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Ellie snorted again. “Yeah, I certainly wouldn’t describe Peter as definitive in any way. Your hubby is the definition of a pushover.”
She’s not wrong. Did Peter even once make a decision about anything in our lives together?
“Oh, give me two seconds. I just have to run into Mrs. Bailey’s and pick up the seeds she ordered for me last week.” Ellie ran into the small shop on the corner, leaving Caro alone with her thoughts—which was becoming a scary place to be.
She thought about every defining moment of their lives together, looking for any indication that Peter had wanted the same things that she had. Going to university, buying their first home, even things like where to go on vacations, or what to have for dinner every night. Time after time, it had been Caro who eventually had to decide as he wavered back and forth on things, sometimes for weeks or months. It was the thing that irritated her about Peter the most, and she understood now how much she’d resented him for it. That resentment had been the beginning of the end of their relationship, she realized now.
But … had it beenherfault that she’d spent the last nineteen years married to a man who was just too passive to actually break up with her?
Caro felt panic start to bloom as that thought swirled around and around in her head. So much wasted time, so many nights spent alone, wondering why her husband would rather look at spreadsheets than come home to her. Had she run out of time to have the family she’d always dreamed of?
Her breathing began to get more labored, and she felt lightheaded. She could sense a few folks on the sidewalk noticing her, and she tried harder to get her emotions under control, butit didn’t work. Her vision narrowed as she took great gulps of air in now.
“Shit, are you okay?” She heard a man’s voice beside her. “Craig, I think she’s having some kind of panic attack. It’s Caro, right? Where’s Ellie?”
Chapter Six
“Her scent leads to Mrs. Bailey’s.” Craig’s voice was closer now. “You get Ellie. I’m going to take her to the creek to try and calm her down. I don’t imagine she wants everyone staring at her out here.”
“Got it,” Diego replied before taking off.
Craig picked up the woman and walked around the building to the small trail that led directly to the creek. He sat her down on a large boulder before crouching down in front of her.
“Hey, what’s going on? Can you try to take a deep breath for me?” He was getting worried. Her eyes seemed unfocused, so he gently took her hands in his own, “Let’s try it together, okay?”
She finally nodded, and he began taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly until finally, she began to sync with him. Craig continued for a minute or two until she appeared to have herself back under control.
“Thank you.” Her voice was quiet. “Wow, that was embarrassing. I guess we should call it even on the sniffing thing, huh?”
That made him smile. “I suppose, or you could tell me your name instead?”
“Caroline McNeill, but most just call me Caro.”
“Hi, Caro. I’m Craig Porter. I would have introduced myself last night, but you were pretty spry with your escape.”
He saw the curve of a smile on her lips.
“What can I say, the sniffing threw me off.”
“You should try it sometime, the sniffing. It can be very soothing, you know.”
“Ha! I bet that’s what you say to all the ladies, then you lure them in with your Lumberjack Snac body spray and they’re helpless against you.”
“First, I don’t even wear any cologne or body spray. Second, if there really is one called Lumberjack Snac then I need to know where to get it because I’m buying some as a gag gift for Diego’s birthday.”
Her laughter and smile almost stopped him in his tracks before they were interrupted.
“Caro!” Ellie came running from the trail, Diego hot on her heels. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Caro hugged her sister when she barreled into her. “I’m okay, it was just a panic attack.”
Ellie pulled back, a look of concern on her face. “I thought you weren’t having those anymore.”
“I haven’t in a long time, but we’ll talk about it over that coffee you promised me.” She took a deep breath and grabbed her sister’s hand before she turned to face the two men. “Thank you for the rescue, Rangers. We’ll let you get back to your day.”
They turned back toward the path and went a few steps before Craig’s voice rang out behind them.
“Smell you later, Caro.”
