“Yeah, it would,” he said quietly. “Sorry to hear about you and Bruce. I didn’t know him very well but…”
“I’m not. So don’t you be.”
She’d said the words so resolutely that they shocked her. It was like closing a door that she’d fought to close forever and now finally could.
She couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t remember Hunter being so taken with Julie the way Julie had been with him. But maybe that was because Katie had been so engrossed in her own life.
“It was good seeing you,” she said. “I have to head to the house to help Trip with dinner.”
He waved as she turned away. She didn’t feel much like having dinner or waiting around for Tabby and Kas. But she forced herself to go to the main house and knock on the door where she found Trip fumbling around the kitchen. He seemed relieved to have her help when she offered.
She was relieved he’d been there. Otherwise, she knew she would have headed over to Caleb’s house.
Sweet Home Montana: Chapter Eight
They’d made it through dinner and Katie enjoyed the company and the laughter. She’d even talked with Kas about the offer Callahan’s lawyer had made to her earlier in the day. But through it all, she thought of Caleb. When dinner was over, she went straight over to his house. Although he was glad to see her at the door, he was clearly confused.
“I’m not staying,” she said as he led her into the living room where they’d sat in front of the fire and talked and talked while he’d been recuperating. “I just…need you to understand something. I don’t know if it makes a difference. But I…”
“What?”
“You won’t get it,” she said, shaking her head and turning away from him. So many nights it had been easy to talk with Caleb and now she wasn’t sure. Especially after what had transpired between them.
“What won’t I get?”
“Why I left Sweet.”
“You were in love. You got married.”
“I had dreams. Big dreams. And I failed. Miserably.”
“Failure is—”
She waved him off. “A state of mind, not a person. Yes, I know. You sound just like my brother. In fact, you’re a lot like him.”
His eyebrows drew together tightly. “You’re comparing me to Kas?”
“You’ve never failed at anything your life. Have you? That’s my brother. He does things right all the time.”
“He’s got a lot of money.”
“He earned it.”
“I know that. He made good business choices and smart moves and they all paid off for him. Now he’s a wealthy man.”
She sat down on the sofa. “I’m not talking about money, Caleb.”
Caleb frowned. “You’re right. I don’t get it. So explain it to me.”
“You are exactly where you want to be. So is Kasper for the most part.”
“The most part? What does that even mean?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m not even sure that he knows. I think Tabby has her heart set on coming back to Montana. His businesses are in New York City.”
“I get it. Two worlds. Light years away.”
“Exactly. But he has Tabby. He’s very content. No, he’s happy. He’s happier than I have ever seen him. Seeing him with her tonight, it was so clear.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
She shook her head again. This time with a little bit more force. “It’s not Tabby and it’s not his money and it’s not his job.”
Caleb laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She sounded so ridiculous. She hadn’t realized just how much until that moment. “You know what you want. You went into the army and served our country. Then you came home and now you’re a police officer in Sweet. Kas did the same thing. He went off and followed his dreams. He’ll figure things out with Tabby. But he has Tabby.”
“What are you saying? You don’t want to be in Sweet anymore? You don’t want to finish the chapel?”
“No, that’s not it. I want to finish this project. I want to finish something and have it turn out right for a change. But I wonder why I want to finish it. I had plans when I left here with Bruce. They didn’t work out. Not at all. It’s like I have a do-over and I have to get it right. And the life that I thought I was going to have, Bruce is having with someone else. And that’s okay.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. “Just like that? You’re suddenly okay with what he did to you?”
She shook her head. “He hurt me. He used me and made me believe his lies and then he walked out on me with nothing but the forty-seven dollars I had in my wallet. He drained the bank account and made plans with someone else all right under my nose and I never even knew it was happening. No one should ever hurt another person like that. And to be honest, it’ll probably take a long time for me to trust in that same naïve way I did when I married him.
“But I’m not the same girl I was either. Sometimes I think I am. Most of the time I see the difference. And when they offered to buy back the chapel, it made me really confused.”
“Whoa. Who made an offer? Callahan?”
She took a deep breath. “His lawyer. He stopped by Sally’s today to put in the offer and she called me. What did I do? I immediately called my big brother.”
Caleb leaned back on the sofa and poked at the fabric. “Why is that a bad thing? That’s what brothers are for. I’m sure he was happy to help you.”
“He was.”
“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t just about selling the chapel as is.”
She shrugged. “I wonder sometimes.”
“About what.”
“I need to explain so you’ll understand why I’m confused.”
“Okay.”
“As soon as I heard that Bruce was having an affair, I confronted him, packed my bags, and I left. He’d already done the damage. It was going to take me a long time to build back
