Page 30 of Love and Landscape (Rockland Falls 3)

“I thought you could use this.”

“Thanks,” I tell her, drinking the cold, sweet liquid down all at once.

A giggle spills from her lips. “I guess I was right.”

“Yeah, I may have been a little thirsty,” I tell her, wiping my sweaty brow with the hem of my T-shirt. The movement draws her eyes, and there’s no mistaking the way she gapes at my bare stomach.

Her eyes meet mine and the cutest blush burns her cheeks. She doesn’t avert her eyes, though. No, my Kate holds my gaze, not backing down for a second, even after being caught ogling my abs.

When she finally speaks again, she asks, “So no Max tonight?”

I walk over and adjust the hose, moving it down the line. “He’s with his mom,” I answer. She watches me closely, probably waiting to see if I’ll elaborate more, before going back to her chair off to the side. “Go ahead and ask.”

Our eyes meet and there’s no hint of surprise in hers. “Who is his mom?”

I grab the shovel off the ground and pretend to adjust some of the wet dirt. It’s not really necessary, yet I feel like I need to do something with my hands. After a few minutes of awkward silence, I give her my full attention, putting my weight on the handle of the shovel. “Ashley Tatum.”

This time, her shock is very evident. “Ashley Tatum? You married Ashley Tatum?”

I slowly nod a reply. “Sure did.”

Her mouth gapes open, clearly not expecting me to confirm I was married to one of the school’s biggest bitches. Kate and Ashley always had snide words for each other, mostly on Ashley’s part. Though, if I was around, Ash tended to be nice as pie. The moment I stepped away, however, she’d turn up the bitch factor to one hundred, always giving Kate a hard time about her perfect grades, her abundance of money, and her perfect life. Only those close to her (namely, me) knew the real story behind all of that. Behind it all was a miserable girl who just wanted to forge her own path and do what she loved instead of what was expected of her.

“Wow,” she replies, clearing her throat, “I have to admit, I’m a little shocked by that.”

I hold my position and look to the side. The water is gorgeous this evening as the sun starts to drop behind the house. “She seemed different,” I confess. “When I returned from college, I spent a couple of years working for old man Parkinson. He was set to retire soon and took me on as his apprentice. I learned a lot of shit from him in a short time, and I knew owning my own business was where I was headed. Ashley was a year behind us in school and returned after things started to take off for me.” I shrug. “Everything wasn’t always great, but it was good for a while. The best part about it is Max.”

She smiles up from her chair. “He’s pretty awesome. He’s definitely the spitting image of you, but now that I know who his mom is, I can see her in him as well.”

Talking about my son makes my own smile come fast and easy. “He is pretty fucking awesome.”

“So you’ve been divorced for…” she asks, leaving the end open for me to fill in the blank.

“Almost a year. We were separated for about six months before that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but as someone who very recently went through her own divorce, it can be quite freeing to finally let go of something negative or a bitterness that has a hold of you in life.”

I knew she was married. The different last name was a pretty damn good indication of that, but to hear her confirm it? It kinda makes me a little rage-y, which is completely not like me. Yet, it feels a little bit like jealousy bubbling up in my chest and I don’t know how to explain it. She’s not mine and hasn’t been for a long damn time. “I kinda figured, since Dunnington is listed on the contract.”

She nods, but doesn’t immediately elaborate. Just when I think she’s not about to continue, she speaks. “Charles Dunnington III worked for my father. After college, it was expected of me to join the family business. I hated it, and Daddy knew it. But I tried to make the best of it, you know? Charles was Daddy’s right hand and I was told our partnership would do wonders for the business.” She says it so matter-of-factly that it comes more of a shock than the actual words she speaks.

“Partnership for the business?”

Kate shrugs her bare shoulders. “Mother made it very clear our relationship would be important to my father and his company.”

“So she pushed you into marrying someone you didn’t love?” Again, anger sweeps through my chest at the idea.

“Yes and no. I met Charles when I was young and vulnerable. I thought I was in love with him, but I wasn’t, not really. Not the kind of love a woman should have for the man she marries. He was comfortable.”

“But was he really?”

She looks at me with those piercing hazel eyes that look a shade lighter than the bark of a sycamore tree in this light. “No, not really.”

I watch her for several long seconds, both of us coming to terms with the mistakes we’ve made in the past and the repercussions we live with now. Our lives, while ripped away from each other, took similar paths. No, my life was still as blue collar as it could get, but the deep-rooted pain and longing was there for both. Together, we found solace in someone else, someone who wasn’t right for us.

The end results were the same.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” she whispers, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I shouldn’t.

I should go home and grab some sleep. I have to meet Ashley and Max at the preschool tomorrow for his first day. There’s a small stack of bills on my desk that require my attention. Yet, for some reason, I find myself disregarding all of that, instead replying, “Sure.”

Gathering up my tools, I ignore the feel of her eyes on me and the happy little gallop in my chest. That warning sign that tells me not to get too close? I brush it aside too. Instead, I clean up my mess and head to the back door, where I find Kate gathering up food for dinner.

I’m staying.

I shouldn’t, but right now, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

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