“Yes! Unless this is your way of spending more time with Tripp!”
I wanted to smile at her. I knew it was wrong, but damn it all to hell. I was starting to dislike this woman even more as the seconds ticked by.
“Okay, let’s just calm down here. Mallory, I owe it to Harley.”
I could see the anger in her eyes, but she pushed it down and gave Tripp a smile that screamed fake. Then she looked at me. “You know what? It’s fine. I’m sure Laney will love going over to your house to play with her.”
Ouch. That was a sucker punch in the gut.
“So, we have it worked out then?” Tripp asked.
I forced a grin. “Great. Well, I’m exhausted, and I think Hemi and I are going to head home. I have to stop at the clinic to pick her up some food.”
“I was going to buy her food.”
“I’ll get it this time. You can get the next one.”
“Isn’t that cute, you have a little custody agreement…for a dog,” Mallory snickered.
I winked and whispered under my breath. “Better a dog than a kid!”
Mallory’s smile faded.
Clearing my throat, I bent over and let Laney pet Hemi. “Laney, say goodbye to Hemi. She needs to go potty and then off to home.”
“Bye bye, Hemi! See you soon!”
“Mallory, I’m going to help Harley take the crate back to her car. Give me a few minutes?”
“Can I take her to go potty with you?” Laney asked as she reached up for my hand.
“Sure! If your mommy is okay with that.”
“Of course, you can, sweetie.”
Laney and I started for the barn exit.
“Laney’s new nanny starts tonight, so I can pay you a late-night visit,” Mallory said, louder than she needed to.
I swallowed the bile in my throat as I picked up my pace and turned the corner, heading to a large oak tree. The last thing I wanted to hear about was Tripp and Mallory making plans to have a midnight rendezvous.
Mallory reached up and ran her finger down my chest.
“So? What do you say? You in the mood for a visit later?”
“You know what, Mallory, I’m exhausted. Today has been a long fucking day, and all I want to do is fall into a bed and crash.”
“Well, the things I want to do to you require you to be in a bed, so that makes it easy.”
I forced a smile. “Sounds nice, but honestly, I’m barely keeping my eyes open as it is. I’m probably just gonna crash here at my folks’ place.”
“Oh,” she said with disappointment in her voice. “Well, that sucks for both of us. You can make it up to me tomorrow night after the benefit dinner.”
“Sure.”
Mallory stared for a few moments before reaching up on her toes to kiss me. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and stepped back.
“Y’all better get going before it gets too late.”
“Right, we do need to get going. By the time I get home and give Laney a bath to get all that grime off of her, it will be past her bedtime.”
“That grime is called dirt, and it’s what happens when kids are allowed to let loose and play.”
Mallory scoffed. “Maybe for ranch kids, but not my Laney. I’m glad she had an older outfit on since that one is ruined.”
I pinched my brows together. “Mallory, that was a snobby ass thing to say. These kids out here are no different than Laney.”
She sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve never told you this, Tripp, but I come from a very well bred family. They own a few companies back home, and to be honest, I grew up very differently from you. Finishing schools, nannies, butlers…the whole thing. I moved to small-town Texas because I didn’t want my daughter to grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth or have a mother like mine.”
“But you do see you’re slowly going down that path, Mallory? You just hired a nanny for Laney.”
Her eyes filled with frustration. “I’m a single mom living away from my family and I need to have some form of childcare. I guess with my choice for a nanny it shows the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Can you make it up to your car okay?”
She stared at me and shook her head. “Why don’t you ever touch me anymore, Tripp?”
“What?”
“Come on. It’s clear that you’re pulling away. Is it because of…the race?”
I stared at her for a good minute. I was sure she’d wanted to ask something different.
“The race has been on my mind a lot lately.”
She nodded. “Right. At least you know the woman standing next to you when you’ve won the mayoral race will be a polished, well-rounded woman.”
My stomach dropped. I needed to be honest with Mallory, and the sooner I did it, the better. I didn’t see the same future as she did. I had to stop lying to myself and admit that I was still very much in love with Harley.