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“Nice to meet you.” I nod toward the petite, dark-haired woman. I’m sure she’s heard plenty of stories about me. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she says, holding up a pacifier in the air. “Found it!” The diamond engagement ring catches my attention. It’s far bigger than the one I handed back to him.
“Oh, thank God.” Jonathan rubs his forehead. To me, he explains, “We’re heading up to Talkeetna for the day, and Clancy screams in the car when he doesn’t have it.”
“He looks happy enough right now.” I smile at the boy, and I get a toothless smile in return. “How old is he?”
“Almost three months?” He looks to Carrie for confirmation.
“Four,” she corrects sternly.
“Right. Holy. I can’t keep track anymore.” Jonathan chuckles, massaging the back of his neck. He always did that when he was uncomfortable. “Between our son being born, and work taking off, and the upcoming wedding, the days are flying by. But all amazing things. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I’m sure it’s not a dig at me, and yet I feel the shovel blade hit my back all the same.
Healthy baby, check.
Happy spouse, check.
Blooming career, check.
All things Marie doesn’t have. Check, check.
Not that he would know that last part.
But would this have been Jonathan and I, had I stayed? Had I settled?
It’s a discombobulating feeling—to stand across from a person who once knew your most intimate secrets and now is virtually a stranger with an entirely new life of his own.
“What’s new with you, Marie? Still doin’ the vet thing?”
“Still doing the vet thing.”
“And where are you living now?”
“Same place.”
His eyebrows arch. “With your parents?”
There’s no mistaking the judgment in that tone. “In the cabin on the property,” I correct with a shrug. “It’s easy.”
“Yeah. Of course. I just thought you’d be, I don’t know …” He lets that thought go unfinished. Maybe he truly doesn’t know, or maybe he’s just playing dumb. “And you’re here, grabbing coffee for you and—” His eyes tally the cups in my hand and then searches the vicinity. I know the moment he sees Jonah, recognizes him, because his jaw tenses.
“Coffee for me and tea for Jonah’s wife,” I say, because I know where his assumption is headed, and I have no desire to hurt him more than I already did.
When we split up, I made the mistake of being too honest with Jonathan about my feelings for the bush pilot. The truth that we weren’t meant for each other fell by the wayside as Jonathan railed. First came the accusations of infidelity, and then the promises that I’d regret throwing away our future over a crush. And even with his son staring up at him and his soon-to-be wife listening intently, I can see Jonathan’s ego still feels that sting.
“His wife,” he repeats, and there’s a moment of confusion, followed by understanding that suggests he hadn’t heard.
But the smug little smile that touches his lips? That makes me wish I’d let him stew in false assumptions.
This was the last encounter I needed today when I’ve already been feeling so low.
“Just the person I was looking for,” a familiar deep voice announces behind me.
I spin around to find Tyler strolling toward me, his uniform hugging his perfect form, his park ranger vehicle rumbling, the driver’s side door propped open.
God, he looks good. But …
Jonathan.
Jonah.
Tyler.
All in one parking lot.
“I’m in the twilight zone,” I mutter.
Tyler tilts his head.
“Nothing,” I say before he has a chance to ask. “What are you doing here?”
He holds up a coffee, as if that’s explanation enough, and then takes a few casual steps closer, just within my personal space, and drops his voice to a whisper. “And you look like you might be stuck in something you’d rather not be stuck in. Am I right about that?” Gentle eyes search mine.
He was the truck that pulled in behind me. I never bothered to look back. He must’ve seen me falter, must’ve read the tension in my body. Am I that obvious? Or is he that perceptive? He is in law enforcement, after all, trained to spot conflict.
Can he see me at war with myself?
I feel my head bobbing without much thought.
Tyler slips his free hand around my waist. I feel the warmth of it through my jacket. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need to steal this one away.”
He’s saving me. That’s what he’s doing.
I turn back toward Jonathan, watching curiously. Maybe it’s rude to not introduce them, but I have no reason to. Jonathan is part of my past, and Tyler is … well, Tyler is just a client, but Jonathan doesn’t know that. “It was good seeing you. Enjoy your day up in Talkeetna. And congratulations again on everything.”
Clancy lets out a screech that has Carrie darting around the picnic table, aiming the soother toward his mouth like a plug to stop a leak.
