Chapter Eight – Levi #2
“Then you go and give him up. Do you know he said he hated you today?”
A sharp intake of breath came across the phone. She was silent again before she spoke. “Maybe it’s better that he does. I’m not sure I can be a mother to him.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“I think he’s better off without me in his life. He’ll be happier, and you and I won’t have to see one another.”
“You hate me so much that you’d walk away from your own kid?” When she didn’t say anything, I asked, “Was I Brooke’s father?”
“Yes, of course you were.”
“Why did you say that to Rhett?”
“I don’t know.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “You don’t know?”
“She is…she was your daughter.”
“Did you at any time think she might not be?” I asked, feeling a sickness roll through my entire body at the thought of Caroline cheating. When she didn’t say anything yet again, I pressed, “Caroline?”
“It was a short affair, and I was lonely.”
My knees almost buckled, and Emeline jumped up and reached for me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Who is that?” Caroline barked.
Ignoring her question, I asked, “You cheated on me?”
“Levi, we were both so unhappy, and the marriage was clearly over. But I broke things off with him, and then I got pregnant with Brooke when we went on that trip to Italy to try to work things out with our marriage. Obviously, it didn’t work.
But I found out I was pregnant the next month, so I couldn’t leave.
There was no way I could raise two kids on my own, so I stayed. ”
“Fucking hell, Caroline. You stayed with me solely because you couldn’t make it on your own? Are you serious? Why not just ask me for a divorce before you cheated? The whole damn marriage was started on a lie! What difference would it have made to end it before another one was started?”
Emeline stepped back and turned away from me. I knew she was debating whether she should leave.
“I could ask you the same thing? Who’s the person with you? Moving on pretty fast, aren’t you?”
I laughed. “Says the woman who cheated! Sign the divorce papers and stay the fuck away from me and Rhett, Caroline.”
Instead of hanging up, I threw my phone across the room against the wall. Emeline jumped and covered a small yelp with her hands.
I dropped to the floor, back against the counter, put my arms on my knees, and buried my face in my hands. I could hear Emeline saying something, but I knew she wasn’t talking to me.
How could Caroline cheat? How could she tell our son she didn’t want him?
“Levi?”
When I finally looked up, it was to see Caden standing there. Glancing around the kitchen, I didn’t see any signs of Emeline. “I thought you were riding with Rhett?”
“Emeline called me to come back. Gatlin’s with Rhett, and Emeline left to catch up with them. What happened?”
My head dropped back against the counter. “Caroline cheated on me right before she got pregnant with Brooke.”
Caden sat down next to me. “Oh damn. Were you Brooke’s father?”
I nodded. “She said she broke it off a few months before she found out she was pregnant. She got pregnant in Italy, on the trip we took to try to mend our marriage.” Glancing at Caden, I said, “She wanted to leave the marriage, but when she found out she was pregnant, she stayed because she knew she couldn’t make it on her own,” I said with a bitter laugh.
“She only stayed because she couldn’t afford to raise two kids. ”
Caden sighed. “We really know how to pick ’em, don’t we?”
“At least you didn’t get married to Rachel and have kids with her. Consider yourself lucky in that area.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I asked. More than once.”
“Should have been a clear red flag, my friend.”
His smile grew wider, but I could see the pain in his eyes.
My head fell back again. “I don’t love her, Caden. I did, a very long time ago. She used me to get out of River Falls, and I knew that, but I thought what we had was the real deal.”
“You know what we need to do?”
“What?”
“Go out this Friday night. Get drunk and let off some steam.”
I was about to agree when I closed my eyes. “Shit. Friday night, I’m going to this perfume-making thing with Emeline. I doubt it will take that long, so maybe we can go out afterward.”
His brows rose. “I’m sorry, did you say you’re going to make perfume?”
“Her friend, Lilibeth, owns that shop on Main, and you can make perfume and candles. She’s going to be teaching the kids at summer camp.”
He rolled his eyes.
“You should come with us.”
He gave me a puzzled look. “You want me to go to a perfume-making class?”
I laughed. “They make cologne, too. Just think, you can mix up your own scent and test it out when we go drinking.”
“So you do want to go out?”
