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“Sounds good.”
As Max drove home with Daisy sitting on the front seat, he couldn’t stop thinking about the thoughts Colton had put in his head. As much as Max hated to admit it, his brother was right. Max’s love life had been a red-hot mess since he ended things with Lexi—or since he suggested they see other people in college. Maybe if he hadn’t done that, she might’ve shared what she was going through with him before now.
He was all mixed up inside where she was concerned. He’d been so angry about her “disappearance” for so long that he got to the point where he rarely thought of her anymore because it was too painful. That she’d seemingly disappeared from his life on purpose had been a bitter pill. If he was being truthful, that was one of the reasons why his relationship with Chloe had been a disaster from the start. He’d been unable to fully commit to her while Lexi was still out there somewhere.
Max wasn’t sure when exactly he’d given up on hoping Lexi might come home. Probably five years ago, when it became clear that her departure from his life had been intentional and that it was time for him to move on. Except he never really had. He could chalk that up to the heavy responsibility of being a single parent and working all the time for two of the family businesses, but that wasn’t it.
It was her.
It’d always been her, and after a couple of hours with her the night before, he’d begun to wonder if it always would be.
After hearing what she’d been through and why she’d been gone, it was like the door to his heart had swung open to admit her once again—or to allow him to acknowledge that she’d never left. He wasn’t sure which, but there was no doubt he felt all the same things for her he had once upon a time.
He wasn’t sure what to do with that realization, but he had about ten minutes to figure it out before they arrived at his house. He glanced over at Daisy. “What would you do if you were me? Would you start this back up again, not knowing where she’s going to be?”
Daisy smiled at him, her mouth open and her tongue hanging out the side.
“Well, you’re no help at all. You liked her. I could tell. I like her, too. I’d forgotten how much I like her.” He paused before he added, “No, that’s not true, and I don’t want to start our relationship by lying to you, Daisy. I’ve always liked Lexi in a way I’ve never liked anyone else. I think that’s why nothing else has worked out for me, you know?”
Daisy’s panting was her only reply.
“I appreciate you listening to me. I needed a friend to talk to.” He scratched behind her ears as she leaned into him, already trusting him in a way that touched his heart. “You’re a sweet girl.”
And so was Lexi.
He pulled into the driveway, cut the engine and told Daisy to stay while he went around the truck to let her out.
She didn’t need his help. She bounded out of the truck with energy and enthusiasm that made him realize how old George and Ringo were getting. They had to be lifted into vehicles these days.
Daisy immediately squatted to pee in the front yard before trotting around to give her new surroundings a thorough sniffing.
“I feel like I need to have my head examined bringing a dog into my already too-busy life,” he said when Lexi joined him in the yard.
“You won’t regret this. She’ll be a wonderful companion for Caden, and you can take her with you to work, right?”
“Yes, I suppose I can when she gets a little older. She can play with Colton’s dogs on the mountain and run around the tree farm when I’m there.”
“She’ll have a wonderful life with you guys.”
Every minute or two, Daisy ran back over to make sure Max was still there, before resuming her exploration of the yard.
“She’s already decided that you’re hers,” Lexi said, smiling when Daisy came back yet again to make sure Max was there.
“Caden will freak out over this.”
“I’m so excited to meet him.”
Max glanced at her, noting her cheeks had taken on a rosy hue in the cold air. “I told him about you, and he asked if you could come to his party.”
“I’m looking forward to it. That reminds me, I need to go to the mountain to get that day pass.”
“I can run you over there if you’d like.”
“Do you have time?”
“Seems like I’m free all day, as my son has ditched me for his grandparents and cousins.”
“Does that make you sad?”
