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But those were the words I should be saying to Delaney. I was supposed to be comforting her.
When we got to his house, Mac said to Delaney, “Why don’t you take Rocky around to the backyard to let him run?”
Mac followed behind her, helping her to open and shut the gate. He returned to stand in front of me, his expression pained.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. I didn’t know he’d show up like that.” Carter hadn’t given me any reason to think he was interested in seeing us or rekindling our relationship.
“It seemed like he wanted to see you, not Delaney.” Mac’s voice was low.
My stomach dropped. “You caught that too?”
He tipped his head to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. There was a chasm between us. “Should I be worried?”
“Why would you think I’d go back to him?” I asked, genuinely wanting to understand his response.
Mac shifted on his feet, unable to meet my gaze. “Because he’s your ex, and at one time, you must have loved him enough to marry him.”
“He left me for another woman. But our relationship wasn’t great before that. We’d already drifted apart. For me, it was because he didn’t want much to do with Delaney. Then he stopped putting any effort into our relationship. We didn’t have more kids. I wasn’t sure he wanted them, and I wasn’t sure I wanted more with him.” I understood Mac’s history with women, and I wanted to reassure him. I wasn’t sure if he could handle Carter showing up like this.
“I don’t know what to think,” he finally said, his shoulders lowering in defeat.
I moved into his body, the wind blowing hard around us. There was a storm coming. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. “I like what we have. I have no intentions of entertaining the idea of getting back with Carter. But you’ll have to trust me on that.”
He sighed as his arms tightened around me. “I want to.”
I looked up at him. “Carter isn’t the man for me. He’s proven that time and time again. His leaving gave me the courage to go out on my own, to move back home, and to start a business. It was a good thing for me but not necessarily for Delaney.”
“She doesn’t need her father in her life if he’s going to disappoint her.”
“I have to agree with that. I wrestled with the concept that he should have access, but what if it’s not healthy?”
Mac rubbed my shoulders to warm me. “Sam goes through the same thing with his ex, Felicia. She pops in and out of Maggie’s life when it suits her. Sam let it go on for a long time, but now he sticks to a custody agreement. She can’t see Maggie without adhering to the schedule.”
“Sam doesn’t worry that Felicia will change her mind and ask for custody?” I asked as Mac took my hand and unlocked the front door.
“He did at one point, but I think he’s fairly confident that being a full-time mother is not what she wants. If she wanted to be a mother, she’d live nearby so she could see Maggie on a consistent basis.”
“Oh my god, what if Carter moves here?” I asked, panicking now.
Mac’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll deal with it.”
I liked the idea of Mac being by my side. I could handle Carter, but I liked his support.
He led me to the couch and waited for me to sink into the cushions before he started the fire. Once it was stoked, he sat next to me. “I’m sorry I freaked out when he showed up. It brought everything back from my ex, who went back to her husband. But I don’t want to be that guy anymore, comparing everyone to my ex.”
I took his hands in mine. “I don’t want that for you either.”
“I need to forget about that and move on. I want to be here for you.”
Relief flooded my veins. Somehow, everything was easier when you had support. I didn’t feel so alone.
Mac pulled me in to his side. “We’ll get through this together.”
A second later, Delaney was looking through the window on the deck. The puppy scratched at the door.
“I’ll let them in.” Mac eased out of my hold.
I hated that Carter was here and causing trouble. I would have liked more time with Mac before he felt challenged like this. He’d only recently given in to whatever this was between us. I was worried he wasn’t strong enough to withstand whatever Carter’s plan was.
