Page 37 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

If she could only flip back the calendar by a few years, she’d look at those studious guys differently. She’d think about who would be steadier, who’d be a better champion and father, a better supporter. Not only financially, but of her, as a person.

But all those mistakes? They were hers. They’d formed who she’d become. They’d guided her directly into the mess she found herself in.

“When did you suspect Paul?”

Cadence let out a long sigh. “Never? There was no light-bulb moment. I gradually became aware he didn’t truly love me, and I knew I didn’t truly love him. But there weren’t any huge warning signs.”

“Or maybe you ignored them.”

“Who’s telling this story? Who lived it?”

Paisley mimed zipping her mouth shut and gestured for Cadence to continue.

“Maybe I ignored them, but honestly? There was nothing big. I heard a couple of rumors he was cheating on me, but he denied those when I asked him. He’d given a coworker a ride home when her car broke down, and they’d stopped for dinner. That sort of thing.”

Paisley’s face remained expressionless.

“But the marriages around me looked lackluster, too. My parents’, for instance. If there’d ever been any passion, it had long dissipated. It seems most people stay married because it’s less trouble than separating. There’s a kind of co-dependence, but love? Not so much. Have you noticed that?”

“Honestly? I’ve seen couples like you’ve mentioned, but I’ve also seen love that grows and deepens over the years, over the decades. Couples that decided to put each other first.”

“I’m sure they exist.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Right. Paisley’s family was a mess, too. “Look, what would you do, if you were in my boots?”

Paisley’s eyebrows shot up. “Lay it on me.”

* * *

Cadence’s parents and Paul had sat to one side of the dining hall, largely ignored by everyone else. The resort guests seemed oblivious, which was just as well. Some of the staff had offered a friendly hello, but no one had lingered to chat.

Graham had taken his plate to the office without Nadine batting an eye. It wasn’t like it was the first time. But it was the first time he’d done it simply to avoid unpleasantness in the dining room.

The door opened, and Grandfather peered inside. “I thought I saw a light on in here.”

Graham gestured toward his monitor, but it was black. So much for insisting he’d come in here to wrap up a spreadsheet or two.

“Your cousin is an idiot, and the Fosters are no better.”

He and Grandfather agreed on that, at least.

“But if you’re in here hiding out from them, you’re not the man I thought you were.”

Graham cringed but tried not to show it.

“At least, if you and Cadence told the truth the day she started working here.” Grandfather did not leave that hanging as though it were a question.

“We did, sir. To the best of our knowledge.”

“Then why did they pursue her to Montana?”

“You’d have to ask her.”

Grandfather’s bushy eyebrows hiked. “You’re in this room. She is not.”

“I don’t have all the puzzle pieces, but it sounds like my uncle is holding something over Daniel Foster and will only let it go if Cadence marries Paul.”

---