“In a hurry to leave?”
“Not at all. I’ve been having fun. It’s been great.”
“But?” Hattie asked, looking at me with that mother-knows-best look.
“But… I don’t know. I just feel like a storm’s brewing. Like the feeling you get before a hurricane moves in, only this doesn’t have anything to do with the weather.”
“Are you sure it’s not just the tension between Grady and Wild Card?” Hattie said.
I glanced at Wild Card who was laughing as he slapped a card down on the table. The kids booed, tossing their cards down. I glanced toward the house, and caught Grady watching me. He glanced away, grabbing a plate to load some of the grilled burgers and hot dogs onto. “Nope. It’s not them. But I’m glad to see them staying away from each other right now.”
“It won’t last, Sunshine. Sooner or later, you’ll have to choose.”
“But not today,” I said, grinning over at her. “How’s the construction coming on the new cabin? I haven’t heard you talk about it in a while.”
“Well, funny you should ask,” Hattie said, wringing her hands together. “Seems the contractors quit. That was the third construction company I’ve hired. They all seem to get spooked a day or two into the job and pack up and leave. Pops keeps telling me not to worry, but for the life of me, I can’t figure it out.”
“Between us, I don’t even want the cabin. I’m not sure I ever did. Doesn’t feel right. I can’t have a place for Grady and me across the road from Wild Card’s home. It just feels wrong. Especially now that I know how he feels about me. Besides, when I’m in Texas I’m perfectly happy bunking down at one of the three ranches.”
“Then, you don’t want me to hire another company?”
“No. I already had Lisa pay Grady out of my account for the money he gave you. As far as I’m concerned, the land can remain untouched. Maybe someday when Nick is older, he’ll build a house for himself there.”
“That would be nice,” Hattie said, smiling as she imagined it.
“But as I said, all that is between us. As for the instigator who caused the problem…” I stood and walked over to Wild Card, waiting for him to look up at me.
“Did you want to play?” he asked, holding up the deck of cards.
“No, thanks. I’d rather know why you think you have the right to interfere in my life and scare off the contractors for the cabin build! Why you think it’s okay to stress Hattie out about contractors walking off the job.”
He jumped up and stepped backward as I walked toward him. Once upon a time my acting skills were horrendous, but both Charlie and Haley had been practicing with me. As far as Wild Card knew, I was steaming mad. He continued to walk backward, as I continued to advance.
“So, you’re pissed I take it?” he asked with a slight smirk. “How pissed?”
“How pissed would you be?” I said, fisting my hands to my hips.
“Well… Since you’re already mad. Maybe I should confess something else…”
I had no idea what he was about to confess, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like it based on his nervous expression.
“Oh, no,” Charlie said, laughing. “You’re not going to tell her now, are you?”
I glanced over at Charlie. She was watching Wild Card but she had a hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter.
“She’s already pissed!” Wild Card said to Charlie while waving a hand at me.
“Spit it out! Confess what?” I ordered.
“We’re still married!” Wild Card said, taking another leap backward.
A collective inhale could be heard around me. As for me, I stood staring at Wild Card, trying to process what he’d said. Married? What? I signed the papers… I left them… Shit. I left them for him to file. I never checked to make sure he did. Why didn’t I check?
I looked back at Charlie. She stood there grinning at me, unashamed and not hiding it.
“How long have you known?”
“No, no, no.” She shook her head at me. “You’re not putting this on me. I only found out a couple days ago. With everything going on, I couldn’t even tell you what day he told me. But I knew he was going to tell you, so it wasn’t my place to say anything.”
“We—” I pointed between us “—are family. Family are supposed to be honest with each other.”
“By that same reasoning,” Charlie said with a smirk, “you and Wild Card are still family, too.”
I turned back to Wild Card. He was standing in a defensive stance, waiting for me to attack. I reflected on my emotions, and oddly enough, I didn’t feel angry. Embarrassed, maybe. If Wild Card and I were still married, that meant Grady and I…
I turned and looked around, finding Grady standing next to Hattie by the lounge chairs. Pure rage radiated from him. I looked at Hattie and jerked my head to the side, telling her to move away from him. Pops walked over and pulled her back.
Grady’s focus was on Wild Card. He didn’t see me.
I stepped in front of Wild Card, facing Grady.
His eyes lowered to meet mine.
I stood there, shoulders back, head held high, and I absorbed his anger from a distance. And while doing so, I saw the rage melt into something that could only be described as heartbreak. And I knew that’s what it was, because I felt it myself.
The truth was, I was in love with both men. But by standing in front of Wild Card, willing to defend him, Grady had his answer. I saw it streak across his face as if it caused a physical
