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I grin. “You’ll hear no argument from me.”
“I didn’t think so and I can’t say I blame you.” His fingers dance along the rim of his hat. “Like I said, I’ve never seen Ridge this…raw and vulnerable.” Now it’s his turn to laugh. “He’d punch me if he could hear me now.”
“Okay, so we’re both in agreement that he can be an asshole but there’s another side to him. But why are you here?”
His expression sobers. “If he’s as important to you as I hope he is, you need to know that he’s changed for the better. Or more to the point, I think you’ve brought out the best of him.”
I open my mouth to shut him down, but as if sensing this, he holds up his hand to silence me.
“He made a mistake, despite trying to protect and take care of you. And you may not have wanted that—I get it. But all of this is new to him and he’s learning as he goes. That isn’t an excuse, and it doesn’t let him off the hook…I know this. I think deep down, he does too.”
His bushy red eyebrows draw together, and he meets my gaze head-on. “But Lacy, you need to be honest with him too. He needs to understand what you want and how to be a better partner. How to give up some of that damn control.”
The smile he gives me is genuine, and I want to trust what he’s saying. I want nothing more than to believe. “Also,” he continues, “I think you should know… You and your baby are the most important things to him. Nothing else matters.”
I gasp, almost uncertain I misheard him. “Ridge told you that?”
“Yes, and then some.” He glances down to the tips of his well-worn cowboy boots before lifting his head to capture my gaze once more. “I guess all this is to say, I’m here to ask you to give him a second chance or at the very least, hear him out.”
21
LACY
“Lacy, come on.” Travis’s nostrils flare and we stare at each other from across his tiny living room. “You can’t waffle now. You told me that you were done with that asshole.”
Since I called things off with Ridge, we’ve been talking about how and when to leave Prospect. We even decided where we’d like to go. Well, that was until Mack’s visit two days ago.
My brother doesn’t know about my conversation with Mack or how I am thinking about giving Ridge a second chance. Though he’s quickly putting it together since he only just mentioned setting a moving date and I faltered. I threw at him a million different reasons why now isn’t a good time to make a move.
“Shit. We agreed to leave. I even went to Winslow Grove yesterday.”
At the mention of the smaller town about forty minutes away, where we’d agreed to settle, my stomach sours.
I purse my lips to keep from throwing up. “You did?”
“Yeah. I talked to Eddie.” Travis beams, eyes shining. “He plans on winding down his time working, and he wants me to run the garage. I’d kinda be my own boss.”
If Oz is like a father to me, Eddie Winslow is the closest thing to a father figure in Travis’s eyes. While they live in different towns, Travis spent all his summers during high school working in Winslow Grove at Eddie’s garage. He’s the reason why Travis wanted to be a mechanic and own his own garage.
“Oh, T…” I’m both thrilled at his news and sick with guilt. How am I going to tell him that I’ve changed my mind? “I’m so sorry, but I’m not sure if leaving is the right thing to do.”
I grab my coat and scarf from the couch, not wanting to cut the conversation short but also aware that Oz is expecting me. “The responsible thing to do would be to try and work things out with Ridge…for the baby’s sake.”
“What the fuck did that asshole say to you to make you change your mind?” He narrows his gaze. “Did you forget about how controlling he is? How he meddles in our business? Gave Arlene and Otis money?”
With every reminder of why Ridge and I aren’t a good idea, why I moved out in the first place and broke things off, my head throbs.
I can’t look Travis in the eye. He has a point. But I meant what I said. I owe it to my child to come to some sort of understanding with its father. Ridge and I might not end up together, but we could be civil, live in the same town, and raise our child together. Or am I being foolish?
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” I rub my forehead. “Travis, it sounds like leaving might be right for you.”
The idea of Travis moving away doesn’t sit well with me, but what kind of sister would I be to hold him back?
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Fingers threaded in his hair, he growls, “Lacy, the Kincaides will bleed you dry.” He grabs his keys from the table, throws on his jacket, and swings open his apartment door. “Fuck, I need to get out of here, but I’m not leaving town without you. If you aren’t going then neither am I.”
“Travis,” I call after him, but he slams the door before I can say any more.
* * *
