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“Walker.” She pauses for a long moment. “My dad is a good person, and I think it was really difficult for Walker to separate who dad was as a person, who he was as a father, and who he was as a husband.” She lets out a breath. “Or at least that’s the way it was for me, and I know neither of us understood why mom wouldn’t just leave him. She had a job and would have been okay.”
“Some people don’t realize they are strong enough to make it on their own,” I say quietly, then ask, “How is your parents’ relationship now?”
“I think okay, but honestly, I don’t know. My senior year, my friends came to me and told me about an affair my dad was having, and I was so humiliated.” Her voice gets soft. “I could handle it when it was just a dirty little secret that stayed within the four walls of our house, but knowing people outside were talking about it was devastating.”
“That’s understandable,” I tell her as I exit the highway and see her nod.
“I confronted him about it and kind of freaked out, because I was so embarrassed.” She lets out a quiet breath, then whispers, “We hardly spoke after that for a long time. Things have recently only started getting better. As far as I know, that’s the last time he cheated, but I don’t know for sure, and that’s not a conversation I’ll have with my mom. That’s why I couldn’t even think about staying with Bowie. He knew what I had gone through and that there was no way I’d put Kingston through that, and he still had an affair.”
“Straight-up, baby, you never have to worry about that with me,” I assure quietly, and her fingers tense. “That’s not me telling you what you want to hear. That’s me being honest. Cheating is a choice you make. It’s not something that happens by accident, and I would never betray the trust you’ve given me.”
“I know,” she murmurs.
“Mommy,” Kingston calls from the back seat, and I glance up at the rearview mirror.
“Hey, lovie.” She turns around in her seat to face him. “Are you okay? Do you need to potty?”
“Are we there yet?”
“About five minutes, bud,” I tell him, and he sits up to look out the window before trying to look behind us, but he’s not tall enough.
“Where’s Winter?”
“They’re still behind us,” Miranda assures him before facing forward and digging in the bag at her feet. “Do you want a snack?”
“No.” He yawns. “There’s wots of trees here.”
“There is.” I smile when he meets my gaze in the mirror. “There are also bears around here, and I’ve seen a few when I’ve been at the cabin.”
“Real beers?” he asks, and I laugh at the way he says it.
“Yeah, so you have to be careful when you’re outside. I’m not sure if they’re out of hibernation yet, but they could be.”
“Okay,” he says happily.
I turn onto the dirt road with forest on each side.
“Oh my God,” Miranda whispers when the lake comes into view. “This is so beautiful.”
“Can we go swimming?” Kingston asks, looking at the water out his window.
“This summer you can. It’s too cold right now, bud.” I turn right at the fork in the road; going left would take us to the neighbor’s property. When the cabin comes into view, so does a large truck parked on the concrete parking pad. A truck that shouldn’t be here, since I have no bookings lined up until the weekend after next.
“That’s Bowie’s truck,” Miranda whispers just loud enough for me to hear, and I look over at her, my jaw going hard. If he’s here, then so is Naomie.
With my brothers all behind me in their vehicles—except for Dalton’s, because he rode with Clay and Willow, I pull up to the cabin and park before opening my door. “Stay here,” I order.
“Tucker—”
“It’s all good, baby.” I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck. “Just wait here with Kingston.” When I get a nod from her, I pull her forward for a kiss, then let her go and jump out, slamming the door just as I hear Kingston ask Miranda about his dad.
“Who’s here?” Miles asks, getting out of his truck.
“Take a guess.”
“Shit,” he mutters, looking at the cabin as Clay and Dalton get out of Clay’s Jeep.
“Tell Willow to stay put,” I say softly, and Clay instantly goes on alert. “It’s all good. Bowie and Naomie are just here.”
“Fuck,” Dalton mutters, closing the back door after he’s gotten out.
“How do you want to handle this?” Miles asks.
“The kids are here, so the less drama, the better.” I start walking toward the cabin with my brothers at my back. When we get to the front door, I don’t use my key. I knock and wait, seeing movement through the etched glass before Bowie’s face comes into view when he looks out.
