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“First, these are very, very uncommon, so don’t be too alarmed. But second…” I want to give her my number. Clients always have a sense of calm when they have a name and a face to call in the middle of the night. But I can’t.Boundaries.“There is an emergency number on there, and there’s someone answering that number twenty-four seven. It might be me or someone else.”
“I’d feel better if it was you,” she pushes.
A lot of clients push. And in a small town, it happens more than elsewhere because helping neighbors is what we do.
I put a hand on her arm. “I’d feel better if it was me, too, but the important thing is that you get an answer and someone who is fresh and prepared if Rocky gets sick. If I were to be on call all the time, I’m sure I’d be useless at some point.”
She gazes at me knowingly. “I get it. I’m a mom.”
I’m pretty sure that job is harder than being a vet. At least in my house it was.
I walk them to the door.
Gareth asks, “So are you going to be at my next roping lesson? I’ve been practicing on a stump in the backyard and I’m going to get Ashton next time, I swear.”
I laugh. “It will be back to Mrs. Dane next time. I’ll miss you but I had to get back to helping all the new Rockys.”
“Dang. You two are funnier than Mrs. Dane. You work good together.”
“Gareth…” His mom palms her face.
“We are a good pair.” I think about Ashton all over. But instead of a warm feeling, it’s one of melancholy and questions. I wish we could have just talked this morning. Patience is not my strong suit.
They begin to leave to go back to their new paradigm, a very different trio from what they once were, and I can’t help myself.
“Mrs. Mason?”
She turns.
“If you ever need a babysitter for Gareth, or a dog sitter for Rocky, drop a note to Monica with your number, and I’ll help you out.”
She lifts her eyebrows. “I don’t think many people can handle Gareth for a night.”
“I’ll wrangle my teammate he likes and I’m sure we can manage together.”
She offers a soft smile. “That’s really kind.”
I watch her leave and wonder if that was crossing the boundaries I’m trying to draw or not. But Ashton’s best advice was to be myself, and in that moment, that’s what felt right, helping a tired single mom and offering a little boy a village to care about him.
I guess you can take the girl out of the small town, but not the small town out of the girl.
Chapter Nineteen
I hated leavingJolie behind this morning, not being able to tell her everything. I’ve already kept it to myself far too long. Logan is right. She deserves to know. I should have just shared it with her. But doing that also puts a burden on her, and I guess for a while I hoped some uncomplicated solution would fall from the sky and I wouldn’t have to drag her into this mess.
But there isn’t one. The only thing I can do is trust that we’ll be in this together and that time will giveChloe a different man to blackmail. That her narcissistic need to be the one and only woman to me, even though I wasn’t her only man, will fade. She doesn’t need the money after all. That woman is mentally ill and has a severe lack of morality.
The only thing I can see working right now is Jolie and I lying low for at least six months, maybe a year. By then, Chloe will be thinking about someone else, or many someone elses. By then she’ll be another film deep… I’ll maybe even be retired this season or the next, and nobody will give a shit about telling the world I have a girlfriend.
But that thought is quickly obliterated by reality.
When I walk from the parking lot to enter the stadium for today’s pregame action, Logan, who has clearly been waiting for me, bullrushes me with his cell in his hand. He’s angry in a way I haven’t ever seen him before. I’ve seen him fight on ice, but somehow, it’s always been fun and games. Now? He is livid.
“The fuuuuuuck, Dane?”
I stop in my tracks because I’m not taking his volume inside.
“You stupid motherfucker.” He swipes his cell a few times and shoves it in my face. “I thought you said you were lying low? Keeping it quiet?”
