Chapter 3 #3
Mila wasn’t sure if Aunt Claire was attempting to play matchmaker or if she was simply charging her with entertaining their guest, since they were the last ones here.
Now that Levi and Theo had succumbed to love, her aunt was bound and determined to see the rest of the Storm kids partnered up.
While Mila didn’t know for sure, she suspected it was Aunt Claire who had encouraged Pastor Joshua to ask her out that first time.
Mila sighed. She should probably stop thinking of him as Pastor Joshua, considering they’d gone out three times, and just call him Joshua.
While Aunt Claire helped Uncle Rex back to their master suite, she led Boone to the living room. She took a seat on the couch, hoping he would join her, so she was disappointed when he opted for one of the armchairs instead.
“Ready for the family test?” Mila joked, aware Boone had been pushed into the deep end on his first day, meeting the entire family in one fell swoop.
Boone chuckled. “Maybe not quite yet, though I think I’m getting a handle on it. I know that Rex and Claire have seven sons, but God help me if you ask me to name them all. Kasi was with Levi, and Gretchen was with Theo. And you have three sisters, though only two were here, Remi and Nora.”
“Not too bad for first time.”
“You said your other sister lives in Pennsylvania?” he clarified.
Mila nodded. “Lucy moved to Philly just over a year ago with her boyfriends.”
Boone frowned, probably trying to figure out if he’d heard her correctly. “Boyfriends? Plural?”
Mila was aware Lucy’s relationship with Miles and Joey wasn’t exactly normal, but there was no denying what the three of them shared was magical.
“Yep. Plural. She lives with two guys, Miles and Joey, as a throuple.” Lucy was the one who’d started referring to her relationship status that way.
Mila loved the word and thought it worked well.
“Wow. A real-life threesome.”
Mila was relieved when she didn’t hear any judgment in Boone’s tone. There’d been more than a few locals who’d expressed their concerns over what they considered a sinful relationship.
While Pasto—err, Joshua—hadn’t come right out and condemned it, he’d asked Mila what her family thought about it, and when she said they thought it was awesome, he’d promptly dropped the subject.
She wasn’t sure, because he hadn’t said as much, but she got the sense the pastor thought the family should be showing Lucy the error of her ways rather than embracing the relationship.
“To be honest, I can’t imagine trying to make a relationship work with two people. It’s hard enough with one.”
Boone opened that door, so Mila was going to walk through it, because she had a hundred questions she wanted to ask him.
“You and Sadie’s mom are divorced?”
Boone nodded. “Over ten years now.”
Mila’s eyes widened in surprise. She expected to discover the divorce was more recent. “But that would mean that Sadie was only…”
“Two years old.”
Mila opened her mouth, then closed it because what did she say to that? What mother left her daughter when she was still practically a baby?
Fortunately, Boone didn’t need any prodding, giving her answers to questions that would be too inappropriate to ask someone she’d just met.
“Lena decided after Sadie was born that the wife-and-mother routine wasn’t for her.”
Mila bit her lip, tempted to say that was a little late to make such a realization.
“Lena was younger than me. I’d just turned twenty-seven when we met. She was twenty. In hindsight, I can see we rushed the marriage thing, walking down the aisle just ten months later. Sadie was a honeymoon baby, appearing nine months after that.”
“A whirlwind romance,” she said, aware she was putting a positive spin on something she knew nothing about.
“Or just me being stupid. A couple of my buddies had taken the marriage plunge, and I decided I was ready to settle down and start a family too. Lena suffered from postpartum depression after Sadie was born, spending hours, sometimes days in bed, sleeping and crying. She barely even looked at Sadie the first few months. I thought once that passed, things would get better. She’d see Sadie and fall in love with our child the same way I had. ”
“She didn’t?”
Boone didn’t reply. Instead, he just lifted one shoulder noncommittally.
Mila’s heart ached for the baby, even though she’d met Sadie and could see the young girl was healthy and happy. Sure, she was quiet today, but that was to be expected. Moving to a place where you didn’t know anyone was scary.
Mila vowed right then and there that she would reach out to Sadie, offer her friendship, try to be a positive female influence.
She knew all too well what it was like to grow up without her own mother.
She’d been blessed with Aunt Claire and Grandma Sheila, and she wanted to pay that love and kindness forward.
“When Sadie was two, I picked her up from daycare and came home to find Lena sitting on her suitcases, waiting for me. Said she was leaving.” Boone ran his hand through his hair, the memory clearly still a painful one after all these years. “So, we got divorced, and she gave me full custody.”
It felt like he’d skipped over a whole lot regarding his relationship with Lena and her reasons for leaving, but Mila didn’t feel like it was her place to push for more. However, she was too curious about one part not to follow up. “Full custody? Does that mean she never sees Sadie?”
“Lena takes her one week each summer, and any other visits are typically at her convenience. When she lived in Williamsburg, she saw Sadie one weekend every month or two. Since moving to Florida a year ago, she’s only seen Sadie twice, once when I flew her down for the summer visit, and then one day over the holidays.
Lena’s sister still lives in Williamsburg, so she flew up to see her family for a week and made some time for Sadie. ”
While Boone didn’t say it aloud, Mila got the sense the Christmas visit wouldn’t have happened if Lena hadn’t already been traveling to Williamsburg. Again, Mila couldn’t understand a mother who didn’t want to see her child, didn’t want to watch them grow up and spend every single day with them.
