Page 7 of Coming For Her Curves
Caroline sits down in the chair next to me. “Did he tell you why he quit? Why he's in town?”
I’m still shocked from that little bombshell he dropped on me. He seemed adamant that he’s in town for me, but that’s crazy.We haven’t seen each other in twenty years. There has to be more to it. I’m looking at the computer screen in front of me. “Uh yeah, uh, he said he was in town for me. He said he saw I changed my status to single on social.”
She gasps beside me, and I turn to look at her. She's shocked, but I get it. I was the same way. I blow out a breath. “He thinks I cheated on him. He thinks that's why I broke up with him.”
“You told him, right? He knows why you broke up with him now?”
I shake my head, and I can feel Caroline getting riled beside me. She was by my side back then, and she’d begged and pleaded with me to tell him what was going on, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew if he knew the truth, he would have stayed and then resented me for it later on. “I never told him.”
“Isabel,” Caroline admonishes.
I shrug, as if it’s not a big deal. “It's done. It was twenty years ago, and it's over.”
She laughs. “Yeah, uh, maybe you should tell him that.”
I throw my hands up. “I tried.”
Caroline swings my chair around so I’m forced to look at her. “Isabel, listen to me. You deserve to be happy. I know you don’t feel like it, but you do. Your husband cheating on you was not your fault.”
I sit up a little taller. “You don’t think so? Because I sure do. We were more friends than anything. He knew… I told Allen in the beginning that I loved him but was not in love with him. He knew that I was with him because I couldn’t be with the man I really loved. I can’t blame him for doing what he did.”
She points at me. “You just said it, Isabel. You told him how you felt, but he thought it would change. He thought he could change you.”
“I know, but?—”
Caroline shakes her head. “No, don’t do this. Don’t give him an out. You were up front with him, and he wanted to marry you. You were a good wife to him, and you didn’t deserve to be cheated on, humiliated. Hell, if you don’t want to think about yourself, think about your son. Brock didn’t deserve what Allen did to your family either.”
I think about the effect Allen cheating on me has had on our son, and it’s been pretty hard. It’s a small town, and everyone knew what happened. Of course, most people try to help, but there were some kids that thought it was okay to make jokes about it. And even though Brock is fifteen, he’s still trying to process things, and he went through a rough period.
“I know,” I tell her.
She tilts her head to the side and looks at me. “Well, then all I’m asking is be open to whatever Ryker has to say. You should at least hear him out.” She pauses and softly says, “You owe him that, Isabel.”
I nod, and then the doctor comes out of a room. We get back to work, and not until later, when I’m pulling away from the doctor’s office do I think about what Caroline said. I know she’s right. I do owe Ryker. I didn’t handle things the right way when he was drafted.
I look at the clock on my dash and see that I have a little bit of time before I have to pick up Brock from practice. Before I cansecond-guess myself, I start driving toward Maple Lane. I tell myself I want to see the swing and that’s it.
But as I get closer and pull down Maple Lane, my heart starts to race. I turn the music down and then laugh to myself. As if turning down the music is going to stop Ryker from seeing me drive past his house.
I go slowly. I’m going to see the swing and drive right on by.
I slow down, and the first thing I see are the many people outside working. It looks as if they’ve been painting the house and are cleaning up for the day.
I slow down even more, and that’s when I see it. The swing looks just like the one that Ryker swung me on back in the day.
I slow down, barely crawling by, and my car starts to stutter. Oh no. Please, God, no.
The engine stops, and I put my head on the steering wheel.
No, no, no this can't be happening.
I look up at the house, and no one has noticed me yet. Thankfully, this road isn’t very busy. I push on the brake, put the gear into park, and turn the key to the off position. I say a quick prayer and then try the ignition again. It makes a few clicks, but it never turns on.
I bang my hands on the steering wheel and try to come up with a quick plan. Okay, I took an automotive course back in high school. I can check a few things.
As I move around the van, I get out and open the hood. There’s a little bit of steam.That’s not good, I think.
I look up at the house, and a few of the men are looking my way. Of course, they’re going to see me.
