Page 31 of Slow Hands Cowboy

Or at least, she had a network. One that hadn’t included her mom for a very long time, because she hadn’t had the luxury of it.

“But I am worried. I keep seeing the video on the news.”

Addison winced. “Oh. Of course. I just can’t believe… I can’t believe anybody is interested in my drama.”

“Well, it’s the cowboy. Everybody’s angling for an interview with him.”

That’s good, too. That she was relegated to supporting character in her own wedding disaster.

Because of course Walker was the main character.

Of course.

“You know you can come and stay with me in California if you want. If you need to get away.”

Addison felt a little bit discomforted by that. Partly because she wanted to go. There was part of her that wanted to pull up stakes, go to California, and disappear forever.

Part of her that wanted to pretend that she had never lived here. That she had never been Addison Carey of Mustang River, Oregon, but that she was just someone else, who lived somewhere else, who had never stood there at her own wedding and watched her groom run far and fast.

Yes, part of her really wanted that.

But she couldn’t do that. Because there were too many people that were counting on her. Because she had to do something to repair this. This horrible deviation from the path that she had been on.

And she still had a campaign. She still believed in everything that she was running for.

It just all felt muddled now.

“I really appreciate the concern and the offer. But I’m laying low at the ranch until my honeymoon would have been over.”

“I’m glad you have support.”

Again, she found it difficult not to say something a little bit biting, and that wasn’t fair.

She was working at having a relationship with her mom; she had been working on it for the last ten years.

It was just… Sometimes she was more successful at it than others, and sometimes her pain felt a little bit closer to the surface. Like now.

“I just wanted to let you know that I was okay, and that I am going to be holing up for a bit.”

“I appreciate it.”

Her mom sounded sad, and her voice sounded small, and Addison didn’t have it in her to make her feel better.

She just didn’t.

She was dealing with beating back anger at both of her parents, which told her that the problem was likely her, and she needed to get a grip.

She worked on it. Eventually, she was hungry and was about to try and figure out something for food when a delivery arrived with a picnic basket full of sandwiches.

There was a mini fridge in the room, and she was able to throw them in there.

At dinner time, a meal arrived with a selection from the restaurant.

They were giving her what amounted to a hermitage.

She couldn’t be more grateful.

She kept on watching the video. Which some would say was excessive, but she wanted to be familiar with it. Because when she emerged from this, she wasn’t going to be decimated, she was going to come out of it stronger. That was very important to her.