After the Climb (River Rain 0.50)

I huffed out a breath, reconsidering my dedication to remaining friends with Heddy.

Duncan turned to me.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay,” I replied. Then asked, “Who’s Beth?”

“Harvey’s wife.”

“Is she scary?”

“No. But if she wants something, she’s single-minded about getting it.”

“I think we’ve had enough of people being single-minded about things they want in regard to us, don’t you agree?” I inquired.

“There’s an important difference when it comes to Beth. She’s only single-minded when she wants something for someone she cares about. And in this case, it would be me being happy.”

I had nothing to say to that.

Though I was lamenting my choice of wine and wondering where our waitress was and if it would be gauche to order an entire bottle of gin.

He shifted a little my way.

I stiffened.

He shifted no farther.

But his voice lowered. “I would still like the chance to talk.”

I caught his gaze. “And I still feel there’s nothing to say.”

“In discussing this with Harvey this morning, some things I wasn’t admitting to myself came clear, and Gen, I’d like to share them with you, and I’d appreciate it if you’d listen to me.”

“I know a few things about wishing someone would listen to what you have to say.”

His lips tightened and his jaw popped under his beard.

Then his expression grew perplexed as he focused over my shoulder.

He returned that focus to me. “There’s someone taking a picture of us.”

I didn’t bother to look.

I fluttered a hand between us. “It comes with the territory.”

“Do you want that?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“And I can take from that response you don’t want that.”

“Again, it doesn’t matter.”

I barely finished the words, and he was pushing out of his seat.

We got Harv and Heddy’s attention, but I moved quickly to grab Duncan’s forearm.

“Duncan, sit down,” I ordered.

He looked down at me. “I’ll ask nice that they stop.”

“Please sit down.”

“I won’t be a dick about it.”

God, he was stubborn.

“Bowie, please, sit down.”

His head cocked sharply.

Then he moved to resume his seat.

I removed my hand from his arm.

He then shifted into me and didn’t stop until he was right in my face.

“They’re gonna post that on social media,” he declared.

“Yes, they probably will.”

“I know you’re used to that, Genny, but—”

“Duncan, it hasn’t escaped me that you are no stranger to the media feeds.”

“Yes, pictures taken at events, and rallies, and press shit we do for the stores. Not at a restaurant where I took my boys and their mother to eat, repeatedly, but now I’m sitting next to a beautiful woman who is not their mother. She’s a world-famous actress who they don’t know their dad once loved more than his own life.”

I could feel my pulse beating hard in my neck.

He continued speaking.

“So it may be no big deal to you, just another thing you put up with because that’s a part of your life, but it isn’t part of mine.”

I’d seen him.

But I hadn’t researched.

I’d wanted to.

However hard it was (and it was hard), I wouldn’t allow myself.

Thus, now he’d mentioned it, I had to know.

“You have boys?” I asked quietly.

“Yes. Two. Sullivan, we call him Sully, and Gage.”

I wondered if they looked like him.

“And are they not over your divorce?” I queried.

“They were so relieved we ended it, I think Gage considered writing us each a thank you card. And he’s never done that in his life without his mother riding his ass to do it.”

So it wasn’t a happy home.

“That doesn’t sound very good for you or them or her.”

“It wasn’t. It was unhealthy, but I put an end to it before it became destructive. But they’re good kids and they care about their mother. More, we’re tight and they’d be pissed I was with a woman and they didn’t know about her, at least before we were all over Instagram. And that would be even if you weren’t who you are. But it goes without saying, it’d be worse that I didn’t tell them because you are who you are, and more, you are who you’ve always been to me.”

I didn’t field that last part.

I wasn’t even planning on thinking about it.

“We are not out together, Duncan.”

“We’re sittin’ side by side, Genny.”

I suspected my lips thinned at that.

I unthinned them to ask, “How long were you married?”

“Sixteen years, six divorced. And yes, it took me so long to find someone partially because no one was as good as you, but also because I was tryin’ to make a go of my stores, because I wasn’t gonna hook up with another woman and not be able to provide for her the way I needed to do that.”

This was a refrain I knew oh so well.

And even now, it irritated the hell out of me.

Because of the reason behind it.

“The way your father made you think you needed to do that,” I corrected.