her mother leaned forward, asking quietly, “What happened?”
Man, she really didn’t want to get into it. Her mother knew everything that had happened in Cheyenne, and she would just try to convince Sky that she was wrong about the whole “the world’s out to get me” thing.
She hadn’t told her mother about the incident outside her doggy daycare either. All her parents would do was worry.
She opened her mouth, not sure what words were about to slip out, when the door to The Tea House opened and Becket and Jesse walked inside. Becket’s gaze found her like a laser, his eyes dark and intense.
Her breath stopped, her stomach doing a funny roll.
For a moment, he didn’t move. He just stood there, watching her.
Then Jesse grabbed his arm and guided him toward a booth. The second his gaze wasn’t on her anymore, air whooshed into her chest.
Somehow she wanted to cry and scream and rage all at the same time. And mostly at herself for breaking up with him.
She didn’t. She turned back to the laptop, almost unseeing. “We’ve got enough volunteers.”
There was a heavy pause that stretched until she finally looked up to see her mother watching her so closely that Sky felt like she was being dissected.
“What?” she asked.
“You should talk to him.”
Her heart thumped. There was a reason she hadn’t answered a single one of his calls these last few days—because she knew she’d crumble.
“About what?”
“About whatever misunderstanding broke you up.”
“You know, I think everything’s ready for the dog wash. I’m going to head home now.”
Her mother straightened. “Wait.”
“What?”
