Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Mack glanced at Lacey out of the corner of his eye from where he sat on the floor playing a game with Bridger. The kid was a whiz, pulling out the blocks so the tower didn’t shudder at all.
Lacey had been quiet since she’d gotten home from work. He’d known the relationship with her mother had been strained to say the least. And now with Angela pulling away, Mack hadn’t been surprised to find Lacey in a bad mood.
He couldn’t blame her for being upset. That was something they had in common. While he did feel his parents loved him, they didn’t exactly support him in the way he thought they supported Caleb. On more than one occasion, he’d been left feeling brushed aside and insignificant.
He eyed Lacey once more. She wasn’t acting like her mother didn’t care, though. She was stewing with something, and she had yet to open up to him.
He’d let it slide for the time being because Bridger was more than aware of his mother’s less than stellar mood. As such, the kid had grown quiet himself. Mack had never seen the kid so reserved before.
Mack flashed Bridger a smile. “You’re really good at this.”
Bridger nodded, but his expression remained sullen. “That’s because I practice. Mom says that the more you practice at something, the better you get.”
Glancing in Lacey’s direction, Mack noted that she’d shifted her blank stare to a curious look at her son. A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips, but that was all she was willing to give.
Mack’s frown deepened. She needed to talk about what happened, that much was clear.
She might need a shoulder to cry on or someone to vent to.
Whatever happened today needed to get flushed from her system so she could stop hurting.
It was already slightly past the boy’s bedtime, but Lacey had been willing to overlook that fact while they finished up their game.
At this rate, the game would continue for at least another ten minutes.
But not if Mack sabotaged the whole thing.
He grinned, pulling an obviously precarious cube from the tower.
It wobbled somewhat before losing its balance and toppling over.
Bridger let out a whoop of excitement. “I won!” The smile chased away his frown, and he spun around to beam at his mother. “Did you see that? I beat Mack.”
She nodded, her eyes only briefly landing on Mack.
Before she could remind her son it was time to get ready for bed, Mack ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Come on, buddy. Let’s get you into bed.
I seem to recall I owe you a bedtime story.
” He glanced at Lacey for a moment, expecting to see the usual appreciative smile she gave him when he took initiative like this, but instead, he found a hollowness in her expression.
Her brows were pulled together as she shifted into a state of deep thought. It was like she was trying to make sense of something difficult to understand.
It didn’t matter. He’d get to the bottom of what was happening soon enough. She would open up to him when she didn’t have to worry about Bridger overhearing them.
“Okay, spill.”
Lacey stiffened as Mack draped his arm around her shoulders.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she muttered, her voice strained.
He cocked his head and forced a chuckle, even though his heart raced with the concern he was feeling. “Oh? Tell that to your pensive expression.”
She moved to pull away from him, but his arm shot out around her waist to pull her back to his side.
“What happened today?” he murmured softly, his mouth close to her ear. “You were having a good day until…” He didn’t have to mention her family. They both knew what had caused her less than happy mood.
“Nothing,” she muttered.
He raised a brow. “Doesn’t sound like nothing. Did Angela do something?”
“What? No!” Lacey snapped, inching away from him so her side was no longer flushed with his. A sense of coldness filled the space where she’d been pressed against him, and all he wanted to do was pull her close once more.
His frown deepened. They’d come so far since he’d met her.
He’d worked so hard to get her to open up to him.
And all it took was one visit from her mother to shatter all his work.
He heaved a sigh and leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees.
Hopefully she wouldn’t feel cornered if he wasn’t insisting she be so close.
“How are we supposed to trust each other if you won’t open up to me? ”
When she didn’t respond, he attempted a different tactic.
“My whole life, I’ve never had someone who was important enough to fight for. And when I met you…” Mack blew out a breath and smiled despite himself. “I knew that I’d be in for a wild ride. Then I met Bridger, and I felt…”
Complete .
But he couldn’t say that out loud—not with the state she was in. Mack got the feeling that she’d only bite his head off. He didn’t know what it was about her demeanor, but he knew he needed to ease into getting her to talk to him.
“I care about him, you know? He’s a great kid. And his mother is amazing.”
Lacey faced him. “If you cared about us, then why did you lie?” Her voice was cold and left no room to interpret what she’d asked as anything but an accusation.
Lie ? He wracked his brain, but he couldn’t think of a single instance in his life when he might have lied to this woman. “What makes you think I’ve been dishonest with you?” he hedged.
Her cheeks flushed a bright red color, and she looked away.
“No. Don’t do that.” He took a breath forcing himself to stay calm. “I really want you to tell me what’s going on. No more games.”
She snorted. “Games? You want to talk about playing games? What about all those pickup lines you spit out? What about our relationship hasn’t been just about having fun?”
