“See? Right there. You can’tlisten. You don’t hear me. I’m not saying what you want me to say, so you disregard it.”
“I don’t—” He stopped himself, and his dark eyes narrowed. “You’ve never been the most rational person. Can’t fault me for trying to make you see clearer logic and push past your stubborn side.”
“Nope. But I can tell you that my logic isn’t yours to clear anymore, and my stubborn side isn’t yours to deal with anymore.” And the man who brought out the best in her, who made her look at logic clearer and who had the patience to accept her stubborn side, didn’t want her.
Ron’s lips parted. “You’re serious.”
“Been serious this whole time.”
She could see the light dawning. The understanding that she wasn’t rejecting him to hold a grudge or to make him pay or out of spite. That she honestly, truly didn’twant a second chance to be his wife. His jaw sagged, and he leaned against the wall beside the bulletin board. “I moved across the country for you.”
“Ask next time. Andlisten.”
This time, when she stepped around him, he didn’t stop her.
“And stay the hell out of Germany,” she added as she pushed through the doors and into the frosty late autumn day.
Because she might be able to make peace with Ron Kelly, ex-husband, but she needed to make sure he knew she was done with Dr. Kelly, research intruder, too.
Besides, Kaci only had so much maturity in her for one day.
Lance couldn’t gethis head on straight. Monday, he forgot his ID card and the squadron patch on his flight suit.Tuesday, he locked himself out of the house and almost missed a squadron meeting.
He just forgot.
He was deployingtomorrow, and his brain was simply gone.
Because he couldn’t stop wondering how Kaci was doing. If she was dealing with her grief okay. If she was mad at him for not telling her he was deploying. If she’d gone back to the bar and hooked up with someone else. If he needed to worry about a pumpkin landing in his pool or his truck disappearing.
If she’d talk to him if he called.
If he should just wise up and quit thinking about her.
But he couldn’t. It was as though when she’d left his house last Friday, she’d taken her chaos with her. But he’d adapted. He needed chaos. So he was making his own.
And that wasn’t a good omen for this deployment.
Or that ache he’d been ignoring in his chest.
So Tuesday, when he should’ve been heading to sleep early before the long flight overseas tomorrow, Lance surrendered.
He needed to see her. He needed her to tell him to leap off the ramp of his C-130 without a parachute.
He needed to know she was planning to go to Germany.
Her Jeep was in its parking place, so he let himself into the building and took the steps to her apartment.
This time last week, he’d been happy in his willful ignorance about Kaci’s impact on his life. Today, his feet were in concrete boots. His heart bounced erratically.
And for the first time since he’d set foot in his first ROTC class as a freshman in college, his career, his calling, was a thorn in his side.
A white sign with pink curlicues announcing this as the site of the first Officers’ Ex-Wives Club meeting gave him pause.
But he knocked anyway.
He needed to see Kaci.
He needed her to sass him. To tell him his ego was overinflated at the idea that he’d hurt her.
