When We Met (Fool's Gold #13)(83)

Consuelo snorted. “He couldn’t take Angel on his own. They know each other’s fighting style too well. But Ford and me working together could smack him down.” She looked at Taryn. “Want me to take care of that? I will.”

Taryn brushed away a tear and tried to smile. “As strange as this is going to sound, that’s about the nicest offer anyone has made to me. Thank you. I appreciate it. You’re all so great.”

She bit her lower lip and did her best to get control. “It’s hard because it never occurred to me I could fall for him. I thought I was stronger than that.”

“Loving someone doesn’t make you weak,” Consuelo told her. “It might seem that way at first, but it’s not true. Love is complicated and messy but ultimately powerful.”

“And in this case, a disaster,” Taryn murmured.

She saw the other women exchanging glances and had no idea what they were thinking. The only thing that was clear was that they were going to be there for her if she needed them.

“I appreciate the support,” she added. “I need to work through this myself. Please don’t say anything to anyone. I’m not ready to talk about it.”

Isabel wrinkled her nose. “You sure about that? There’s kind of a Fool’s Gold tradition when there’s a breakup.”

“What kind of tradition? I don’t want to be a festival queen or anything like that.”

“There’s a girls’ night,” Dellina told her. “Everyone comes over with liquor and junk food. We get drunk and call the guy names.”

Taryn held in a shudder. That meant talking about what had happened. She would rather not have that conversation ever.

“I’m not ready for that,” she said firmly. “Seriously, please don’t tell anyone.” She was too humiliated to have the information go public just yet.

“Let us know if you change your mind,” Noelle told her. “We have ways of making you forget.”

Taryn did her best to smile at the joke.

Losing Angel had been horrible, but finding friends was one of the good things that had happened to her since moving to town. Eventually she would heal and move forward.

She’d been reminded that love was a disaster and trusting men led to pain. It was a lesson that she was never going to allow herself to forget, ever again.

* * *

AFTER LUNCH, TARYN left Jo’s. She was feeling a little better. At least she wasn’t crying anymore and the gnawing pain in her chest had faded to something she was going to be able to stand.

It was being around her friends, she thought. They were good women and she appreciated them and their support. As she headed to her car she wondered how different her life would have been if she’d had friends like this earlier. Like in high school. Not that she would have trusted anyone enough to let them know what was going on. Or maybe it wasn’t all about trust. Maybe shame was a component, too.

She drove back to Score and parked in the lot. A battered Subaru pulled in next to her and Bailey got out.

Taryn smiled at the other woman. “How’s Chloe? Is she doing okay?”

Bailey circled her car and nodded. “She’s great. I was afraid the whole flash flood experience would give her nightmares, but it didn’t. She’s not afraid or anything bad.” Bailey wore a T-shirt over jeans. She shifted her car keys from hand to hand.

“Taryn, I want to thank you for all you and Angel did with her. Being in the Acorns has really allowed Chloe to find her way back to the wonderful girl she was before. I’ve been worried about her. Losing her dad was horrible. She got so quiet. I talked to her pediatrician and she suggested I give it time, but that if she wasn’t making strides in a few months, we should try therapy. I kept putting that off. I guess I didn’t want there to be anything wrong with her.”

Taryn could understand that concern. Especially when it came to a child.

“Once she joined the Acorns, everything changed. She has friends again. She’s talking all the time.”

“Too much?” Taryn asked, her voice teasing.

Bailey smiled. “Maybe a little, but I keep telling myself I’m not going to complain.” Her smile faded. “When we lost Will, we were both devastated. It was one thing when he was away on deployment, but knowing he was never coming back...”

Taryn nodded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing her pain was nothing when compared to losing a husband. She was tough. She would get over this and no one would ever know she’d been broken in the first place.

“I appreciate the sympathy, I do, but it’s okay. It was worth it. Will was a good, good man. He loved me and he loved Chloe. We were his world and we both knew that.”

Bailey paused. “Watching Chloe blossom again has helped me so much.” She shrugged. “Sorry. I’m talking too much.”

“You’re not. I’m so happy we could help. Chloe is a wonderful girl. You have every right to be proud of her.”

“I am.” Her mouth twisted. “After the campout, Chloe’s mentioned I should find her another daddy.”

“Angel?” Taryn asked before she could stop herself.

“What? No. Oh, is that what you thought?” The smile returned. “He’s amazing, but there’s no way I could handle a man like him. He’s much more your style. You’re strong and powerful and he needs that.”