Page 80 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“And he treats you nice.”
“You’re right.” Serenity tilted her head slightly. “Do you think he treats you nice, too?”
For a moment, she thought Tegan might not answer her, but then he nodded resolutely. “I like Reese.”
Unable to control her reaction, her brows shot upward. “You do?”
“Yeah, he’s nice.”
One singular question burned inside her. She wished she could just ask him why all the animosity. Why didn’t Tegan like the idea of Reese becoming part of their little family? But something else held her back, insisting she wouldn’t like the answer.
They sat like that for a nearly insurmountable amount of time before he finally took a deep breath and whispered, “If Reese makes you happy, then you should kiss him.”
It was the sweetest thing he could have said without even realizing it. No, she didn’t need his permission to date Reese. She didn’t need him to tell her it was okay to kiss him. But the way her son had clearly gone over everything in his mind before telling her that he was okay with the idea made her heart twist in the most beautifully painful way.
She sucked in a sharp breath and reached for his free hand before kissing his fingertips. “You’re very sweet to think of me, honey.”
His cheeks colored, and he looked away. Then, without warning, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her. She wasn’t entirely certain, but she got the feeling that his ice cream made contact with her hair.
Serenity held him like that for several minutes, letting him release all the built-up anguish and tension he was likely feeling over releasing this little amount of control. When he pulled back, he had tears on his cheeks.
“Oh, honey, what’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry,” Tegan murmured as she brushed at the tears with her thumb. “I should have been nicer.”
She let out a little laugh. “It’s okay, buddy. Change is hard.”
“Does that mean you’re going to kiss him more? Like with Daddy?”
Her expression crumpled, and she shook her head slowly. While she attempted a reassuring smile, she knew her eyes expressed the pain of the words that came next. “It’s too late, buddy.”
He frowned, confusion replacing the remorse that had been in his eyes moments before. “Why? Does he not like you anymore? He said?—”
“Reese is moving away.”
The intensity of Tegan’s distress increased, and he shook his head. “No. He said he was going to be back. He still lives here. He can’t go?—”
She placed her palm to his cheek. “Sweetheart, Reese is going to another state to learn how to help kids. He’s going to be gone for a year or longer, depending on how it goes. A lot can change in a year.”
Tears brimmed in Tegan’s eyes. “Is he leaving because of me?”
“Oh, heavens, no.” She climbed back onto the bench and fought the burning tears behind her own eyes as she draped an arm around his shoulders. “This is something he wants to do. He wants to learn and grow. It’s normal.”
“But he’s already good at teaching.”
She sighed. This concept wasn’t as easy to teach as she’d thought. “I know. But we can always get better at the stuff we love, right?”
He nodded, wiping at his nose with the back of his hand. “I guess.” More silence followed, and Tegan attempted to lick up the dripping ice cream that was getting more than a little messy. Then he straightened his shoulders and stared back at the statue. His words seemed to be more for himself than for her,but they hit just as hard. “Reese’ll be back. I know it. He loves you.”
The argument was on the tip of her tongue. She should tell him that people change. Reese would be gone for a long time, and there was no guarantee when he got back that his feelings would be the same. But she refrained. Right now, Tegan needed something to believe in.
Wasit bad that Serenity had resigned herself to losing out on a future with Reese? Perhaps. She’d gotten really good at rationalizing why she’d made such a decision. Hadn’t she found her happiness already in her life? She’d fallen in love with a good man and had two beautiful children with him.
To fall for another and steal him away from a future he’d dreamed of would be selfish. She was putting distance between them because deep down, there was a part of her that knew he would make sacrifices if she’d asked.
Reese cared for her. There was no doubt in her mind. He might even love her as much as she loved him. And that was why she’d made her decision. That was why she’d stick to it.
If one day sometime in the future, Reese came back to her, then she’d revisit the idea of starting a life with him.
