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His flushed skin told her everything she needed to know. “Their marriage is bad. He cheats on her. I guess I told myself it wasn’t my responsibility.”
She tipped her chin up, her gaze on his bruises. “I guess someone thinks you deserve a little blame.”
“Yeah.”
“So you got into a fistfight with your lover’s husband?”
“No. When I pulled up last night, my dog found me right away. He ran right up to the truck like I’d only been gone a few hours. We were playing around....” He paused to smile. “That dog loves to fetch a stick more than any other dog on earth, I swear. A couple of buddies came over to talk. It was cool. I was only going to stay for a few minutes, but this asshole stable manager who’s never liked me ran up to the lodge to tattle. Came back and said the owner told him to escort me off the property.”
“So you calmly exited the scene?” she asked drily.
“Well. I meant to. But that bastard put his hands on me, and I wasn’t in the mood for that kind of shit.”
She frowned resentfully at him. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.”
“Really? No broken ribs or anything?”
Now he looked offended. “No way. I broke his nose and he went down like a tree.”
“Yeah, well, it looks like he got in a couple of good licks before he dropped, Sugar Ray.”
He made a noise of irritation. They stood silently on the landing for a long, awkward moment.
Charlie took a deep breath. Then she asked the question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to. “Did you go out there to see her, Walker?”
“No. I swear.”
“Then how did you know her husband was supposed to be out of town?”
Confusion flashed over his face, and for a moment she thought, That’s it. He got caught in a lie and he can’t recover and now I’m going to have to give him up. The grief was immediate.
“She brought it up at that charity event. Then we argued. That was the end of it.”
She wanted to believe him, but that was the stuff gullible women were made of. How many times had she asked her ex these kinds of questions—where were you yesterday? Why didn’t you call me back?—just hoping he’d give an answer she could believe? And he always had. It was the desire for belief that was the problem, the warning, the flag.
“Charlie, I didn’t even see her at the ranch last night, much less do anything I shouldn’t have. As a matter of fact, I was alone with her a week ago and I stopped it. I told her it was over.”
She nodded, but she stared down at her hands. “But a married woman, Walker?”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m ashamed of it. Ashamed that people think there’s more to it. That’s a damn good learning tool. If you don’t want people to know, it’s something you shouldn’t be doing in the first place.”
Yeah, she had her own experience with that. “I’m glad you’re not hurt too badly.”
“I’ll survive.”
She touched one careful finger to his mouth. “Are you working today?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded, and then he was shifting again, rubbing a hand over his beard. “I’m sorry, Charlie. About last night and...just everything I guess. I have to hit the road, but can I buy you a drink later?”
“Yeah. That might be all right.”
He left then, and she stood there for a long moment, listening as his truck started and he pulled away to some brutal, low-paying job that he’d throw his all into. He was more than that, even if he couldn’t see it. Walker was heading fast down the same path of hard living so many reckless cowboys took. There was nothing she could do to stop that and no point in trying. She had her own mistakes to make up for.
She pulled on her hat, turned on her music and headed out for a run, praying that the cold would numb her. And it did. For a little while.
