He laughed. “Remember how we’d planned to marry off our kids and join the ranches into the biggest ranch in Nebraska?”
“I do.”
Shelley and I had no children. It was weird thinking of having a son to marry Brooke. No, not weird. Annoying. I couldn’t have her, but fucking hell, I couldn’t stand the idea of someone else having her. Not even the son I’d never had. Then again, with Frank being older than me, and his marrying and having a child at a younger age, by the time I married Shelley, any children we’d have had would have been younger than Brooke by several years.
“Do you ever regret not having kids with Shelley?” he asked.
I shifted, not sure I wanted to talk about my personal life as marriage was involved. After all, technically, I was married to Brooke, although I knew Frank believed we were in a platonic relationship. Which we were. Now.
“I wanted kids, and she didn’t. In hindsight, it’s probably better that we didn’t. It can’t be easy to have divorced parents.”
“And now, with this arrangement, you’re not in a position to marry and have kids.” He looked at me. “Even more sacrifice you’re making for me.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t have any marriage prospects as it was.”
“I suppose you could date.” He frowned. “I mean, you and Brooke have a secret marriage of convenience. Still, I’m not sure I like the idea of it. It would be like cheating.”
“I’m not dating.” I rested my forearms on the fence. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be a bachelor for the remainder of my days.”
“Now, don’t say that,” Frank said, patting me on the back. “There’s a good woman out there for you. I know it.”
Good woman. Immediately, Brooke’s lovely face flashed in my brain. She was a good woman. She was putting up with my bullshit with grace. She worked hard. And she’d given me a gift that I hadn’t adequately appreciated when she surrendered her virginity. Jesus, if Frank knew that…I didn’t even want to think about what he’d do.
“Let’s get some grub. With Brooke gone, I’ve had to learn to cook. So far, I’ve managed to figure out the microwave.”
I laughed. “Sounds good.”
We walked back to the house. As we came in through the kitchen, Brooke was putting something in the oven.
“Brooke,” Frank said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
She turned to us, stopping short when she saw me. “I…ah…I thought I’d come by to make you dinner.”
“I told her I was coming here after work,” I lied. I wasn’t sure why, except I guess I didn’t want her to tell her father what an ass I’d been to her, and now she was running home.
“Right.” She mustered a smile that didn’t reach her pretty blue eyes. “I thought I’d make both my boys dinner.”
Frank grinned and patted me on the back. “You need to stop by more, Mo, if that means I get a good home-cooked meal.”
“It will be another hour or so, if you want to get cleaned up, Dad.”
Frank looked down at his dusty jeans. “I think I’ll shower.”
I had some dust, but I was in a suit and had been behind a desk all day. Frank had been out in the dirt and sun all day, so he was a bit grimy and ripe. I sort of missed those days.
“Grab a beer, Mo, and make yourself at home.” Frank headed to the back of the house to take a shower.
When he left, I moved closer to Brooke so I could whisper. It was a mistake, as her sweet scent filled my nostrils and longing shot through my heart to my dick. “What are you doing here?”
She gave me a sharp look. “This is my home.”
If she wanted to stab me in the heart, it worked. As much as my brain said it was stupid, it bothered me that she didn’t think of my place as her home.
“Are you leaving me?” I asked. Interestingly, the worry wasn’t so much about the money I’d lose or have to repay. It was about not having her around. In the short time she’d been with me, I’d gotten used to her being there, even if I did my damnedest to avoid her.
She looked at me like I’d grown a third eye. Of course, she didn’t know about how much I had to lose if this marriage didn’t last a year. I’d leave me, too, after the way I’d treated her. I’d probably leave even knowing how much there was to lose. I was that big of an asshole.
“I made a commitment. I’ll keep it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure you’d notice I was gone. I left you a meal.”