Page 39 of Wilde Ride

“No, please stay.”

Nodding, I sat down on a love seat and watched as Levi took his son’s hand and walked him over to a larger sofa. They sat, and Levi drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.

“Rhett, no matter how old we get, our parents—both mothers and fathers—play a very important role in our lives. I still need my parents sometimes. Like when we decided to move here to River Falls. They said we could stay with them until we found a place of our own. I go to them for advice, or when I’m feeling sad. They’re also some of the first people I want to share any happy news with.”

Rhett looked down at the floor. “Then how come my mommy doesn’t want me anymore?”

The saying “felt like my heart broke in two” had never been more real to me than in that moment. I wanted to walk over, sweep that child up into my arms, and hug him hard.

“Your mother does want you, Rhett. She’s just in a really bad place right now.”

“’Cause of Brooke?” he asked.

Levi nodded. “She’s really sad still. She’s kind of lost right now.”

“I’m sad still. And I know you’re sad still. I hear you talking to Brooke sometimes, and then I hear you cry.”

Tears filled my eyes. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. I shouldn’t be here.

I started to stand, but Levi shot me a look, and I sat back down. I quickly wiped my tears from my cheeks.

“I am sad still, and so are Grammy and Grandpa. Your mom, though, well…she was in the car when the accident happened, and she’s having a tough time with that.”

“’Cause it was her fault?”

My eyes widened.

“It wasn’t her fault, Rhett.”

He stood and balled his little fists. “It was her fault! She made Brooke go with her, and I hate her for that! I never want to see her again!”

Rhett turned and ran. When Levi didn’t make a move to follow him, I did. Rhett ran outside and across to one of the cabins and sat down on the steps, dropping his head onto his arms, which were folded around his knees. I quickly made my way over to him.

“May I sit down next to you?”

He looked up, and when I saw the tears, I nearly dropped to the ground. He nodded jerkily.

Sitting, I swallowed the lump in my throat and drew in a slow, deep breath before letting it out. “I never got to meet your sister Brooke. What was she like?”

His little mouth quivered with a slight smile. “She was loud.”

I laughed, and he smiled.

“She really liked her Barbies and playing with all her horses. She had lots of toy horses.”

“Did she like the horse?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Daddy teached us how to take care of her.”

“It was a mare, huh?”

“Her name was Thunder. ’Cause when she ran, it sounded like thunder.”

I smiled. “What did she look like?”

“Like Aurora. She liked Brooke a lot.”

“Did you both ride her?”