Page 22 of Dependable Cowboy

“You could consider us separated if nothing else,” she said, needing to alleviate the pain that had started in her chest and now radiated through her entire torso. Her stomach had become this icy pit. “And no matter what, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No,” Aaron agreed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been making out with another man’s wife.”

He covered his mouth with his hand as if to take back what they’d already done, his complexion pale. Backing out her door, he vanished, and she could hear him as he took missteps that almost led to a bad tumble down her stairs.

Hurrying outside, Joy saw him right himself in the nick of time before storming away from her staircase. She made to follow him, but when he peeked up and saw her, he waved her off, shaking his head.

Then, in a cloud of dust from the bare earth of her driveway, he disappeared.

Joy felthorrible about what happened with Aaron. They’d reestablished a friendship and maybe even more, and she blew it out of the water like a torpedo. She had to calm down before driving over to collect Kara. After taking an hour to pace and attempting to plaster on a calm expression, she arrived at her parents’ place.

“I don’t mean this to sound bad, Joy, but you’re looking a little peaked. Are you feeling under the weather? I’ve got chicken noodle soup, if you do. Ginger ale, too,” her mom offered.

The gentle way she stated this, the pure kindness with no rebuke of her words, made that pain inside of Joy lessen. She peered over into her mother’s eyes and her father’s face as he placed some of Kara’s drawings on their fridge, and suddenly, the distance that had been between them for so long faded into nothing.

“I don’t know where my husband is, or even if he’s alive,” she confessed while her daughter was playing a video game in the other room with her earbuds in, going into details about how he’d failed her and Kara. “And then when I told Aaron that I was still married, he freaked out.”

She anticipated her parents railing on Wayne, but they didn’t.

“Who else knows about Wayne?” her father asked.

“The LAPD, and I’ve listed him on missing persons sites. I even put up posters at one point, asked everyone at the restaurant where he worked. I’ve done everything I can think of.”

“And did you leave your information with the police?” her mom inquired next.

“Yes. Also, with my friend Debbie. She was the production assistant on the soap Wayne auditioned for, and then I was able to interview with her. Thanks to her, I held gainful employment the whole time I was there. She knows I’m here with Kara and has my number.”

“I think it’s time to pursue a formal separation from your husband,” her father said. Neither of her parents liked saying Wayne’s name.

“Yes,” her mom agreed. “Find out what you have to do to pursue divorce proceedings despite not knowing his whereabouts. Then, explain to Aaron what you’re doing. I’m sure once he sees that you’re making strides to change your marital status, he’ll be desperate to spend more time with you.”

“Desperate?” Joy scoffed. That sounded really extreme.

“He was always in love with you, you know,” her dad intoned quietly. “That’s likely why he was so taken aback. He thoughthe had another chance with you, but you’re still tied to this other man. The same man. Aaron wouldn’t feel like pursuing you would be the honorable or respectable thing until you do. He’s a very principled person.”

“I know.” Joy did know that. She’d always known that about him.

On her way home, with a sleeping Kara in tow, she noticed a billboard for the Stewart Family Law Practice. Pausing for long enough at a stop sign to type their number into her phone, she made a note to contact them.

Going to her appointment set up for the next Tuesday, she discussed the steps necessary to file for divorce in the state of California. There were plenty of official hurtles to jump to legally separate herself from a person of unknown location, but it felt good to gain some forward momentum where Wayne was involved. This had been coming for a long while, and it was past time she got the ball rolling.

With that out of the way, she contacted Aaron and left a voicemail. When he didn’t immediately answer, she sent a text, as well. She needed to apologize. She was certain that her parents were right, that Aaron had been blindsided by the thought of dating a married woman, no matter what the state of her marriage might be.

Her day at work passed without any messages from Aaron, and she couldn’t help but feel down about it. Still, if she’d permanently burned her bridges with him because of not coming clean up front, she’d just have to accept that outcome for what it was.

Yet when she arrived home, it was to find Aaron waiting for her in person. And the second she came up to him, he kissed her.

CHAPTER TEN

Once they broke their kiss—afterAaron thought he had sufficiently communicated the depth of his apology nonverbally—Joy had fallen all over herself to explain.

“It’s just that I don’t make a habit of talking about him. And if he’s still alive, clearly he’s no longer interested in me or Kara. And?—”

He cut her off with another kiss. It might not be as good a form of communication as he wished, but he liked it, anyway.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, filtering fleeting kisses to her lips, her nose, her lips, her cheeks, and her lips. As shocked as he was by Joy’s marriage revelation, the more he processed what she told him, the more it made sense that she’d put off a divorce. After that amount of time, what were the chances that he was coming back, no matter his status?

“I’ve started the process to file for divorce. I won’t stop until it’s done. I wouldn’t be with him now even if he appeared from out of nowhere and said he wanted me. That ship sailed a long time ago.”

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