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He nodded abruptly and returned his gaze to his computer. “Take care, Waverley.”
She turned, his final words echoing in her head.
Take care. Take care.
Words you said to an acquaintance. Your gynecologist after your annual visit when you hoped not to see her for another year.
Not someone that you ever had any feelings for.
Somehow she managed to throw all her stuff in her bag and turn the computer off without shedding a single tear. Then, without risking a look back, she walked out of Cavanaugh Investigations for the last time.
Chapter 28
It wasn’t until he was somewhere over St. Louis that the brunt of what had gone down this morning fully hit him.
And it was enough to feel like someone was squeezing his heart like a vise.
He closed his eyes, glad to be able to hide in his corner by the window where, if anyone saw him, they’d think him sound asleep.
Not gripped with what felt like a minor panic attack as his palms started to sweat and he couldn’t quite catch enough air to fill his lungs.
Hell. It was what he’d wanted. A clean, easy break, before things got harder and messier. He should be feeling relief. Not like he’d lost something precious and special that he’d never recover from.
It had to be done, though.
When she’d started to talk about cutting back her hours in the office, he had all of his fears confirmed. She was starting to look for the opportunity to get some space from him, space that would eventually lead to a hundred miles and a nice knowing you.
She might not fully understand what was going to happen between them, but he certainly had. He’d seen it before with his last big breakup. Rachel had seen that small-town life with a small-town detective wasn’t good enough for a woman with bigger ambitions. Just like Waverley would see eventually, too.
She deserved better than him.
The plane rocked, a few people gasping at the fierceness of it. Immediately the fasten your seat belts light went on overhead, and the captain’s voice came on asking everyone to return to their seats as they got through some mild turbulence.
For some reason, the fear of going down and crashing in a fiery ball of flames didn’t sound as bad as it should. At least it would put an end to the overwhelming sense of loss and anguish he was feeling.
Knowing he’d lost the best thing he ever could have had.
* * *
“You like that?” she asked Mouse later that night as he rolled over and she rubbed under his chin, his paws perched up in the air. She remembered when Reynolds had first seen Mouse do this very thing and how he’d chuckled at how absurd the cat had looked.
Reynolds.
Fresh tears filled her eyes as she dropped back on the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. How was it that just yesterday morning the two of them had been lying here, breathless and relaxed from a boisterous round of lovemaking, trying to find the energy to get up and ready to head to the office?
She’d thought that it was just the beginning.
She’d been so stupid.
When was she ever going to learn that she was destined to be alone? To not expect anything from anyone except for that single moment in time they were together? She’d do better next time. If there was a next time.
Mouse suddenly went alert, his ears pricking up as a scuttle came from the bottom of the bed. Great. The roaches were coming out. If she turned the light on, they’d probably scatter back into the dark spaces under the bed, but she didn’t have the energy.
A loud shout from downstairs followed a minute later, and she heard the familiar sound of Mrs. Archuleta and her boyfriend starting in on what would probably be a long, loud, and overly rambunctious “fight.”
Oh, Lord. Please. She couldn’t hear this. Not now.
Slipping her earbuds in, she hit play as the familiar lyrics of an old LeAnn Rimes song, one of her mom’s favorites, played. She’d been listening to the song on repeat since she’d slumped home from the office and crawled into bed.
