The woman’s mouth fell open.
“I’m sorry, Andrew, for leaving you at our wedding, but you should not have said what you did to me that day because it made me realize you would always put your mother before me.”
Which is something Ryder would never do.He would always love his family, but the woman he loved would be the person he gave his whole heart to.
“Libby, I’m sorry,” Andrew said softly.
“Do not apologize to her!” Dianne shrieked. “She humiliated us.”
“Be quiet, Mother,” Andrew said, delivering the second shock to her in as many minutes. “Because Libby is right. I have always allowed you to manipulate and control me. But we will discuss that another time. Right now, we are leaving, and will respect Libby’s wishes, which I’m not entirely sure anyone has done before.”
Andrew then leaned in and kissed Libby’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said, taking both her hands in his. “But I am glad you were strong enough to stand up for us. To walk away from what would have been a marriage where we liked and respected each other but there was no great love,” he added.
She smiled up at him. “Exactly. Be happy, Andrew, and find your great love. I want that for us both.”
“And you, Libby. Call me one day, because I would like us to still be friends.”
“I will. Take care, Andrew. I need to go now.” She had a sudden urge to find Ryder.
Libby walked away from her past, and she hoped into her future. She found JD and Zoe watching her a few feet away.
“All good there, Libby?” JD asked. “Need us to have a chat with any of those three down there locked in a heated debate?”
“Everything is okay. Thank you for caring.”
“Staying or going?” Zoe asked.
Libby felt a real smile for the first time in a long while. “Staying… I hope.”
Chapter33
“Right. Everyone get your heads in the game,” Red said calmly. He was giving them his Skip speech before they started. It was the only time Tripp wasn’t the lead on something, and he said he was happy to let someone else do the heavy lifting for a change. “We’ve got this. If we focus and work together, we’ll win. I know there is some stuff going on, and last night was a big one for a few of us.” His eyes focused on Phoebe and Ryder. “But to win, we need to be on the same page.”
“Yes, Skip,” they said solemnly.
Ryder watched Sawyer arrive. He then leaned on the temporary fencing beside the rest of their family, who had all turned out to watch the Lyntacky A team compete in their first match.
Where is Libby?She could even now be leaving him.
“So go take a drink or do whatever you need to do. We’re starting in ten minutes,” Red finished.
He wore the hat Ally had made for him, as did Tripp, which showed the caliber of both men because they were a terrible color and there were so many dropped stitches, they looked like cobwebs. The B team had escaped, as his niece hadn’t had the time to make theirs, which meant he wouldn’t have to beat the crap out of Beau Keller if he refused to wear one.
Ryder and Phoebe made their way to the family.
“You got this, Phoebe, Uncle Ry,” Ally said. She carried a banner that said, “A team for the win.”
“We’ve got on our lucky hats, so I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t,” Ryder said, kissing her cheek.
Sawyer gave him a hard look, which Ryder interpreted to mean he had something to say to him. Moving slightly to the left, he leaned in.
“Have you seen Libby?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah. That ex is here with his mother. Libby is talking with them and her bro.”
“And you left her?” Ryder whispered loudly.
“She said she had it and I didn’t need to go with her,” Sawyer said.