“Cody, I’m not angry anymore, but I have moved on. I can’t be what you need.”
His brow furrows at her words. “You were my everything,” Cody says harshly.
“Then why did you do what you did?” Jack asks exactly what I’m thinking.
Cody basically collapses against the chair, his head bent back. “It’s not an excuse. We hadn’t been together for so long. And I couldn’t complain because I knew it was because of all the help you gave Phil, I couldn’t say anything. It felt good to have another woman want me,” he says. “It’s not an excuse.”
“Cody, I’ve moved on. And you’re right. We hadn’t been intimate for a long time. You and I were going in different directions,” Mikayla says.
“And him?” Cody asks, raising his arm and pointing it at me.
“I’m Caine. I have a name,” I say because I’m right here.
“I’m sorry, Cody. Caine and I—I love him, Cody. You and I—we should have ended things long before what happened with my mom,” Mikayla grabs my hand and squeezes it between both of hers.
“You were all I had,” he says. His face turns a dark shade of red as he tries to hold back his tears.
“You need to figure out what you want and who you are. I can’t give that to you. No woman can,” Mikayla says softly, shaking her head.
Cody nod. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
“You aren’t to blame for my relationship with my mom. She’s responsible for her own behavior. What you did was bring to light a symptom of a larger problem,” she tells him.
Cody’s eyes drift over to me. “I hope you deserve her. I may have fucked up, but if I hear you hurt her in any way, I’ll come back and fuck you up.”
I have to stifle the urge to laugh. This kid couldn’t kick my ass. He has gym muscles, and I don’t think he’s thrown a punch in his life. But I don’t say that or even smile. Partly because Mikayla’s nails are digging into my hand and it hurts.
“Mikayla’s home now,” I tell him instead.
“You live together?” Cody asks, his chin dropping. He then turns his attention back to Jack. “And you’re okay with this?”
“I’m pretty sure no one asked for my permission, but yes, as this isn’t the fifteen hundreds. But I like Caine. And he’s good for Micky,” Jack says. “I also don’t recommend coming here to kick his ass. He’s the oldest of fiveand has three brothers. I mean, Caine could put one hand behind his back and still knock you out with one punch,” Jack says.
“I’d still try. She’s had enough pain,” Cody says. “It’s the bare minimum that I can do after what I put her through.”
“While I appreciate the gesture, I feel confident you won’t need to defend my honor,” Mikayla says with a smile. She stands, and Cody seems to get the hint because he gets to his feet.
I stay seated, watching as she walks him to the door.
I open my arms when she walks back to me.
“Well, I guess Raquel was right,” she says, cuddling against me. I wrap her in my arms as Jack walks into the kitchen.
“I actually feel sorry for him,” Jack says, sauntering back over with an apple in his hand. He plops down and takes a bite. “He looks devastated.”
“It’s sad, but I hope knowing I’m not angry helps him.”
“I have to get to it. I’ll be with Sawyer if you need me.” I stand up and kiss her brow.
While I walk to the barn, I can’t help but smile. Mikayla and I still have a lot to figure out, but after that little incident, I know we’re solid.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mikayla
“You’ll get two thousand a year for continuing education credits and three weeks of vacation and the major federal holidays off when we’re closed. But I’d like to do an on-call service where we swap week by week. Of course, if you’re not able to address their issues over the phone and they have to be seen, you can contact me. I’m hoping it will lessen the current burden on me,”Kyle says as he gives me the tour of the clinic.
The clinic is large, with three smaller patient rooms and two larger rooms for more complex medical issues. Since Kyle doesn’t do emergency surgeries, all patients who need more than stitches will have to go to the closest hospital.
