Page 117 of Merging Wright

“What does that even mean?” I swipe at a tear seeping from the corner of her eye and rolling to her ear.

“I’m making some changes in my life.”

I love the determination in her voice, but something tells me I’m missing an undertone.

“I’m going to find a house.” She breathes out.

“What?” I brace up on my hand.

“And I’m applying for a job.” She still doesn’t look directly at me.

“Where?”

“It’s time for something new in my life. Something for me.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m staying in Wrightwood.” Her eyes meet mine.

Her words are a blow to my sternum. I can’t breathe. This is Tracy again. She didn’t want to be with me. She didn’t want to follow me to Chicago. She wasn’t my partner for life.

I know the truth now. That was the past.

Jane is my partner. And I don’t need her to live out my dreams. I want to be by her side as she lives out hers.

“I’ve been doing some re-evaluating since I’ve been down here.” Jane continues. “I should thank you. If you hadn’t asked me to pretend with you, I never would have been here. And here was where I realized I no longer wanted a partnership at Impact. I’d actually been pretending with myself for too long that I was okay, but I wasn’t. And I accused you of lying but I hadn’t told the truth either. I should have said something to you weeks ago.”

“What changed your mind about the partnership?” My voice shakes. My fingers itch to stroke over her arm. While I don’t like our discussion, I miss talking to her. I miss these quiet moments we’d shared in bed each night.

Jane shrugs. “Being here put things in perspective. I’ve been working my entire life, giving up things I didn’t even know I wanted.” She glances at me. “But now I know what I deserve. Fool me once, shame on you. Or Ripley, in my case. But fool me twice, shame on me.” She shakes her head. “Don’t worry, though, Mach. My eyes are wide open now, and I’m focusing on me.”

“And you want to be in Wrightwood? Wrightwood holds the answers?”

“Wrightwood holds the answers.” She nods once, definitively, swiping at a final tear.

A boulder the size of the mountain we are on fills my throat. I don’t know Jane’s financial status, but I’m certain she’s well-off. She doesn’t need to work, but she’d never be able to sit still. And she’s too young to retire. “What will you do here?”

“This town needs an executive director of economic development. I’d be good at it with my marketing background. I applied for the new position. Tucker offered to write me a letter of recommendation.”

Fuck Tucker. “I’ll write it.” What was I saying? She doesn’t need a measly letter of recommendation. I own this town. This is my inheritance, and if she wants the position, she can have it.

She owns me.

But I want her heart. I want her to love me.

“Thank you, Mr. Wright. And thank you for asking me to be part of Plan A. If I hadn’t bamboozled you into Plan B, I wouldn’t feel all this . . .” She waves around her belly. “This hope for a better future for me.”

The positivity in her voice grows my irritation. “Plan A? Plan B?”

“You bribed me to pretend to be your wife, but I hooked you into marrying me. We both know you hadn’t wanted to delve into an actual marriage. A legitimate wedding was the only way to save the town, but a real marriage . . .” Jane shakes her head, glancing at me and then away.

Was she really so quick to brush off all we’d been through in the past few months? The connection we had? I thought we’d come so far. I thought I could keep her as my wife.

“I know where I stand with you, Mach. I take responsibility for my part in this mess.”

Mess? Although, hadn’t I used the same term before myself to describe our position? The only thing that feels messy now is how I’m going to keep Jane.

Heavy silence falls between us before she twists, giving me her back again, and picks up her tablet.