Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Boone stepped out of the shower, quickly drying off before wrapping a towel around his waist. He’d given Sadie permission to hang out at the stables until dinnertime on the off chance the kittens were born.
He told himself it was because seeing new life come into the world would be a great experience for her, but his real reason was far more selfish.
He was looking forward to an hour alone, cooking in the kitchen with Mila.
Their alone time was too limited as far as he was concerned.
And while she’d been the one to suggest they go slow, he knew she made that offer for both of them.
For him, because he was leery of introducing a woman into the life he’d built with Sadie, and for her, because she had zero experience with relationships.
It had been on the tip of his tongue this morning to tell Mila he loved her, but he’d held back. Because while his heart was all-in, his head kept telling him he’d been too quick to leap with Lena, and look how that had turned out.
In the end, he’d held back less because of his own feelings and more because he wanted Mila to have time to make sure of her own.
This was all new to her, and he hadn’t lied about his caveman needs in relationships.
If she decided to be with him, he knew himself well enough to know he’d be all systems go.
He’d want her to move in. He’d want to be the first person she saw in the morning and the last person she saw before closing her eyes to sleep.
He’d want the two of them sharing their locations on Find My Friends, and before the year was out, he’d have a ring—or two—on her finger.
Given the fact they hadn’t known each other more than four months, a long engagement made sense, but Boone wouldn’t be able to hold out.
Not to mention kids. Mila had admitted to wanting them, and at forty, he’d want to start a family with her sooner rather than later.
Boone wiped the condensation off the bathroom mirror and grinned at himself. He was getting carried away, and he didn’t give a shit. Nothing in his life had ever felt this right, except the day the doctor put Sadie in his arms.
He finger-combed his hair, brushed his teeth, then hustled out to the bedroom to get dressed. Mila should be here any minute.
He pulled up short in the doorway, scowling when he spotted Lena perched on the edge of his bed.
“What are you doing here?” he all but snarled.
Lena had been smiling, but it faded at his tone. “I came to surprise you. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
Boone had spent the past ten years essentially playing nice with his ex for Sadie’s sake. He was always careful to temper his tone with Lena whenever Sadie was around. Clearly, he’d done too good a job if Lena had gotten the wrong impression in regards to his feelings for her.
“Sadie just saw you a few weeks ago,” he pointed out. “Did she know you were coming?” Boone couldn’t imagine Sadie would keep that a secret from him.
“No. I came to surprise you both.”
Boone took a deep breath, trying to calm down. While seeing Lena again ranked at the bottom of his list, it was most likely on top of Sadie’s. She’d been dying to show her mom her bedroom and the stables, so he should be glad that Lena was making the effort.
“Sadie’s at the stables right now,” Boone said. “There’s a barn cat about to have kittens and she wanted to watch. She should be home in an hour or so for dinner.”
“Perfect,” Lena said, slipping off the bed and crossing the room.
Boone frowned, grasping her wrist when she attempted to touch his bare chest.
Her eyes narrowed briefly, unhappy at his rejection. Putting some distance between them, he walked to his dresser and pulled out some clean clothes. He tugged on the shirt, then carefully slipped boxers on under his towel.
Lena smirked at his efforts, not bothering to turn around or shift her gaze away, which pissed him off. Dropping the towel once he was covered, he threw on a pair of jeans, shooting her a dirty look.
“I stopped by earlier,” Lena said. “But no one was here, so I drove down to Gracemont. Not that there was much to see. This town is tiny. I did find a market, so I bought some groceries. I thought the three of us could make dinner together.”
“We have plans for dinner,” Boone said, recalling Mila’s arrival was imminent. He was anxious to get his ex out of his bedroom.
He started to walk to the door but Lena beat him to it, leaning against it.
“What plans?”
Boone gestured for Lena to move but she held her ground, looking at him in a way that told him she was up to something—and he wasn’t going to like it. “Why are you really here, Lena?”
“I told you. I wanted to surprise you and Sadie.”
“I thought you and Alan went back to Florida.”
“Adam,” she corrected. “And we did fly back. But things weren’t working out. Between losing my job and Adam being a complete pain in the ass about it, I decided it was time to move home.”
In other words, Adam wasn’t going to foot the bills while Lena sat at home, pretending to look for work. Boone felt a spark of respect for the guy, because too many of her ex-boyfriends supported her for months, even years before wising up.