With a half-shrug, I replied, “I don’t think we’ll be at Wonderland Whimsy long.”
Caden let out a groan. “Christ, we need to find your man card again.”
I stood, and Caden followed. “My man card is fully intact.”
“Says the guy going to make perfume at a place called Wonderland Whimsy.”
“When was the last time you were out? Better yet, have you even been with anyone since Rachel?”
Caden grimaced. “I’ve had a few hookups. Nothing serious.”
“I tell you what, you come with me and Emeline this Friday, and I’ll go out afterward.”
He closed his eyes and let out another tortured groan. When he opened them again, he nodded. “I’m only doing this because you need to get laid.”
I laughed. “You actually think I’m going to find someone here in River Falls?”
“The number of people coming from Granby each weekend will help with that.”
My brows raised. “You’re hooking up with tourists?”
He shrugged. “Why not? I get what I want, the girl gets what she wants, and we go our separate ways.”
I shook my head. “I’m not interested in one-night stands, Caden.”
“You say that now.”
Laughing, I rubbed at the ache in the back of my neck. “We should head over to the barn.”
By the time we got back to the barn, Emeline, Gatlin, and Rhett were riding up.
“Dad!” Rhett called out as he approached.
“Did he just call me dad? One outing with your brother and sister, and my son grew ten years older.”
Caden laughed.
I watched as Rhett got off the mare as if he’d done it a thousand times. Rushing over to me, he was practically hyperventilating.
“Take a deep breath, son,” I said, as I knelt to get eye level with him.
Damn if I didn’t love this kid. He was the only good thing I had left in this world, and my only connection to Brooke.
I could see her every time I looked into his eyes.
It made me both happy and sad. There was no doubt in my mind, they were both my kids.
I hated Caroline for what she’d put Rhett through, and now for causing even a single doubt that Brooke was my daughter.
“Daddy, guess what?”
My chest squeezed a little at the word daddy. I wasn’t ready for Rhett to move to dad…or worse yet, father. I shuddered.
“What?” I asked with a smile.
“Uncle Gatlin roped a calf, and then guess who else did!”
“Tell me it wasn’t you.”
“It was Ms. Emeline! She did it better than Uncle Gatlin, and faster, too!”
“Hey!” Gatlin mock complained as he pulled the saddle off his horse for Marshall to grab. “Thank you, Marshall.”
I glanced over at Emeline, who was removing her saddle and carrying it herself, following Marshall into the barn to the tack room.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Did you know that their sister, Ensley, is a farrier?”
Rhett’s eyes went wide. “She is?”
Gatlin chimed in. “If you don’t meet her before camp, she’ll be popping in and out helping, and she even demonstrates for the kids what she does.”
Rhett looked back at me. “I want to meet her!”
“I’m sure you’ll meet her before camp,” Caden said, placing his hand on Rhett’s head and ruffling his hair.
Jumping in excitement, Rhett threw himself into me, wrapped his arms around my neck, and said, “I’m so happy we moved to River Falls!”
I hugged him back. He drew away, a smile still on his face. “Brooke would have loved it here. But I know she’s watching us, ’cause Grammy and Emeline said she was.”
At that moment, Emeline walked out of the barn and looked our way. She smiled, and I returned the expression. The feeling I experienced from earlier came back, but this time so hard it nearly knocked me back on my ass.
It was then that I realized why I didn’t want to have a one-night stand with a stranger. And that reason was smiling at me, her blue eyes sparkling.
Holy shit.
“How about you help get this saddle off, and we’ll get Dasher all wiped down and give her some oats,” Emeline said to Rhett.
“Can I, Daddy?”
“Of course. You rode her, so you need to help get her all settled again.”
Rhett ran off to help Emeline.
“She’s a natural with kids,” I said to her brothers, who stood on either side of me as we watched the two of them walk off with Dasher.
Gatlin smirked and slapped my back. “Watch out there, Levi. You might just find yourself charmed by Emeline, like everyone else. I can’t even tell you how many guys have fought for her attention. But I swear if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was holding out for someone.”
I glanced at Gatlin, who simply winked at me before he headed off in the same direction Emeline and Rhett had gone.
Focusing my attention on Caden, I saw him watching his sister and Rhett.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. Everything is great.”