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“No.” She hadn’t tried to get in touch with him either. Maybe she should’ve called him, but she hadn’t even known what to say. “I feel awful. I never meant to make him feel like I was embarrassed of him.” But of course he would feel that way when people had been doing that to him his whole life.
“Then why are you so afraid about people finding out there’s something between you two?” At least her friend asked the question gently.
“I’m not sure.” Another lie. Tess shook her head at herself. She had to stop. She had to be honest for once. “I guess… I’m more afraid that being with Silas will be too hard for everyone to accept.” What if it was hard for her to accept too? “And I’ll have to make decisions if we decide to be together. Decisions about him, about my future. Decisions that could change everything.” Yes. That was exactly why she’d rather hide. That was why she’d lost her mind and suggested they keep their relationship a secret. “After losing Jace, decisions like that are a scary prospect.” She alone bore the weight of how her choices would affect Morgan and Willow.
“That makes perfect sense.” Kyra laid a hand on her shoulder in a show of solidarity. “But all of those future decisions don’t have to happen right away, you know. Sometimes it’s best to take things one day at a time so you can figure things out little by little. Silas knows better than most people what you’ve been through. He’s walked the road with you. If you two were together, you could take it slow. But you couldn’t keep it a secret. That would never work.”
“I know. I can’t even believe I suggested that.” She’d felt desperate to keep him in Star Valley. With her. But she would hate lying. Tess rose from the chair, suddenly anxious to get through this dinner with Brad. “Maybe I can find some time to talk with Silas later.”
Kyra walked her to the steps. “Thatch told me earlier that Silas is in Jackson tonight. He told Thatch he had some errands to run and was going to stay overnight. But Thatch thinks he left because he knew you were going out to dinner with Brad.”
Tess’s shoulders slumped. “So I can’t talk to him tonight.”
“I’m afraid not—”
The door flew open behind them, and Willow ran out. “Come on, Auntie Kyra! We’ve been waiting forever! It’s time to stop talking! We need to start the movie.”
“Yes, we do.” Kyra took Willow’s hand. “Have fun tonight.” She waved to Tess. “You know we’re happy to have the girls here as long as you can spare them.”
“I won’t be long.” She already knew she’d run out of the energy to pretend everything in her world was fine by seven o’clock. “Thanks again,” she called, walking to her truck.
A myriad of emotions clashed within her as she drove back across town. Sadness. Some fear. Maybe even a little hope. And gratitude. She didn’t know how she would get along without Aiden and Kyra. Their fun nights with the girls had given her many moments of reprieve.
Going out with Brad might not be the way she truly wanted to spend the evening but it would be nice to sit and eat a meal and drink a glass of wine without having to get up and down five times for various things and then do the dishes after. An evening off from parenting might be exactly the breath she needed to get herself together.
When she pulled up in front of the café, Brad was waiting by the door. He looked nice in dark jeans and a freshly pressed plaid shirt but he hadn’t gotten himself all fancied up either. Tess relaxed a little as she climbed out of the truck.
“Hey,” she called. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late.”
“Not a problem.” He opened the door for her and ushered her into the restaurant. “No pressure here. Remember? This is an easy dinner.”
Before she could respond, Minnie scurried up to the hostess desk. “Well, hello there.” Tess could see the wheels in Minnie’s head spinning out of control. “Just thetwo of youdining together tonight, hmm?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Brad winked at her. “Table for two.”
“My, my, my,” the woman murmured, selecting two laminated menus and the wine list from the stand. “Isn’t this fun? Follow me. You’ll have the best table in the house.” She led them to a quiet booth near the window that showcased a picturesque view of the mountains. “Are we celebrating anyspecial occasionsthis evening?”
Tess gave her a deadpan look. “Nope.” Maybe she and Brad should’ve driven to a different town for dinner. Minnie was going to take this casual dinner with Brad and run with it. Tomorrow she’d be offering Tess the café for a wedding reception.
The woman positively beamed as she went over the specials and Tess listened patiently before ordering a glass of wine.
“Not champagne?” Minnie asked, withdrawing her pencil from behind her ear.
“Just the chardonnay for me,” Tess said firmly.
Brad ordered a beer and the appetizer sampler for them to snack on while they decided what they wanted for dinner.
After Minnie walked away, they settled into an easy conversation about the girls.
“I’ve got to say, I’m impressed with your handling of the whole situation between them.” Brad unrolled his silverware and laid his napkin across his lap. “Callie has been a different kid since she and Morgan became friends. So thank you. It’s been good for her.”
Tess could relate. “I remember how angry Morgan was after Jace passed away. Willow was too young to understand fully, but Morgan was downright mad.” Oh, the struggles they’d had. Her daughter had acted out at home and at school and it had taken a good year of counseling for Morgan to start to deal with her emotions in healthier ways. “That year was very challenging behavior-wise, I can tell you that.”
“This year has been for Callie too.” He reached for the pitcher sitting at the edge of the table and filled their water glasses. “But it’s good to see that she’s healing a little bit now.”
Healing was a long process; Tess knew that from personal experience. “Does she ever see her mom?”
“Only when she has a break from school.” His easy expression tightened. “She’ll spend part of the summer out in Denver. Her mother isn’t quite established with a steady job yet. And I’m not too sure about the man she’s dating. So we’ll see what happens.” He shrugged as though there wasn’t much he could do about it. “Right now my parents are helping me give Callie as much stability as we can. That seems to be what she needs more than anything.”
