Reckless(82)

“Look at you with the big words.”

He socks me in the shoulder. “I’m just saying, are you sure you want to be tied to Allison for another four or five years? Because if we do this deal, you’re on the hook. We both are.”

Frustration, hot and fierce, fires up in my gut. “What am I supposed to do? Refinance the ranch again? Leave Mom nothing for retirement? She doesn’t even have Dad’s life insurance because those bastards never paid out.” The damn life insurance company argued that he had a preexisting health condition he failed to disclose and denied Mom’s claim.

Blowing out a breath, I break it down for Logan. “You heard our attorney as plainly as I did. People in our situation can either refinance to pay off the other spouse or sell assets.” I spread my arms. “Which assets you wanna sell? Your house? Some farmland, which ain’t worth shit except for our houses and barns? The horses, which is where we get our income from? Please spell it out for me.”

The pained groan that rumbles out of him tells me he’s as worked up as I am, and for a minute, we sit there, silent, muddling through our thoughts, with the recap of the Astros game on in the background.

Shifting on the couch, I try to explain it better. “All I did tonight was talk some sense into Allison. Sat her down, let her relax with a glass of wine, so she’d stop yappin’, and made sure she understood that our disagreements over shit had better start and stop with the kids. That if we sign the co-op contract, she’s a silent partner when it comes to the business.” With a palm over my mouth, I mumble the rest. “I might’ve offered a bigger percentage for her to promise she wouldn’t contest custody of the kids.”

I cringe, knowing my brother might be pissed, but when we make eye contact, all I see is acceptance.

“Mila and Cody are yours, and I’ll go down fighting to make sure it stays that way. Hate that she’s getting more outta this deal, but I can’t say I blame you for trying. If those kids were mine, I’d do the same thing.”

I’m so relieved, I could cry. Instead, I squeeze his arm. “Thanks for having my back, brother.”

He ruffles my hair like I’m a kid. “Always. Now go explain this shit to Tori. Make sure she gets where you’re coming from and doesn’t think you were wining and dining your ex-wife.”

My attention returns to glasses in front of me. To the red lipstick on the stemware. To the half-empty bottle of Pinot.

Goddamn it.

I have to believe she knows me better than that.



* * *



The hard thud of my heart in my chest is all I hear as I tap on Tori’s bedroom door, but there’s no answer. With a twist of the handle, it opens, and I’m relieved, so fucking relieved, she didn’t lock me out.

“Tor?” Her petite outline curled up on the bed sends a bittersweet ache through me.

What would she and I be like without all the drama? If we were just two singles in Austin bumping into each other on a Friday evening over drinks in a bar? I’d ask her out in a second. I’d spare no expense to make her feel special.

Instead, tonight, I asked her to whisk away the kids while I dealt with my ex-wife.

How long will Tori deal with that kind of baggage? In my head, I consider all the reasons this would’ve been easier if we hadn’t gotten involved. If we’d kept things professional. Because the boss in me feels like I’m taking advantage of her by asking her to do me personal favors, like watch my kids on a Sunday night.

But the boyfriend in me? Yeah, he’s grateful as hell to be able to trust her with my children. To know when they’re in her care, I don’t have to worry like I would with a stranger. Save for my brother and Mom, there’s no one who adores Mila and Cody more.

Does she have any idea how much she means to me? How grateful I’ve been for our friendship and all the nights she’s let me wrap myself around her in bed?

I toss my t-shirt and jeans on the ground next to the bed and crawl in behind her.

Her breathing is slow and deep, and though I’m relieved we don’t have to talk about all the shit that went down tonight because I’m beat, I hate letting unresolved issues linger. I did that with Allison, allowed too many unspoken things go, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.

“Baby,” I whisper as I hug her to me.

She’s not a terribly deep sleeper, but tonight she’s out. I almost forgot she had her sister’s shower today. Tori must be worn out.

And when she got home, you made her babysit. Nice job, asshole.

Wishing I could wake her and apologize, tell her how sorry I am to put her in that position, I settle for whispering it to her and hoping we get time tomorrow to have this conversation face to face.

If tonight has clarified anything for me, it’s that I can’t do this—life, the ranch, the business—without her help.

But more than that, I don’t want to do it without her.





46





Tori





The ingredients seem to weigh a million pounds as I mix in the mayo for a new potato salad recipe I’m testing for Cody’s birthday party next week. My mind snags on Logan and Ethan’s argument last night, their voices animated enough to swell through my closed bedroom door as I was dozing off, drained from my sister’s shower and the Allison drama.