Page 14 of Rekindled Heart

“Was your husband good with your son, Christopher?”

Another wince, this time from her. “No.” Her response is short and not-so-sweet.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She nods her head and stands, pacing. “That’s part of what made me so eager to get out of here when we got involved.”

Ouch again!

She faces me and smiles slightly when she sees my face. “Not how you’re thinking. I was so confused about what was happening with us. I never wanted to get involved with another man after my husband died. I intended to stay a single parent and the only man in my life was going to be my son. Then I met you and it was instant sparks. Instant need.”

My breath stalls. She’s baring herself to me. Emotionally, not physically. But it’s strong and her eyes hold mine. No tentative shrinking violet there.

“And? What happened to make you run then?”

“Christopher for one. We were only here on vacation and I needed to take care of some things with him.”

“So why not just tell me that? Why just take off with no word.”

Her head hangs down and her shoulders slump. She turns away, pacing. “I know you won’t understand this but I haven’t felt very attractive for a long time. Not after my husband cheated on me. I just didn’t trust what was going on here. I felt like it was too much too soon. I was afraid you didn’t have the same feelings. As a matter of fact, it seemed like you didn’t. It seemed like you were bound and determined to be as mysterious, as detached, as you could be.”

I nod my head. “After Vera, I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I wasn’t sure what to think about us. Don’t you remember I even told you that I wasn’t looking for anything serious?”

She nods her head, a slight smirk. “Yeah. That was an interesting first date. I’ve never had a man sit me down on a first date for a long talk about the fact that he’s not looking for a girlfriend or anything remotely serious. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that I didn’t think you’d care one way or the other if I came back. I don’t know.”

I’ve made a helluva lot of mistakes with Caro. I’m not sure where we stand or where we’re going from here. But the one thing that I do know is that I missed her.

And maybe that means that I’m not really as mad at her as I am at myself.

Maybe I’m the fuck-up here.

Not her.

SEVEN

Caro

I head for the door,unsure what just happened with Ricky. This was the most civil conversation we’ve had since I came back here. And he seemed to be saying that he had feelings for me.

I’m not sure that I trust in that.

“Where are you going?” he asks me.

“I’ve got to get back. Granny Louise is watching Christopher and it’s probably past both of their bedtimes.”

He nods his head, his eyes unfocused. “Oh, yeah. I’m sorry. I’ve probably kept you too late and you’ve got Christopher to worry about. Thank you for coming by. I’m sure that Doc wanted you to check in on me but I’m sure he didn’t expect me to keep you here so late.”

I shake my head and smile. “I wanted to talk to you. I’m good with how things have gone but I do need to get back home to Christopher. We’re going to see if we can check out Sebastian’s ranch tomorrow. Christopher is very excited to see a horse for the first time in person.”

Ricky smiles slightly, just a quirk of his well-formed lips that drives me crazy.

“Maybe you’d like to come here and I can show you around with Christopher? I’ve actually missed the little guy.”

I nod my head slightly then stop. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Ricky. I don’t want him to be confused by what’s going on here.”

“Which is?” he asks me, one dark brow lifted over his gorgeous ebony eyes sparked with gold dust and amber.

“What’s going on is…” I pause and stand, irresolute. “I’m not really sure.”

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