Page 112 of Every Beat of My Heart

“Jameson was upset about what happened. He needed some space to himself.”

“Like Dad needs his space?”

“The divorce was my idea.” I think Eric would have kept things the way they were. He was happy to have someone cook his meals, clean his house, and raise his child so he could focus on work.

“But you weren’t happy.”

“I was lonely, and I wanted something better for us.” Maybe that was selfish.

“I like the Calloways though. I don’t want to lose them.”

“You won’t. I won’t let that happen. You can work here as long as they’ll have you.” I wasn’t sure what was going to happen tonight. I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep. But no one had said anything about Owen not working there anymore. In fact, Teddy had stopped by to ensure that we would be here tonight.

I pulled into the lane, waving at the kid working the gate. He recognized our car and knew Owen was here to work. Then I parked at the main house.

“Why are you getting out?” Owen asked.

“Teddy said that Jameson wanted to show me something.” I held my hands up. “Don’t get your hopes up, because I don’t know what it is or what it means.”

“Yeah, okay.”

I felt bad that Owen had been let down so many times in his life. I wanted to give him stability. I thought the Calloways would be a good connection for him. A strong family. But now I wasn’t so sure. Had I screwed up by getting involved when it couldn’t last?

“I’m going to the barn and see where they want me.”

“Okay. Be good.”

“I will be. Mom?”

“Yes.” Somehow, Owen looked so much more mature tonight. He was on the cusp of puberty, growing into the man he would become. “You deserve to be happy.”

Tears pricked my eyes. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.

“You can’t keep living for me. You have to live for yourself.”

With that parting shot, he walked away, and I wondered when he’d gotten so smart.

The door to the house opened, and Jameson jogged down the steps. “Claire.”

I turned to face him. “Jameson.”

It felt awkward between us. I wasn’t sure why he wanted me, or what his purpose in bringing me here was. “Thank you for coming. I wanted to show you something.”

“That’s what Teddy said.”

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” he asked me as he walked toward the stables.

I knew they had a couple of horses that roamed the fenced pasture, but I never saw anyone ride them. “No.”

“Today will be your first ride then.”

I fell into step next to him. “What’s this about?”

“I’ll tell you. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

I nodded, swallowing over the lump in my throat. Was this where he told me we didn’t have a future? That we wanted different things. That I’d overstepped my bounds. “I’m sorry about the article in the paper. I thought it would help. But I didn’t think about the repercussions. That everyone would know what happened, and it might make things worse for you. Did it?”

Jameson stopped in front of a horse that was tethered to the fence. “I wanted to thank you for doing that. No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”

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