CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE #2
She laughed. “Yeah, that’s fair. I’m not sure it’s my favorite, either. Go wash your hands, bud.”
I saw that her table was set for two, so I went into the kitchen to grab a plate, utensils, and a placemat for myself.
I knew where everything was. That’s how comfortable we were with each other.
Carrie had told me long ago that she wanted to have a good relationship as co-parents for Theo’s sake. I thought we’d achieved that for sure.
And I wanted desperately to make it more than that. Even though I’d been low-key trying for years, I knew I had to make a real move soon. I didn’t like that she’d been seeing Jon for so long. I was afraid that he wanted to marry her, and I was going to make damn sure I didn’t let that happen.
We laughed and talked while we ate. Theo told Carrie everything we’d done while he’d been with me for the week.
I still had the house Carrie and I lived in when we were married, and on my weeks with Theo that’s where we lived.
Carrie still saw him a lot on her non-custodial weeks.
She attended any soccer games or school functions that fell during my weeks.
I made sure and still took him to anything fun with her family that fell during my time, too.
If Jack or Diane had a birthday or even just a family dinner, I made sure Theo got to go. I was even invited now, too.
It had taken three years, but Jack had finally welcomed me back into the fold.
He’d never forgiven me for cheating on his daughter, and I didn’t blame him.
He’d wanted us to have a decent relationship for Theo’s sake, though, so he’d decided to put up with me being around.
Diane had come around sooner, which hadn’t surprised anyone.
Carrie had remained friends with Bryce and Celia and even had a decent relationship with Olive now. The only Caldwell she maintained distance from was my mother. No one faulted her for that except Mom, but she’d learned to grin and bear it for Theo’s sake.
Theo ran off to watch TV for a while before bedtime, and it was suddenly just Carrie and me at the table.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked, still finishing off the chocolate ice cream she’d served for dessert.
I swallowed hard, not entirely sure how she was going to receive the news I had. “Now that Theo’s older and involved in school and sports, I’ve missed a few of his activities because I couldn’t get here in time after work.”
She nodded.
“Well, I hate that.”
She frowned. “I hope you’re not about to propose that he split his time between Indigo Falls and Atlanta. I’ve mentioned before that I’d fight you for full custody if you tried to do something like that.”
I chuckled and held up a hand to cut her off before she really got going on the topic. “No. God, no. Don’t go all Mama Bear on me. I’d never do that to Theo or you.”
She visibly relaxed. “Okay. Well, what are you thinking about doing?”
“It’s a pretty big deal,” I warned. “I’ve resigned as CEO of Caldwell Financial and moved here full time.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I’m just tying up a few loose ends before I’m finished in the Atlanta office entirely.
I’m handing my role over to Celia. Bryce is happy in his role as marketing director, Olive never wants to leave her social media director position, and we all agreed it was more up Celia’s alley anyway.
It hasn’t hit the news yet, but it will when we make a formal announcement next week. ”
She still stared at me. “I… I’m stunned.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s kind of a lot to take in.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have you noticed they’re renovating the old hardware building downtown on the square?”
“Um… yes,” she said slowly.
“I’ve decided to open a branch of Caldwell Financial here in Indigo Falls.
I’ll be in charge, of course, but I’ll have the leeway to hire enough people so that I’ll be out of there at a decent hour every night.
I’ll also be able to leave if I need to for a doctor’s appointment, a teacher meeting, a soccer game—whatever.
And, of course, I’ll no longer have a thirty-minute commute from Atlanta.
I don’t want to miss a minute of Theo growing up.
I want to be the kind of dad he deserves to have. ”
Her silence stretched on for what felt like an hour, and I was dying a little inside. I was so nervous that she’d be upset at the idea of me being permanently in her town again.
“Are there enough people here to support a branch?”
“No, but there are if you include the surrounding towns. There are no high-quality investment and financial planning firms around here. Everything major is in Atlanta. I think most people would like the option of having something like that close by.”
“Especially if they know the former CEO is in charge. This is a big deal.”
“The mayor’s pretty happy about it. He thinks it could bring in other businesses and maybe even increase the population of Indigo Falls.”
She rolled her eyes. “You mean Dad?”
