“Yes.Clint Black and Wynonna right?”
“Right.He’s saying how he can’t leave her with a bad goodbye.That’s not Ryan and me.We had a bad goodbye.Honestly, we didn’t have much of one at all.It wasn’t so much bad as it was nonexistent.He told me he was leaving and then he left.No discussion, nothing.”It wasn’t quite that abrupt but damn near.
“Wow.That’s shitty.It doesn’t sound like Ryan, or at least, the guy I know.”
“To be fair we had an exclusive, but no-strings relationship.So it wasn’t a complete surprise that he left.But he still did it without any discussion.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, that’s okay.I have to say, though, he’s stepped up for the baby.I wasn’t sure what to expect.I mean, it was a total surprise.To both of us, honestly.”
“I would have been shocked if he hadn’t.And from what I’ve seen and what he’s told Connor, he’s crazy about Sophie.”
Aria smiled.“He is.And that’s what I wanted for her.My father left us when I was seven and that was the last time I saw him.I wanted Sophie to know her father and be able to depend on him, even though he and I aren’t together.”
“Speaking of other things,” Sierra said.“Have you started construction on your greenhouse yet?”
“No.They’re going to start as soon as the house construction is farther along.But they’re a lot faster than I was worried they’d be.It’s coming along really well.Paul said they might finish within the week.”
“Wow, that is fast.When are you thinking of opening?”
“They’re supposed to start construction of the greenhouse next week.As soon as it’s up and I can get in and get my plants situated I’ll open.But I’ll have to do some more research and get more plants.I’ll have a grand opening sometime down the line.”
“Let me know and I’ll spread the word.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” she said, laughing.
*
The next timeRyan saw Aria he decided they were going to have it out.He’d gone to her place to see Sophie, but she was asleep when he got there.The perfect time to clear up some things.
He wished Aria’s opinion of him didn’t matter to him, but it did.And it pissed him off.He’d treated Aria well when they were together.Their relationship had been exclusive from the first, but neither wanted something serious.Aria had been as adamant about that as he was.When he’d decided to leave he’d talked to Aria.She’d always been so independent he wasn’t even sure she’d care.Judging from her lackluster response to his announcement, she hadn’t.
He knew she liked him.They had fun together.The sex was great.But as for deeper feelings, he didn’t believe Aria had them for him.Unfortunately, he had a multitude of feelings for her.Admitting that to himself was when he knew he had to leave her.
“You didn’t trust me from the first, did you?”As an opening it was a bit abrupt but that was too bad.
She answered readily.“I trusted you as much as I trusted any man.”
“Now, that’s a ringing endorsement.”
“None of this is helping.Reliving the past and all of our disappointments isn’t getting us anywhere.Here’s the situation.You and I are no longer together.We aren’t getting back together.But we have a child together who needs both of us.So we have to work out a way to coexist and coparent.”
“If I’m a coparent we should share custody.”That thought of being totally responsible for Sophie scared the shit out of him but as Sophie’s father he had the right.Besides, he was a doctor, a surgeon.He’d held people’s lives in his hands over and over again.Almost daily.So why taking care of an infant should scare the hell out of him was something he didn’t know.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.But not yet.She’s only three months old.I’m still nursing her.It would be hard on all of us for me to pump enough to take care of her for more than a few hours.We can revisit the idea of custody when she’s older.”
“She’s almost four months old.”Which was still very young.He supposed it was reasonable for her to stay with Aria most of the time.Plus it would give him time to become accustomed to taking care of Sophie.If he wanted to see her often, he needed to discuss his work schedule with the hospital.
But… “We aren’t going to get very far if you can’t trust me.”
“Ryan, can you honestly tell me you plan on living in Marietta forever?”
“No, and neither can you.We don’t know what the future will bring.”
“True, but I’m planning on staying here at least until Sophie is through high school.Can you say the same?”
Could he?
