The Good Father

And the guilt that had swamped her took her breath away.

“You still there?” she asked when enough time had passed for her to figure out that Brett wasn’t going to respond.

“Yes.”

“Where are you?”

“Pulled over at a lookout.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, El. Just had a bit of wind knocked out of me back there. Seeing you with someone.”

“I...” What could she say? She was moving on.

“Is it serious?”

“In two weeks?”

“It could have been going on before.”

“You think I would have slept with you if I was seeing someone?” For some reason that really hurt.

A lot more than it should have.

“No. But if you weren’t exclusive with him at that time, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have...”

If she was someone else, maybe. Brett knew her. She didn’t sleep around. But didn’t bother to respond.

“Anyway, I’m happy for you. It just caught me by surprise, you know?”

She’d loved him so much once. “Brett...”

“No. It’s fine. Good, really. Best for all of us. Just... Is he good to you, El?”

“Yes, very.” Insofar as it went with only two dates between them. And seeing him at work.

But he made her laugh. And right now, that was a huge plus.

Also, Jason wasn’t getting impatient with her, in spite of her not going home with him. He wasn’t giving up on her.

“Who is he?”

“A pediatric pulmonary specialist who has a couple patients on my unit.”

“Someone you met relatively recently, then?”

“Brett, why all the questions? What do you want to know?”

He waited so long she thought he was going to stand her up for an answer again. “I want to know you’re happy, El.”

She believed him. And said, “I’m on my way there—to being happy.”

Because she wasn’t going to live the rest of her life without joy.

Even if she had to live it without Brett.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE