Chapter 17 #2
“I can do that.” I tried to keep my enthusiasm in check, knowing she would be watching for signs that I saw this as a strategic opening rather than genuine support.
“There are several foundations and private investors I know who have interest in both education and animal welfare programs. I’ll reach out to them, but only if you’re comfortable with me making the introductions. ”
Her smile this time was more confident, the expression reaching her eyes fully for what felt like the first time in forever. “I would appreciate that, Ephraim. It would mean a lot to have your support in this.”
“It’s not about supporting you or the rescue as separate entities.
” I hesitated, then continued honestly. “I’ve come to see how valuable this work is.
These horses, the kids you work with, what you’re creating here, it matters in a way I never properly understood before.
I want to see it thrive, Larkin, regardless of what happens with us. ”
The words hung between us, vulnerable on my part, potentially painful on hers, but necessary.
I was establishing that my investment in her world wasn’t contingent on winning her back, but came from genuine appreciation of what she was building.
Whatever future we might share, this place, this mission, had changed my perspective permanently.
“I believe you.” Her voice was quiet but firm, and the acceptance in those two simple words felt more significant than any grand declaration.
She pushed away from the fence, motioning toward the main building.
“Let me know when you think it would be best to approach those contacts. I can have our information ready to send.”
I nodded, the professional exchange overlaying a deeper personal connection that neither of us needed to name.
We were building something new between us, not a return to our marriage as it had been or even a promise of what it might become, but a foundation of mutual respect for each other’s individual passions and boundaries.
As I watched her walk ahead toward her office, my heart expanded with a hope that was calmer and more sustainable than the desperate longing that had driven my initial pursuit.
Whatever this evolution of our relationship was, whatever it became, I sensed that we had finally found the right path, the one we should have walked together from the beginning, supporting each other’s growth rather than competing for dominance in each other’s lives.
But that gave me an idea. As it stood, as the primary benefactor of the rescue, I had ultimate control over it.
If I pulled my funding, the rescue would die.
If I required change to fit my mood, Larkin would either have to give in or let the rescue die.
It was a power I had never wielded, and I had no intention of using it, but I needed to take away that possibility.
I needed to fully give the rescue to my wife, without conditions and with no way for me to pull the plug.
Larkin deserved to have her dreams be hers.
I took out my phone and called Waylon. “I have a job for you. I need the rescue to be independently funded.”
“What?” His confusion was loud over the phone.
“Find me a way to secure funding for the rescue for years to come. I don’t care how much it costs, I want the legal side of it done before the month is over.
Set up a trust for Larkin to control. Fund it with Holt money, but make sure the decision-making and oversight is on her.
I want to gift the rescue to her as completely as I can.
I have to let go of the last shred of control. ”
Waylon was silent on the other line, not responding. “Okay, boss. I’ll have some paperwork to you in a few days, and you can look it over. Anything else?”
“No. Thanks, Waylon. You’re a good friend. Don’t know if I say that enough.”
I hung up the phone, not giving him a chance to say more.
I knew he’d do a good job. And when Larkin found out, I hoped she saw it was the sign that I wasn’t just playing house with her here, but that I wanted her to have her own empire to grow and cultivate without anyone holding her back, even me.
That was how you treated a wife. As an equal.
And maybe that would get us to the next step, whenever she was ready.
Because if there was anything I had learned, it was to wait.
And Waylon was true to his word. It didn’t take a month.
It took less than a week before I approached Larkin with a large manila envelope in my hands.
She looked at it and back up at my face, but said nothing.
I took her hand in mine and put the envelope in her palm, closing her fingers over the top.
“Tell me those aren’t divorce papers,” she said quietly. There was no fear or worry in her voice, only a solemn resignation as if she had known that would come at some point. “That would be a cruel irony after everything that has happened between us.”
“Not even close.” I looked down at her hand.
“But open it, and let me explain. Then, if you want to kick me out of this barn, you’ll be well within your rights.
” I could see her chest move with her deep inhale.
Her thumb found the seam in the back of the envelope, opening it.
She pulled out the papers and glanced over the top few lines, her brow furrowing with each line of the legalese.
I was impressed she was reading it herself.
It was not something she’d ever been good at, and it took some familiarity to quickly decipher all the information.
“You gave the rescue to me,” she said as she looked up at me, her eyes still confused. “Why?”