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I had been cleaning all morning, trying to familiarize myself with the house…
Trying to make it into a home.
Mom would be here soon; she would be taking the guest bedroom and Jackie would only be staying two days. She would be staying downstairs. I wanted to make sure the laundry was done, the kitchen cleaned, and the new sheets were on the beds...
“Baby?”
My stomach flipped at the sound and my heart jumped for joy.
Denver was home, calling for me.
He had a meeting with Diana, his lawyer, and Judge Harway this morning. Cathy was still nowhere to be found. Sheriff Bowen had Tinkles, the stripper club on the outside of town where Cathy worked as a bartender, searched. There was a squad car parked outside of her apartment and the Hayden hotel. Bart was questioned and he said Cathy had only been to the hotel twice since Mr. Moonie had been staying there.
Cathy was nowhere to be found, same with Mr. Moonie. According to Bart, he hadn’t checked out of his hotel room, but he hadn’t been there in days.
I came down the hall, swinging by the kitchen to drop off the freshly folded dish towels. Denver came in behind me, causing me to yelp before he wrapped me up in his strong arms.
“Fuck,” he groaned deeply into my hair.
“What’s—”
“Coming home toyou, the house smelling good, and the washer going…” he trailed off, nestling his face in my neck. “Feels like a dream, and I’m terrified.”
At that, I turned around to face him. He didn’t move his arms. I cupped his face in my hands, my brow furrowing. “Terrified of what?”
His throat worked as he stared down at me. “I’ll wake up and the dream will be over. You’ll be gone.” His gray eyes looked behind me then, but his smoke lingered around me.
“Sometimes, I find myself struggling to wrap my head around this,” I added.
He looked at me again and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I knew he was feeling the same.
When he pulled away, I asked, “How did it go this morning?”
Denver walked away from me, pulling his hat off and hanging it on the hook by the fridge before heading to the coffeemaker. A deep sigh left him. “Caleb deserves better,” he muttered, pouring himself a cup. He turned to face me, leaning his hips against the counter.
I gave him a sympathetic smile. Caleb did deserve better, but I didn’t think that I was my place to comment. Not yet, anyways. Maybe someday, but not today. My dark cowboy saw right through me.
“Val, you can agree with me,” he stated, setting his mug down.
I took a seat on a stool. “It’s not my place,” I admitted. He stared at me for a beat before his boots moved again, his spurs clicking with every step.
“You my woman?” he quipped, bracing his palms on the island.
I nodded.
“Say it,” he ordered, his voice low. His jaw was tight, his eyes flared.
“I’m your woman,” I breathed.
“Then you have a right to agree that my son deserves a better mother. Cathy is a fucking snake.”
The hatred in his voice sent goosebumps across my arms. How could he hate the mother of his child so much? Then again, I didn’t know much about his ex. I didn’t know how they met. Where did they meet? How long they were together? Why did they break up? Had they been high school sweethearts? Were they divorced?
My stomach turned at the thought of another woman being Denver’s wife, of another woman being in this house, doing the things I was doing…feeling the things that this man was making me feel. Another woman in his bed…
How could a woman like Cathy walk away from a man like him? Couldn’t she see? Couldn’t she see he was broken?
“Can I ask why you and her split?”
