Page 30 of Just My Ex

“Quinn needed to go for a run. We ended up here.”

“Youended uphere? Doubtful. You brought her up here to reminisce about our old life. To bond.”

The way he says “bond” sours my stomach.

“Hey,” I counter. “That’s a lot of assumptions. None of which are correct.”

They might be correct. Subconsciously.

Meaning I might have subconsciously brought her up here to get us talking about my childhood here, which could morph into talking about our former life together, my life before. To open up in ways I didn’t before.

Sorta.

I don’t know. All I know is being around Quinn is messing with my head.

Alec has all kinds of preachy vibes emanating from him.

I hold up my hand to stop him before he lays into me. “Regardless, the meeting was mandatory.”

Alec sniffs. “Send me the info.”

“It doesn’t—” I stop. I can’t just distill it all down into an email, but he isn’t having any of it. He isn’t having me. I try not to be bothered by this new hostility from Alec. It’s frustrating and doesn’t make sense.

Or maybe it does, and I just don’t want to see it.

“I’ll send it to you.” I feel my shields coming right back up again. “Oakley can tell you all about it. We all need to be on the same page. I need everybody’s eyes and ears. And if we have differing opinions about what needs to be done …”

Now it’s his turn to hold up a hand. “Got it. I don’t want some lunatic relative of Quinn’s coming and bothering her and Navie, either.”

He swipes a hand across his mouth, and it strikes me as funny that he’s up here. He’s in work boots and if I’m not mistaken, he’s got work gloves in a back pocket of his worn-out jeans. This is nothing like former pro-football player Alec.

“What are you doing up here, anyway?” I ask. “You okay?”

His look of loathing makes me want to take it back. “You really can’t be bothered to keep up with the family, can you?” he asks.

“I’ve been calling you every week.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “No answer.”

Alec nods. “I haven’t had time.” He raises his chin and grates his jaw from side to side.

I’m not going to call him out on that excuse. “No one told me that you were doing some sort of ranching up here.” I laugh at the absurdity, but when Alec doesn’t say anything, I start to wonder. “Wait. Are you ranching?”

“Of course not. But as the Programs Director over the resort, there are things to be done up here. We’ll be putting in some ropes courses and ziplines eventually.”

I nod and then glance back at Quinn, who has found herself a big, gnarly tree stump to sit on amongst the grasses.

“Well, okay. I won’t keep you,” I say.

“Okay.” He could leave. We could both leave. But, like rubbernecking after a big accident, we can’t look away.

He massages the bridge of his nose. “I just—you said you’ve apologized to Oliver and Sophie. But what about Mom? She deserves an apology, too. And it’s one thing to just not come. But to say you will and then change your mind last minute?”

The cords of my neck strain.

There is so much I wish I could explain. I didn’t change my mind; I was heavily persuaded otherwise.

“I know. And I did apologize to Mom that day. Look. I’m sorry. If you’d still been playing for the Wolves, no one would have batted an eye about you missing the wedding for a game, would they?”

“I think I would have made sure I was here. It was Oliver’s wedding, man.”

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