I grinned. Her dad seemed to be the permanent mayor of Indigo Falls. No one wanted to run against him because the entire town loved him. “Yes. I’m sorry he had to know before you, but I couldn’t prevent it. He knows everything that goes down in this town. I mean everything.”
She laughed a little nervously. “I’m not so sure he knows all the secrets, but yeah, he knows a lot.”
I didn’t know what she was talking about, so I let the comment slide. I was too focused on seeing what she thought about me moving here full-time. “What do you think?”
“It’s such a huge change. I can’t believe you’re giving up the CEO position.”
“Mom wasn’t too happy, but everyone else has been surprisingly open to it.”
She snorted indelicately. “I would’ve paid money to see your mom’s face when you told her.”
I grimaced. “It wasn’t pretty.”
She looked out the window. The sky had darkened almost to full nightfall, and the first stars were visible. “Where are you going to live?”
“I’m going to remain in our old house for the time being.” I wasn’t going to tell her that I had high hopes of moving in here with her sometime in the future.
She shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. There are so many bad memories for me in that house.”
“But what about all the good ones?” I asked softly.
She looked at me quickly, her face rapidly turning red.
I couldn’t help but grin. “What memories are you thinking about right now?”
“None. I’m not thinking about that,” she said too fast.
“Right. I’m betting you’re thinking about all those times we used the kitchen island for something other than cooking.”
Her lips twisted into a smile and she ducked her head, clearly embarrassed. “Maybe,” she said, as she stood up and took her and Theo’s plates to the sink. I followed with mine.
I leaned against the counter as she rinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher.
She turned to me, arms crossed over her chest. “It’s amazing that you’re doing this for Theo.
One day he’ll look back at this and realize what a sacrifice you made for him.
You’re a great dad, Thatch. You really are. ”
I stepped closer to her and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She sucked in a breath. I moved my hand to cradle her jaw and traced over it with the pad of my thumb. “Thank you, but I have to confess something.”
“What?” she asked, sounding a little breathless.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I’m not just doing it for Theo. I’m doing it for you, too.”
I moved closer, dropping my eyes to her mouth. She didn’t back away from me. I put both hands on her jaw, cradling her head, and moved to kiss her. She didn’t stop me, and our lips met for the first time in years. It had been way too long.
Almost immediately, the kiss grew heated.
She moaned against my mouth and opened for me as my hands moved to her hair.
I was desperate for her and kissed her over and over.
She pulled me even closer as her arms went around my neck.
She gasped as I rocked against her gently, letting her feel what she did to me.
“Mommy, Daddy, I’m tired.” Theo walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes, and we jumped apart, gasping.
Carrie and I stared at each other a moment more. I rubbed the back of my neck. She ran a finger over her bottom lip. I’d wanted to keep kissing her so fucking bad. But we needed to switch back into parent mode. Neither of us wanted to confuse Theo.
“Do you, um, need help with bathtime and story time?”
She swallowed hard and looked at the clock on the microwave. “No, I’ve got it. You need to get out of here. You still have to drive back to Atlanta tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll just grab Mr. Dog from the car, then I’ll be on my way.”
Her eyes widened. “God, yes. I can’t believe we almost forgot Mr. Dog. Theo can’t sleep without him.”
“He was so excited to see his mommy he forgot all about him for a while.”
We were lucky to live so close together. Theo had a set of clothes, toiletries, toys—everything really—at both houses. But only the ‘real’ Mr. Dog would do.
“Go start brushing your teeth, bud, and I’ll be there in a minute,” Carrie said. Then she followed me out onto the front porch. “Ooh. Jeez, it’s cold out here.”
I got Mr. Dog then came back to give the stuffed animal to her. She reached to take it from me, but I held onto it for a moment.
Her eyes shot to mine.
“I just want to be clear about something. I’m still in love with you, Carrie. I never stopped being in love with you. I want us to be together again, and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.”
She gaped at me. “Thatch, I don’t think…”
“Don’t say anything now. Please. I’m not asking anything of you. Not yet. But I needed you to know that I had multiple reasons for giving up running the company and moving back here.” I stopped and grabbed her hand that was still on Mr. Dog. “I’d do anything for you, Carrie. Anything.”
With that, I turned and walked back to my car. I gave her a brief wave as I pulled out of the driveway. She was still standing there and staring after me, holding Mr. Dog.