Page 38 of Love, Hate, Love

I tried to pretend he wasn’t there and read the book. It didn’t work. When he was around, he stole all my focus. Even if I couldn’t ignore him, I wasn’t letting him know that I couldn’t.

“You’re going to be here a year. You can’t give me the silent treatment for another fifty weeks because we had some words.”

That’s whathethought. I’d never been the passive-aggressive sort, but I’d lost my ability to just be straight-up aggressive and punch him in the face. So, passive was the lane I’d have to take. After all, if he could cause a scene and act like he had last night, my ignoring him was the least he deserved.

The way he was staring at me, I was clearly getting to him.

“Really? You’re going to lie there and ignore me like a child?” he said.

Problem was I didn’t have any practice at the passive form of aggression. It was tougher than people realized.

“Child? Really? You think that’s what I am for not talking to a person who acted the way you did?”Dammit.This passive stuff was going to need a lot of practice. Well, I did have almost a year left to perfect it.

“You disappeared and I had thedeputyon myporch.”

“And I told you I was sorry, forthatpart.” Even hearing about it again chilled me.

His jaw shifted. “They’re leaving messages for you. You don’t want to take your time and make your calls? So be it.”

Dammit.They were calling. I did want to speak with Cassie at least, and Monroe might feel bad if I didn’t check in.

“Fine. I’m coming.” I shoved my feet in my boots and threw on my jacket, trudging up to the office in my pajamas.

He held the office door open for me and took his usual spot as I settled behind the desk, neither of us saying anything, as if we’d been doing this for years.

First I called my mother, bracing myself for what was to come. “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”

She let out a long, dramatic groan. “I didn’t get an invitation to Brook’s opening gala. I didn’t really expect it after Lucy didn’t invite me to her luncheon for up-and-coming cellists.”

“Mom, I told you I’m very sorry for any spillover,” I said, like I’d said fifty times before.

“It’s all right. I’m not upset with you.”

And yet she mentioned every slight, more than once. She’d be telling me about Lucy and Brook snubbing her another ten times before that was put to bed. If she only knew the person truly responsible for her dip in popularity was the man she slept beside every night.

“So how was your week?” she asked.

“It wasn’t bad.” That was as flattering as I’d get with Kade listening in, even though I’d started to not quite hate living here. “There’s a pregnant horse that?—”

“Kade’s horse? Is Kade on the phone, too? Kade, are you there?”

“Hello, Mrs. Loode. I’m here. How are you?”

“Wonderful,” she said, lighting up as if he were the one she’d given birth to. “I read about your horses on the computer. So interesting what you’re doing there.”

She was talking as if she knew all about cutting horses, the woman who hadn’t wanted me to get a dog because a stray hair might land on her outfit. Had she been studying all week in the hopes of luring him into a conversation? Sure seemed like it.

She’d hit the right topic to get him talking, though. I’d never seen him as excited about something in my life, or not in a long time, as he launched into details about his horses.

He used to get this way talking about his plans for the ranch when we were kids. Seemed that same fire was still there if he was talking to someone other than me.

I pretended to look at my nails while they kept on talking. Although that might’ve been a godsend. What had happened to my well-manicured fingers? The least I could do was get rid of the last of the color clinging for dear life. I’d have to see if Missy had some nail-polish remover I could use.

The speaker clicked as Kade hung up the phone and I checked the clock. Eighteen minutes.

“That was on your time. Not mine,” I said.

He nodded, not even arguing.

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