Page 20 of An Endless Memory

“He wants nothing to do with the kids?” Eliot held up his hands. “If it’s none of my business, just say so.”

“I think I made it your business. Cali’s mom signed away custody and left her with Carter shortly after we met. Cali was six months old, and I adopted her after we got married.” I’d always been honest with her, and with the name change, she’d been asking questions before school started in the fall. Hence her two-moms announcement in front of Eliot when we first met. “Carter isn’t interested in being a dad. He’s interested in doing what he wants when he wants.”

The rumors I’d heard after the divorce were like soaking my wounds in salt water.

“So, to answer your question,” I continued, “I won’t get a good recommendation from him. If I up and quit on Sutton to move to Billings, then how hard will it be for me to get a job? I’m just going to look like a vet school dropout who can’t hold a job.” Which was exactly what I was.

“Did leaving vet school have to do with your ex?”

I nodded. I dropped my gaze again. Kellan wiggled against the mat, kicking his legs out. Drool dripped out of his mouth. I grabbed one of the many cloths I stored around the place and swiped his face clean. “I quit school to work and took care of Cali because Carter was the main breadwinner. He made a good argument about how raising Cali would be better if we were married and I was around more. That I’d have a more flexible schedule as a tech.”

“What a bastard.” His tone was heated, and pleasure rolled through me. Yes. My ex was a bastard. I knew it, but I’d never turn away extra validation.

“That’s the general consensus with my family too, but I was second-guessing vet school. I just wanted more time to be with Cali and be involved in her life. Carter wasn’t home a lot, and I hated having her in daycare. Once I got done with school, that wouldn’t change. I’d just have more stress.” I lifted a shoulder. “My family thinks I made an excuse, but it’s true. I was doubting my career.”

He propped his arms on his knees and pressed his fingertips together. He was all cowboy CEO right now. My mortification didn’t detract from his hotness. The muscles in his forearms bunched and flexed, and I had no right to notice as acutely as I did. “If you don’t marry someone next week, you’ll have to move everything out?—”

“It’s not mine. I could only bring what fit in my car and my parents’ pickup from Kansas to Billings, so I didn’t have much to move in here.”

“Jesus, Lily.”

“I know. I’m a mess.”

Pebbles prowled into the room, making a mewing noise like she was agreeing with me.

Eliot’s gaze softened when it landed on the tabby. The cat swiped her body against his shins, and he scratched her head.

Pebbles moved on, and Eliot’s expression turned introspective. The corners of his jaw flexed. “I wasn’t thinking you’re a mess. I think you’ve got dealt a shit hand. And now you have to marry to keep a roof over your head and your job.” He shook his head, anger brewing in his brown irises.

“I have to be married a year before the house will be put in my name. I’m really sorry to drag you into this. You don’t have to marry me, of course, I just had to buy some time with Aunt Linda. I couldn’t find an adequate place to move into, and I thought, I don’t know, that maybe she would go easy on me. But she’s not. In order to stay, I’ve got to live with my husband for a year on the property—or at least make my aunt and uncle think he lives here. Know any single guys who want to settle down now?” My thready laugh fell flat.

His gaze was on me, burning right through me until I was uncomfortably warm.

“Trust me,” I said, struggling to make my voice stronger. “I got this. I’ve landed on my feet for the last year; I can keep doing it. You can go, but I’m sincerely sorry for what you walked in on.”

He didn’t answer, but his gaze intensified.

“I’ve disrupted your day enough, but if you could keep this between us until I figure everything out? I really love working at the clinic. Sutton keeps surprising me with her generosity, and I don’t want her to doubt hiring me. This story is…crazy.”

He didn’t respond right away. My anxiety tried to increase, but my adrenaline had run out. I was depleted.

My yawn couldn’t be stopped. I smothered my mouth with my hand. I just had to hold it all together a little longer. When he was gone and when Cali and Kellan were asleep, I could have a little panic session and start gathering numbers to call in the morning.

“How tired are you?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

“When’s the last time you’ve gotten some decent sleep?”

“Um…” I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought back. “I got that nap in the car.”

He exhaled a “fuck” and rose. “Go to bed, Lily. Tell me what to do, and I’ll take care of it. You need to sleep.”

I could laugh, that maniacal cackling of someone too overwhelmed to think straight. “I can’t go to bed. There’s too much to do. Lying to Linda bought me a few days. That’s all.”

“Go to bed,” he said firmly and propped his hands on his hips. “Because over the weekend, we’re going to have to figure out how this marriage of ours is going to work.”

Eliot

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