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“Him? It’s unfortunate for me,” she argued.
I shook my head. “No, it’s unfortunate for you that you might believe he’ll get his way, but he’s the one that’s going to wind up disappointed, because he’s not going to get what he wants this time.”
And he wouldn’t.
Not if I had any say in the matter.
At my declaration, something moved through Ellery’s expression. It looked a lot like disbelief, but I wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t think I was right about what I’d said, or if it was because she didn’t understand why I’d make such a declaration on her behalf.
I hadn’t gotten much from Ellery yet, but everything I’d gotten so far had me questioning just what kind of guy she’d married. I didn’t understand how any man could have a woman like her warming his bed every night and not want to do everything he could to hold on to her. Why would he do anything to jeopardize the relationship he had with her? It made no sense to me that there were people who’d put money and power over love.
As awful as it was for her now, my hope was that after I got her through this, she’d have the time to heal from his betrayal and realize that she still deserved to be happy. I wanted nothing more than to believe that Ellery would be interested in having another relationship at some point down the road.
I realized it would take time. I understood she was technically still married. And there was no question that she was probably far away from being ready from an emotional standpoint, but I was prepared to stick it out. I’d take the time over the weeks and months that followed, and I’d get to know her. I’d let her get to know me, too.
Maybe, once she was completely free of him, she’d realize that I was a guy she’d be able to trust and depend on to take care of her the way she deserved to be taken care of.
“You’re so confident,” she murmured.
“I am.”
“Do you think you have good reason to be?” she asked. Ellery’s question didn’t come across as anything but curious. If I had to guess, she wanted to know if she had reason to hope.
I didn’t hesitate to give her the answer she wanted to hear. “Yes, Ellery. If you want to be free of him, I’ll make sure that happens for you.”
She bit her lip, considered my words, and asked, “But you’re still going to teach me what I need to know, right?”
I let out a laugh and promised, “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
Contentment washed over her, and I thought it was best to shift the conversation away from this topic for a while. “How about lunch?”
“Lunch?” she repeated. “I can make you something, if you’d like.”
I tipped my head to the side and smiled at her. “How about you let me order us some takeout instead?”
She thought for a few seconds. “I guess if you’re going to make promises like you just did, I’m going to need to know the best places around here to get food, so that works for me.”
Maybe it was just her way of being funny and playful, but something about hearing her admit that she’d be interested in sticking around Steel Ridge after this situation was handled only strengthened my resolve to bring it to an end for her as quickly as I could.
Ellery
I closed the front door behind me and scurried over to the registration house to see Hanna.
I shouldn’t have waited this long to let her know what was going on, and maybe I didn’t necessarily need to, but after what she’d done for me yesterday morning, I felt compelled to talk to her for a few minutes.
She deserved to know that I was okay, and beyond that, I thought she should be informed of the fact that Kane was going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future. She’d already insisted I could have guests, but I still believed that telling her was the right thing to do.
Since Kane had just hopped in the shower, there was no time like the present.
The minute I walked in, she was there. “Good morning, Ellery. How are you doing today? Is everything okay?”
The panic in her voice was evident, and it made me feel bad for not coming over sooner. It was clear she’d been worried about me.
“Good morning, Hanna. I’m okay. Everything is fine,” I assured her.
I watched as the relief overcame her. “Oh, thank goodness. I saw you come back here yesterday, but…”
She trailed off, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why. I hadn’t even returned in my own vehicle.
