Chapter 36
Ella didn’t make good on her promise to find Brit after the rehearsal or during the chaotic rehearsal dinner in Rowdy Roost. No surprise there.
The McLintocks were in rare form as they celebrated their mother’s upcoming marriage. Nobody sat down, not even when they ate, and the small dance floor was packed with ever-changing partners.
At one point Beau moved through the crowd cutting in and dancing with each of his brothers plus Andy. That inspired Rance to do the same. Then Angie announced her intention to dance with each of the women.
Fortunately Brit had learned years ago how to dance in a hat. She swung from bouts of joyful laughter as she threw herself into the fray, and moments of sickening dread whenever she caught a glimpse of Trent. How the hell could they work through this?
Maybe Ella would have some advice. They’d known each other since kindergarten, so if anyone could help her, Ella would be the one. She also knew Trent, at least a little.
As the party started winding down, she finally had her opportunity. Ella dashed through the swinging doors alone. Brit recognized that behavior because she was doing it more lately.
She followed Ella out and raced after her. “Ella!”
“Brit!” She spun around. “I want to talk but I need to?—”
“Go ahead. I’ll wait outside the door.”
“Got it.” She barreled into the small bathroom at the end of the hall.
Leaning against the wall, Brit ran through what she needed to tell her, cutting out any unimportant details. They wouldn’t have much time.
Ella opened the door. “Let’s go to the library.” She headed off, her long legs eating up the distance.
Brit had to trot to keep up with her, but she didn’t ask her to slow down. This was normal behavior for a long-legged basketball star and a short-legged gymnast.
Once they were inside, Brit closed the door, took a deep breath and talked fast.
Ella listened, her expression changing from smiling indulgence to wide-eyed amazement.
Finally Brit came to the last reveal. She sucked in more air. “And this afternoon, right before we drove over here, he said he’s in love with me.”
“Holy shit.”
“He’s gotta be confusing good sex with love. He says he’s not, that what he’s experiencing is different, bigger. But it’s been seven days. Seven days, Ella.”
“True, but…” She pointed to the silverbelly Stetson, which hadn’t left Brit’s head since she’d first put it on. “Whether he’s in love with you or not, he’s tuned into you, unless you accidentally told him about that hat.”
“I did not. I complimented him on his hat but I didn’t say a word about wanting a new one myself, let alone this one.”
Ella gazed at her. “I’m not at all surprised that he figured out the perfect gift for you. That fits what I know about him. He’s a good guy, Brit.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t, but I’m the first woman he’s been with since his ex. He was divorced only six months ago. And he’s supposedly in love with me after only a week? I’d be a fool to believe that’s possible.”
“I do have some more info for you. When I saw you two together before the rehearsal I asked Marsh if he knew when Trent left his cheating ex. It’s been almost eighteen months since he walked out.”
“It took a year to finalize it?”
“Because she tried every legal trick in the book to get more money out of him.”
“Did she succeed?”
“He finally agreed to give her more to get it over with.”
“Is he broke?”
Ella laughed. “Does it matter?”
“No! I just hate the idea that she might have left him with virtually nothing. He’s so generous and I would hate to think he couldn’t afford this hat.”
“He can afford the hat. And he is generous, with his time and his money. We’ve all seen that. But Marsh says he’s also… what word did he use? Cautious. Marsh says he’s cautious.”
“Really? Because that’s not the word I’d use to describe him. A cautious man wouldn’t have agreed to father this child. And he definitely wouldn’t have announced he’d fallen in love after only seven days.”
“Unless he was smitten with you from the beginning.”
That rang a bell. He had said something like that. “But he agreed to the original plan to have this baby, live separately, and be friends, not lovers. If he was into me, why would he say yes to that idea?”
“Okay, ask yourself that question.” Ella smiled. “See what you come up with.”
“That something was better than nothing, and maybe the agreement would change?”
“Bingo.”
“I don’t think he told himself that. I do think he expected the process would take longer.”
“Was he happy when it didn’t?”
“No. Neither was I. So I came up with a different plan.”
“The gradual weaning off plan?” Ella looked amused.
“It could have worked, damn it. Remember my diet soda program?”
“Oh, yeah. But sex isn’t soda.”
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter if it would have worked. We’re way past that. Although I thought he was good with it. Today he offered suggestions for ways to help us cut back, but then… the hat and I love you.”
Ella was silent for a moment. “Okay, what if, against all odds, he’s telling the truth? What if he’s madly in love with you? How would you feel about it?”
She met Ella’s warm gaze. “Petrified.”