Page 99 of Perfect Guy

Madelyn

“Mads!”Wildercallsme as I’m grooming Dakota.

“What?” I holler back, running a hand down my horse’s face.

“Need you over here.”

Ugh, can he not walk here? I look at Dakota. “Sorry, girl. I’ll have to finish this in a bit.”

She shoves her face against my hand, and I smile.

“Beautiful.” I kiss the center of her face and guide her to a pen so she can walk freely instead of being locked up in a stall.

“Where’s the fire?” I huff, hands on my hips, when I face Wilder, who is standing on the back porch.

“No fire, but you got a delivery.”

“A delivery? I didn’t order anything.” My face scrunches up as I wrack my brain.

“No idea. Go check it out,” Wilder shrugs, fussing my hair.

“Hey!” I pat down the top of my head, but he’s ruined the beginning of my braid.

Wilder chuckles, walking away.

”Asshole,” I murmur.

“Heard that!” He calls back, not bothering to look at me.

I flick him off behind his back and toe off my boots before walking into the house. A box from The Sweet Spot sits on the counter with my name written on the top. I didn’t order this.

“Joy just dropped that off,” my mom says as she enters the kitchen.

“Why?” I look up at her with furrowed brows.

“Open it.” She lifts her chin toward the box.

I lift the top and stare at what’s inside. Tears sting my eyes as the coconut roll cake Canaan and I had the night he set up the faux tropical island in his yard. On the top, it reads: I’m proud of you.

My phone buzzes, bringing me out of my surprised haze.

Canaan: I can’t remember if I should’ve celebrated this with you or not, but I’m so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. Bill told me about the new project. Forgive me

My shoulders sag, tears spilling over. I wipe my eyes, continuing to stare between my phone and the cake. I never told him, and he feels like he ignored me. Or worse, his injury prevented him from registering it.

“How much longer are you going to torture him?” My mom’s question makes me jolt.

“I’m not torturing him. I’m scared, though. We were supposed to be a united front, but when things got hard, he stepped back. How do I know we’ll be able to overcome everything?” I look at my mom with hopeful eyes and trembling lips.

“You don’t,” she states simply. “That’s the beauty of relationships. You never know what the future will bring. Life is uncertain, and people can changethrough different experiences. It’s a risk, one that is worth taking. At least in my opinion. If we’re constantly afraid, we’d stay in our safe place and not live. Canaan cares about you. It’s plain to see. He’s going through a hard time, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t cherish you.” She reaches for my hand, squeezing my fingers.

“He shut me out,” I argue weakly.

“And he may do it again. You may do it at some point. But are you strong enough to break through that, persistent enough to not abandon each other? How badly do you want to fight for your relationship?” Her eyes stare into mine.

I take a deep breath, nodding. “I don’t want to lose him.”

“Tell him that. He’ll recover, but you also have to fight for him. It’s not a one-way street. Sometimes one of you will have to fight harder for the other. Give him the chance to show you that he means what he says.”

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