That hurt. The words sliced through him in a way he hadn’t expected. Did he like corny pickup lines? Sure. But nothing about this relationship had been a game. “You’re going to have to help me out a little here, baby. I don’t have the slightest clue how I’ve upset you.”
Lacey’s fury increased, and she rose to her feet, arms crossed. “Your parents made you come here for high school one year.” Her biting tone made it clear she didn’t like this information, but he couldn’t tell why.
“Yeah,” he drawled. “I did.”
“And it was because you got mixed up with the wrong crowd.”
His eyes narrowed. “I never said I hadn’t.” How was this a lie?
Lacey fidgeted, her eyes drilling into him like she wanted to say something more, but she was holding back.
Mack itched to launch toward her and force her to lay it all out. Something was telling him that this was a turning point in their relationship, and what happened in this moment would dictate their future. Another part of him could feel her slipping away, and that thought terrified him.
Looking at her now, he knew he couldn’t force her to speak to him. It would only push her away. He couldn’t risk losing her altogether. So, he bit his tongue and waited for her to tell him what was going on.
Then his stomach bottomed out as a new thought occurred to him.
If she’d heard about his year in Rocky Ridge as a teenager, maybe she’d heard about the scandal with his ex-girlfriend.
No. She couldn’t have. That story would have hit too close to home. Lacey would have said something. She would have been really angry about it. Did he want to risk bringing it up?
The answer hit him hard in the chest.
No. It wasn’t worth the risk. He didn’t have anything to hide. But that part of his life had altered him in so many ways. It still brought a pain to his heart that he wasn’t ready to reopen—at least not right now.
Lacey broke their staring contest and spun around. “You know I’ve always been overly cautious with how I’m raising Bridger,” she said quietly.
“Yeah. And I’ve told you how much I respect you for it.” Mack swallowed hard and moved closer to her but didn’t dare touch her.
She didn’t speak right away. He could see the goosebumps that rose on her arms, and that was when he realized she’d made a decision. Before he could circumvent whatever it was she planned on saying, she turned to face him with tears in her eyes.
“I can’t have someone with a grey past in my son’s life.”
He wouldn’t have been more shocked than if she’d slapped him clean across the face.
His face burned with indignation. He was a kid.
They’d both made mistakes as teenagers. But his hadn’t resulted in a permanent member of his family.
Thankfully, his sharp tongue chose to remain locked in his mouth as his jaw tightened.
After he’d counted in his head to calm himself, he muttered, “What are you saying?”
“You should have told me,” she whispered, a tear tracing down her cheek. “You should have prepared me for the possibility that this would come out.”
“What? Tell me what exactly came out?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it definitely shouldn’t matter.” The snappy comeback shot from his lips before he had a chance to think it over.
Lacey scowled at him, and he sighed, reminding himself this wasn’t the time to get defensive.
“Who I was when I was a kid is not the same person as I am now. For all intents and purposes, I was a child. I was finding my way. And without those experiences, I wouldn’t be who I am today. That’s what should matter.”
Lacey threw her hands into the air. “We don’t live in a fairytale, Mack.
We can’t just pick and choose the parts of our lives that we want people to see.
You’re right. Your past makes you who you are today.
But it doesn’t erase the poor decisions you made.
I’ve chosen to live with the mistakes of my past. I wear them like a badge of pride because they remind me of what I overcame. ”
There was a bite to her words, and he got the distinct feeling that she was judging him for something that he wasn’t privy to. Who was he kidding? Of course she was judging him for something he didn’t know. Lacey still wouldn’t just tell him what she was upset about.
He was about to tell her as much when the next words stopped him still.
“Do you think that a man who still lives with his parents, who has no plans for his future, and a past he’s ashamed of—does that sound like a man who would be a good role model for an impressionable child?”
Mack took a step back, his mouth falling open.
So that’s what this was about. He had a past, but it was his present that she couldn’t get over.
“I have… plans…” he mumbled weakly. After his conversation with his brother, he’d started looking into becoming a riding instructor for kids.
It sounded like an amazing job, and one even his parents could get behind.
He wouldn’t completely give up on his rodeo dreams, but that could become a hobby of sorts.
Lacey’s quiet voice sounded more beaten down this time. “I’m sorry, Mack. But if you can’t learn to stand on your own two feet—fight for what you want despite what your parents think—then I don’t feel you’d be a good fit to be in Bridger’s life.”
It was like she’d punched the air right from his lungs with that one. This time he really couldn’t breathe. His instincts had him raging inside, demanding he lash back at her and point out every flaw she had just to put them on even ground.
He didn’t.
Thank heavens he didn’t do something he knew he’d regret.
Guilt flooded her eyes just as the pain became too much for him to bear. He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a curt nod. Lacey might think this was over, but she’d never actually said as much.
And even if she had, she would have been wrong.
Mack wasn’t going anywhere.