She crossed her arms. “Let’s ask the women who’ve been heartbroken by you. I’m sure they’ll have a different story.”
“Hey, I always tell them what to expect. They knew!”
“Humans don’t just run from connection, Dean.” She narrowed her eyes. “Or most of them don’t. You can’t either. I know you’re a kind person. I raised you to be. But then sometimes you do things ...” She shook her head. “Sometimes you act cold. And I wonder what you do when you’re in the mindset. Who you’vehurt.”
“I’ve tried not to hurt anyone.”
“Has it worked?”
I blew out a breath, thinking about how I tried to end it withGrace, only for us to be tied together forever. “Obviously not. I’m working on it.”
“Working on it, huh? While the woman you got pregnant is dealing with it alone?”
“She’s not alone.”
“Oh, so her friends and family will handle it?”
“I’m handling it,” I snapped. “Me. I will.”
“You can’t do thatandrun.”
“Who said I was running? I have things to figure out and then ...” I trailed off. I’d told myself Strawberry Springs was in the rearview mirror. I’d never stay there again once I got that job done with Wren. “I’ll go back for a while.”
“Back to where?”
“Back to where she is. That’s the right thing to do. I’m not completely incompetent.”
Mom stared at me, obviously trying to sniff out a lie. When she didn’t find one, she let out a breath of relief. “Oh. ThankGod. I was worried I’d have to fix this for you.”
“You don’t. I’m an adult. And contrary to popular belief, Idoknow how to do the right thing.”
“I hope so. I raised you to be responsible and caring. Which is why I’ve been so confused these last few years. All you’ve cared about is sex and work.”
That’s what Iwantedto care about, but it was a front. It was easy for me to care about someone. That was why I made the choice to leave before it happened. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew myself and how I was.
It was the pain I couldn’t take.
“Now I have more to care about,” I muttered. “I’ll handle it right after I make sure Clyde won’t kill me for missing more work.”
“I’ll handle Clyde,” she said. “You handle ... everything else.”
“Thank you.”
“And you’re sure you’ll be able to deal with this?”
I was sure that I was doing the right thing. I was sure I could figure out how to be a dad.
There was only one thing that could go wrong.
And it had all to do with spending far too much time with the one person I couldn’t get out of my mind.
11
GRACE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Kerry Winsor:Tree down on Highway 67!@SherriffMike Finch, any news when it’ll be cleared up?