“Are you living with your sister?”
Lena shook her head. “No. We get along fine for short visits, but you know the two of us would kill each other if we tried to live together for any amount of time.”
“Okay. So, you’ve got your own place in Williamsburg?”
“Not exactly.”
Boone frowned. “What does that mean?”
Lena’s eyes widened with exasperation. “Well, obviously, money is tight right now, and until I find another job, I was hoping I could stay here with you.”
Boone laughed out loud. Because she was joking. She had to be.
She didn’t share his humor.
“No. Hell no.”
“Boone,” Lena said, attempting again to draw her hand over his chest. “I don’t have anywhere to stay.”
“Not my problem.”
“I should have known you’d be unreasonable about this. So, what? You want me to beg, Boone? Want me to plead?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. Because the answer will remain no.”
“You’re not thinking this through,” she said.
“What the hell is there to think through?”
“Sadie is at an age where she needs her mother. If you let me stay here, she and I will finally have time to really bond.”
Boone wanted to tell her she gave up the chance to bond when Sadie was two, but dredging out all the old anger and resentment would serve nothing.
“Listen, Lena,” he started.
“Dad?” Sadie called his name from the living room.
Great. Boone would’ve liked to have settled the living situation before Sadie arrived.
Lena quickly spun, opening the door and walking out. “Surprise!” she yelled, laughing when Sadie stopped in her tracks.
“Mom!” Sadie rushed over, hugging Lena. “What are you doing here?”
Lena smiled, running her hand over Sadie’s hair. “You made Gracemont sound so wonderful when we were together, I decided to come check it out for myself.”
“Did Adam come with you?”
“No,” Lena said lightly. “He and I are over.”
That announcement didn’t even make a blip on Sadie’s radar, probably because she’d heard those words countless times before. “Oh. That’s too bad. He was nice.” The words were delivered by rote, with a minimal amount of emotion.
“So, I’m moving back to Virginia. In fact—” she started.
“Don’t, Lena,” Boone said, trying to cut her off.
“I was hoping I could move in here for a little while.”
Sadie’s eyes widened. “Really?” Then her gaze shifted to his face, and her smile faded. “Dad?”
“Sadie, it’s not a good idea.”
“I can share my room. The bed is huge,” his daughter offered. Lena stepped beside Sadie, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Lena was an expert when it came to backing him in a corner, always finding ways to pit Sadie against him.
Sometimes—with smaller things—it worked. Simply because he’d learned to pick his battles. But this? Fuck no.
“She can stay tonight. Only tonight,” he stressed. “Tomorrow, if she’s serious about wanting to hang around, she can get a room at the hotel near Henley Falls.”
“But, Dad—” Sadie started.
“I’m not changing my mind on this, Donut.”
His tone, paired with her nickname, must have done the trick, because Sadie backed down.
Then he reconsidered that assumption when Sadie nodded and said, “Okay. I understand.”
His daughter had gotten her huge helping of stubbornness from him…so her easy capitulation was enlightening.
Sadie didn’t want her mother to live here.
Obviously, Lena had expected Sadie to fight until the battle was won, because she looked slightly shocked.
“But, Sadie, wouldn’t it be better if I stayed here? I’d be here when you got home from school, and we could cook together. You said you liked doing that stuff with Mila, right?”
And just like that, a light went on.
Lena knew about Mila.
Boone should have expected Sadie to mention Mila to her mother. After all, she’d become a big part of Sadie’s life here on the farm.
“Yeah, I do.” Sadie looked around the cabin, obviously realizing that Mila hadn’t arrived yet. Which was strange. She was late.
“You’re back early,” Boone said to his daughter.
Sadie nodded in acknowledgement. “Remi thinks there are still hours to go before the kittens come. She’s betting they come in the middle of the night, just because it would be a major pain in her a—butt.”
Boone was pretty sure, despite Mila’s assurances early on, that Remi was making no attempts to stem her colorful language around Sadie. Her comment just confirmed it.
Lena huffed, annoyed by the change of subject and the fact that none of this was going the way she’d anticipated.
Lena gestured toward the kitchen counter, where several grocery bags sat. “I told your dad I went to the market and bought the ingredients to make spaghetti. I remember that’s your favorite.”
It had been Sadie’s favorite, before moving from Williamsburg. Mainly because she hadn’t been exposed to anything better. That changed in Gracemont.