She shook her head. “Please, don’t say that. I don’t deserve it. He lied to me and turned me into the other woman.”
“Better the other woman than the bitter old wife who won’t let him go, right?”
Claire smiled through her tears. “Still, it’s not right.”
“It wasn’t, but it was on Rodney, not you. He made the vows he broke, not you.” But I was curious about one thing. “Can I ask you something? I promise I have no anger for you, Claire.”
She blinked and nodded. “He said that he loved you, that you were his best friend, but that you married too young. He never left Carson Creek, never saw the world, or explored other relationships. Neither of you ever got a chance to find someone more perfect for you.”
More perfect. That phrase made me smile because it was such a Rodney turn of phrase. “That sounds like him.”
Claire and I shared a smile, unbelievably, but it happened. “He said you were both changing, but not together.”
My heart ached at her words, but the admission rang true. I was a khaki skirt and pastel sweaters kind of girl for most of my life, a perfect bookend to Rodney’s weekend attire. But somewhere along the way I became a rainbow. He didn’t leave me for my wardrobe change, but he’d seen the signs I’d missed.
“He was right,” I admitted reluctantly. “I didn’t realize it until recently, but he’d seen the end when I hadn’t.”
“I’m sorry. Truly.”
“Me too. I’m sorry Rodney didn’t just tell me he’d fallen for you. I’m sorry that we both robbed ourselves of what he found before he had a chance to fully enjoy it.” My feet finally started to move and instead of moving away as I planned, they moved towards Claire.
She stood tall, but she was a couple of inches shorter than me. She lifted her chin. “I deserve it.” I could tell she fully believed that, but violence or vengeance wasn’t what I had in mind.
“You don’t,” I assured her and wrapped my arms around the woman who looked every bit the grieving widow I hadn’t been. “The pain will lessen, I promise you that. And when it does, don’t settle for a man who doesn’t make you feel the way you felt about him. Good luck.” I took a step back and let myself look at Claire one last time before I turned and walked away.
I didn’t need to say goodbye to Rodney because he was already gone, but seeing Claire had been just what I needed. She wasn’t some bombshell husband-stealer. She was just a woman who’d found love with a lying man who did love her in a way he had never loved me.
Standing beside my car, I looked to the sky and sighed. “I’m sorry you never got a chance to live the life you and Claire could have had.” And I was sad for him, because thanks to Trey, I fully understood now.
He made me feel things Rodney never had, not even when sex was new and exciting, not even when everything was new and exciting. He made me feel beautiful and desired, sure, but he also made me feel like a super woman, capable of anything she set her mind to. He lifted me up, supported me in a way that Rodney hadn’t, because he couldn’t, because he no longer understood me and I no longer understood him.
I regretted that he hadn’t just told me the truth. It would have hurt and probably torn my heart to pieces, but at least then the girls would still have him around.
With that thought, I slid behind the wheel and instead of going to Pippa’s house, I went to find Trey.
Hoping like hell that it wasn’t too late.
That I hadn’t pushed him away one too many times.
I stopped the car in the middle of the empty road and stared at the bright yellow lines between the lanes. I couldn’t just go to him and tell him I was ready for us and for a future together.
I had to show him.
Chapter 24
Trey
I dropped down on the sofa, finally off my feet for the first time in hours; though it actually felt like days. Possibly weeks. What in the hell had I been thinking, hosting a Valentine’s Day themed sleepover for Keri, Belle and Bridget? It was absolutely insane, thinking I could handle three energetic, precocious girls. That was incredibly reckless thinking on my part.
The day had been fun though. Who knew it could be so fun hanging out with pre-teen girls with such different personalities? When I brought out the construction paper in shades of red, pink and white, the girls squealed with delight. We all sat around the dining room table armed with markers, glue and glitter, and made everything from cards to hearts and cupids, even a fake box of chocolates. They were each creative in their own way, putting a personal spin on all the decorations, including the Valentine’s Day, lace because apparently you couldn’t celebrate the day of love without lace.