Mila wanted kids more than her next breath, and she knew when she had them, they would never spend a minute doubting her undying love.
“I’m sorry, Boone. None of that could have been easy for you or Sadie.”
“I don’t mean to sound bitter,” he said. “Because I’m not angry or upset about the way things turned out. I’d go through all of it again because it brought Sadie to me. The rest is ancient history.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she pretended she did. “You’re right. It is.”
“And I’ve learned from that history.”
“What do you mean?” Mila asked, confused.
“It’s not going to repeat itself. Not with me. I made a promise to myself the day Lena walked out the door that Sadie would always come first.”
“That’s how it should be.”
Boone continued like she hadn’t spoken, but there was no denying he was looking straight at her, his words meant for her. “I don’t date because dating would bring chaos to Sadie’s life.”
“I don’t think that’s tr—” Mila started, but Boone cut her off, his tone sharper, harder.
“I’m forty years old and too set in my ways. Dating is a precursor to a relationship, and I’m not interested in that—at all. And I’m sure as hell not having any more kids. I’m happy with the life I’ve built with Sadie, and I’m not looking to change it.”
Every word Boone spoke felt like a dagger.
Because she knew he wasn’t just making conversation.
She’d given herself away. He’d caught her stealing too many glances, recognized the desire and hope in her expression…and now he was warning her away.
Mila’s throat clogged and that stupid blush she’d worn all day was back. Only this time, it wasn’t driven by attraction or arousal, but by embarrassment.
Boone was silent, as if waiting for her to reply.
Even if she wanted to speak, Mila couldn’t, so she simply nodded.
Boone studied her closely. When he spoke again, his voice was gentler, softer.
“Marriage was something I thought I wanted when I was younger, closer to your age, but I figured out it’s not for me.
I’m not good husband material. It’s best that it plays no part in my future.
” He offered her a smile, but there wasn’t a bit of happiness in it. In fact, it was downright miserable.
She supposed she should be grateful. He was attempting to let her down easy before she let this—she sighed and used the hated word—crush go too far. It felt more accurate than it had before, especially since he’d made sure to point out the differences in their ages.
She told herself to speak, but she couldn’t find any words.
Mercifully, she was saved by footsteps climbing the front porch, Remi and Sadie’s voices shattering the silence that had descended between her and Boone.
Her sister and Sadie walked into the living room, Sadie’s face ruddy from the chill in the air but her smile the biggest one Mila had seen yet. The sound of a car in the driveway told her that Piper and Lark were heading home.
“Hey there, Donut,” he said, calling his daughter by her sweet nickname. “You have fun?”
“Dad,” Sadie said, rushing over to Boone.
“You should have come with us! Remi has ten horses, and she’s getting a donkey soon, and I got to feed them carrots, and they were so sweet.
One of them, Misty, put her head against mine.
I love her so much! I can’t wait to ride her.
And Remi said I can visit them whenever I want.
She’s going to teach me all about the tack and everything too. ”
Despite the ache in her chest, Mila smiled, thrilled by Sadie’s excitement. This was the most words she’d heard her speak all day.
And she obviously wasn’t the only one blown away.
Boone listened to his daughter with something akin to awe on his face.
“She even said I can help her out around the stables after school if you say it’s okay. Can I, Dad?”
Boone glanced up at Remi, who placed her hand on Sadie’s shoulder, grinning widely.
“She’d be a big help,” Remi reassured him. “She’s a born horsewoman. The horses really took to her.”
“That sounds great,” Boone said, his voice suddenly thick. With emotion? “If you’re sure she won’t be in the way.”
Remi ruffled Sadie’s hair as the girl smiled up at her. “This kid? Hell…uh, heck no. She’s awesome.”
“Maybe we can revisit the idea in a week or two, once the two of us are unpacked and settled,” Boone said. “This week is going to be too busy with Sadie starting school and me learning the ropes of the new job.”
“Perfect.” For the first time since entering the room, Remi’s gaze swung in her direction…and the slight narrowing of her sister’s eyes had Mila scrambling to paint a smile on her face.
“Well, we need to get back to our place, Donut,” Boone said, standing. “Got to get up early in the morning. Say thank you to Remi and Mila.”
“Thanks for taking me to see the horses, Remi. And for dinner, Mila. It was really good.” Sadie waved as her dad guided her to the front door, she and Remi following in their wake.
Once they were gone, Remi turned to her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Mila lied. “Just super tired. It was a long day.”
“So much for Sunday being a day of rest,” her sister added, thankfully buying Mila’s excuse. The two of them left the B&B, aware Aunt Claire would come down around ten for her nightly cup of chamomile tea. She’d lock up then.
Remi carried the conversation as the two of them took the path from the B&B to their farmhouse. She hadn’t lied to Boone about this being a “walking” farm. While they all owned vehicles, it was rare they used them to travel from one part of the farm to the other, even in the winter months.
She bid her sister good night as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Walking in, she sank down on the edge of the mattress wearily, hating how much Boone’s words had hurt.
Mila was perfectly aware she was being stupid. She’d just met the man today, after all.
It was just, for the first time in her life, she’d felt real hope that the future she wanted might be within her grasp.
To have it instantly ripped away…
Well. It hurt. A lot.
So she was going to take tonight to throw herself a pity party and then tomorrow morning, she was snuffing out all the hope and putting Boone behind her.
Something told her that would be easier said than done.