“Anyway, I, um, had to tell Ruby that her mommy was gone and not coming back. Pop and Caison thought it was best not to wait, but to be honest with her. Which I did.”
My heart shatters as I picture that beautiful little girl. “Poor Ruby.”
“She didn’t handle it well. She was confused, and I was a total fucking shit show at explaining death and heaven and ashes and all that to a four-year-old. I probably scarred her for life.”
“I don’t think anyone would be able to explain that easily,” I assure him.
“Yeah, well, anyway, it was a long, rough night. And I didn’t have my phone on. So, I didn’t realize you were worried until the next day, when I got my bearings and talked to Caison.”
I sit and let his confession fill the space between us.
“What about the girl?”
“Cheyenne,” he says. “She’s Candy’s—ugh, Freya’s—sister. Pop’s guy found her living in Florida, and we got in touch. She flew up to meet Ruby and have Thanksgiving with us.”
“So, you and she aren’t—”
“We’re family. She’s Ruby’s aunt. The only link Ruby has to her mother. That’s all.”
Silence stretches, thick and heavy.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he says finally. “Everything spiraled so quickly. Ruby was upset, my parents were freaking out, and I panicked. Cheyenne showed up.”
I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hold myself together. “So, what? You just forgot about me in all the chaos?”
That isn’t fair.I wish I could take the words back as soon as they left my mouth.
“No.” His eyes burn into mine. “I didn’t stop thinking about you for a second. I’m just really bad at this daddy gig and juggling all that comes with it.”
“You’re not,” I whisper.
He swallows.
“I’m serious. I would have thought you’d be. If someone had told me you were a single dad before you showed up in Wildhaven with Ruby, I’d have bet my money on you being horrible at it. But I’ve seen how you love that little girl. How yousacrifice for her. That’s all she needs. That’s all any girl needs from her daddy.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” he says.
“Take it from a girl who lost her own mother too young. I am.”
He reaches for me. Sliding his hand over my hip, gently tugging me closer to him.
“Can you forgive me? Again?” he asks.
Can I?Crap.I think I already have.
“Maybe,” I say as he brings his hand up to caress my cheek.
“And Dick? How did that go?”
“Horribly. I’m pretty sure I disappointed him.”
“He’ll get over it.”
I think about Dixon’s soft kiss. The emptiness. The way my body never once reacted the way it does now, with Waylon this close.
“Is it over?” he asks.
“Yeah, he’s not what I want.”
