Page 83 of We Redeemed the Rain

A voice, familiar and sickening, filled my head.

I am nothing. I am noth?—

I pushed the voice back, refusing to listen right here and now.

She spoke quietly. “That’s not really…what I meant. I meant alone as in, you know, dating and marriage?”

“Oh.”

She leaned closer, her knee gently bumping against mine. “No girlfriends?”

I cleared my throat. “I haven’t had a lot of time for…dating.” Although that was true, it wasn’t the real reason I’d never pursued any relationships. Penny practically stopped in every day to take care of my horses. Several years back, she made her interest in me crystal clear. I could’ve easily dated her, but I didn’t want to. When that ship sailed and Penny got married, it didn’t rattle me in the slightest. Zero regrets.

“What about you?” I kicked myself for asking. Because if she had a boyfriend back in Colorado, I really didn’t want to hear about him.

“I’ve dated. My most recent relationship was with a guy in the music industry—the bassist for a band I’ve done some gigs with. Ifound out the hard way that he was a player.” She shrugged. “So, I’ve been single for over a year now.”

“He cheated?”

“With a mutual friend.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, it sucked, but I was just glad it happened when it did and not later.”

“So, it was serious then?”Leave her alone.

She lifted a shoulder. “It felt serious, I guess, depending on what perspective I looked at it with.”

“Perspective?”

“If I compare what I had with David to what I had in my dating relationships prior to him, then, yeah, it felt serious. But, if I compare what we had with what my parents have?” She huffed. “It felt as immature as a summer fling.”

“Your parents are happy?”

“They adore each other. Dad worships the ground she walks on, and Mom is convinced the world wouldn’t turn without him. It’s beautiful.”

A softhmmmcame out of my throat. “What’s their secret?”

“They claim it’s friendship.”

It was my turn to ask a question, and I gladly changed the subject. “Speaking of music, have you decided what you’re going to do?”

She groaned. “No. My lawyer called me back and said the contract was sound. To be honest, I was kind of hoping there would be an issue and the decision would be made for me. Anyway, I called Jerry yesterday and told him that I wasn't any closer to making a decision. He stayed professional, but I could tell it pissed him off.”

“You’ll know soon.”

She shrugged. “I certainly hope so. I’m leaning toward ‘no’ at this point, because I can’t imagine letting someone like Jerry tell me what to do.”

I grunted a laugh.

She smacked my knee. “What was that for?”

“Nothin’.”

“That laugh wasn’t nothing. Spill.”

“Just—good luck to Jerry if he tries to boss you around.”

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