Working virtually was not a walk to the lake. It was a full-time, all-the-time exhaustion fest that drained a person. It would be extra hard for him, given he was in charge of the actual staff in the Denver office. Of course, it was possible.
Still…
“Don’t do this to the boys,” Rachel whispered. Don’t take away their dad, too.
She could be a lot of things for her kids, but she was beginning to think she couldn’t be everything.
“Rach…” He studied his feet. “We’ll figure this out. We always figure this stuff out. This time, it’s no different.”
“Is this really what you want?” Rachel asked. “You want to upend our boys? Even if it’s just you who moves to Boston, their whole lives change.”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s not what I want.”
“Then why are you even considering it.”
“Because if I don’t go with Dakota”—he stood, paced to the window, then back again—“she’s going without me.”
That didn’t sound like an excellent start to their soon-to-be marriage. Not that Rachel was the expert on that kind of thing.
Rachel’s cell rang. She checked the caller ID. Cassie. Gah.
She clicked it off and shoved it in her pocket.
“Do you need to get that?” Gavin gave a pointed glance at the pocket where she’d shoved the phone.
She did need to get it, but for once she didn’t have to question her priorities. “This is more important.”
“Rach.” Gavin sat next to her on the sofa. “I have to figure this out because it’s my issue to sort. But we’ve always worked together when it comes to the kids. I don’t want that to end.”
“Do you love Dakota? Do you love her enough to see your kids only a few times a year?” she asked.
“Honestly?”
“I think we’re being honest here, aren’t we?”
“No.” He dropped his face to his palms. “I don’t love her like that. But it’s what I’ve got.”
The silence that descended wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy. She had the intense urge to reach out and hold his hand, but it wasn’t her place.
The deep inhale that came from the other side of the room clearly shocked both of them, given the way both of their heads twisted in that direction.
“I guess it’s a good thing we discover this now, before the exchange of vows,” Dakota said.
Rachel rolled her lips between her teeth and stared at Dakota standing at the entrance to the room.
Huh. Dakota’s neck did the same splotchy thing Rachel’s did when she got upset.
Gavin stood, wiped his palms on his slacks, and with a nod to Rachel, he moved to his next future-ex.
And Rachel? Rachel wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself.
So she went to search for Travis.
She didn’t really know why she needed to find him, but it felt important. Important to her.
…
TRAVIS
