Gwen’s frown deepens, and she turns and follows Cat, disappearing into the big, white house.
Indecision wars inside me. Do I go after Cat or work on getting rid of Meredith? I turn to look at the woman before me. She’s not responsible for fucking up my life. I bear that burden all on my own. But she is a mistake that will not let go, that keeps haunting me, no matter how hard I try to shake it.
It’s a losing battle, but I hope for easy, just this once. “Are you happy? Does this satisfy you? You’ve taken your swing, and it was a direct hit. You can go home now.”
“It’s a start.” Meredith’s voice is sticky sweet. “But I’m not vindicated yet.”
“What’s it going to take for you to feel vindicated?” The knot of panic I’ve been dogging for days settles into my gut. I shouldn’t have ignored it. Those warning bells have been clamoring, but as usual, I handled it in the worst way possible. “What do you want? Whatever it takes, I’ll give it to you.”
She tilts her head toward the house. “Didn’t take you long, but then it never does, does it?”
“It’s not the same thing.” I deliver the words like bullets. It only looks the same, and I hate that it does, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. My only recourse is to clean up the mess as best I can. “I’m in love with her.”
“You loved me too, or at least that’s what you said.” Meredith’s chin tilts, and she smooths a hand over her white top tied at the waist, flashing a strip of skin above the waistband of her jeans.
“I thought I did.” I scrub my hand over my jaw. “I’ve got to talk to Cat.”
“I’ll wait.” She walks over to the chair Cat’s grandfather built. The one I’d been sitting in the night Cat finally came to me.
Meredith sits down, looking all sorts of wrong. “I’ve got nowhere to go.”
I cannot fucking believe this. “What’s it going to take to get you to leave?”
She taps her finger on her chin like she’s thinking it over, real careful. “How about we get your new girlfriend and tell her the truth together?” She flashes a smile. “At least that way I’ll be assured you can’t weasel out of it with some lie.”
“You know this won’t change anything, don’t you?” I do my best to reason with her, even though it’s hopeless. “I told you that night it was over between us.”
She rolls her eyes. “You didn’t mean that.”
“I did.” I glance at the house. I don’t have time to deal with this crazy right now. I need to talk to Cat as soon as possible and minimize the damage. “I’m going to Cat. I’ll deal with you later.”
And before she can say another word, I’m racing back to the house.
I fling open the door and call out, “Cat?”
“She’s upstairs,” Gwen says from the sitting room.
I turn to see her, Wyatt and Jackson, and none of them look pleased. I hold up a hand. “I promise I can explain all of this, but I need to talk to Cat first, cool?”
Wyatt narrows a gaze on me. “She’s got some pretty interesting claims.”
“She’s…not in her right mind.”
One of Gwen’s brows rises. “Are you actually claiming crazy ex-girlfriend here?”
“Yes!” I run a hand through my hair. “Is it that hard to believe?”
Jackson swirls the toothpick hanging out of his mouth. “Hayes, of the Happy Harvest Hayes?”
I sigh. Happy Harvest is one of the top-producing heirloom organic farmers in the US. I’m not surprised he’s heard of it, which is exactly why I didn’t want to discuss my past employment history. They’d call, and then Meredith would have found out where I’d gone, and then this would happen.
The evasion didn’t end up saving me anything, did it? All it did was cost me everything. And isn’t that just like me? Always making the shittiest decision imaginable.
I nod. “Yes.”
He shrugs. “I put in a call. I’m waiting to hear back.”
I glance toward the stairs leading to Cat. “You let me know if I need to pack my bags, but I need to talk to Cat.”