Page 5 of Love Me Again

“It isn’t that.”

“No, but you won’t tell me what it is.” She looked at him then, hurt and tears brimming in her dark brown eyes. “You never would.”

And he didn’t know what to say to that, because of course she was just…right.

“Why the hell are we still married, Boone?” She asked, sounding tired and like she was the one who’d just gotten punched in the gut. Repeatedly.

He couldn’t tell her the truth, which was… He’d wanted that little piece of hope that maybe… Maybe if he could heal, physically, get back into rodeo, make something of himself, there would still be some chance to be what she needed. Deserved.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry? That’s your answer?” Her dark eyes went from sad and tired to that angry that had flown at him. “Sorry?”

He couldn’t stand looking at that pain on her face. The pain he’d put there. And he liked to think he’d had a decent enough reason, but he also knew her understanding the reason wouldn’t change anything. She wouldn’t see it from his point of view. Couldn’t.

Didn’t make him wrong though.

“Look, I’ll handle it. You should go.”

Before she could say anything to that, though the way her eyebrows raised and her breath caught and she seemed to go even more pale did a lot of communicating, his mother’s voice echoed out across the yard.

“Boone Christopher Tyler. What on earth is going on?”

He didn’t look in the direction of his mother. Couldn’t. “Just go, Josie. I’ll handle it. I promise.”

“I don’t trust your promises, Boone.” She looked at his mother, quickly approaching, and got that stubborn look about her he’d once thought was cute.

Now it filled him with dread. Especially when she took a step toward Mom.

“And I’m going to meet this woman middle-naming you who I assume is your mother.”

Josie didn’t know what had gotten into her. Well, yes, she did. She’d been someone else since Boone left her, and someone even more else since her father died.

All her foundations cracked to rubble and some new, strange version of herself was emerging. She’d rather emerge with it than deal with all the hurt that ached all the way down in her bones.

She came to a stop as Boone’s mother did. Not that Josie knew this woman. They’d never met. Never spoken.

Because Boone had never told anyone.

She almost started sobbing right there, but what did it matter? Their marriage had been a disaster. Well, the marriage itself hadn’t been. She’d thought they were happy.

They had been happy.

Then he’d been hurt and a flip had switched and she still didn’t understand it. She didn’t want to at this point. She wanted her father’s estate settled and a divorce decree so she could…she could…

“Hello. I’m Josie,” she said, overloud to her own ears, but needing to move forward so she didn’t sink into all the awfulness whirling around inside of her. “Josie Tyler.” She shoved her hand out as if they were going to shake in greeting.

“It’s good to meet you, Josie,” the woman said, her gaze briefly flicking to her son as she took Josie’s hand and shook it. “I’m Deb Tyler-Donahue.” Her mouth curved ever so slightly, but there was a deep well of sadness in her eyes. “We seem to share a last name.”

“Your son gave it to me. About two-and-a-half years ago. He should have taken it back almost two years ago, but he ran away instead.”

Deb inhaled sharply, but then she nodded. “Yes, he has a bad habit of doing that.”

“I didn’t come to bother you or your family, but it turns out he didn’t file the necessary paperwork. And I’m going to need that taken care of so I can settle…” The words got stuck in her throat. She’d been saying them for months now. Had said them just minutes ago in front of his brother and sister-in-law.

But something about the way this woman looked at her, with a soft kind of sympathy and wistfulness made it impossible. Just impossible to say: your son left me and my father died and I have nothing left.

It was the last little straw that broke her. Finally meeting Boone’s mother and having nothing that she should have had.