Me: I’ll be on my way in a few minutes. I’ve been working on the ranch all day, so I need to get cleaned up first.
Karen: No. Now. I need this fixed. Now.
Me: Leaving now.
I looked at Gramps. “I have to go.”
“To Ellie?”
I shook my head. “No, Karen isn’t happy with something they are doing in the bathroom, and I need to see what’s going on.”
“The construction manager can’t handle that? I mean, all you’re responsible for was drawing up the plans.”
I turned and began walking back to my truck. “No, Gramps, he can’t because nine times out of ten, I’m drawing her a new plan.”
I picked up my pace. I needed to get away from gramps, so I didn’t have to listen to him telling me what a shit-ass husband and father I’d become. I walked up to my truck and opened the door.
I looked over the bed of the truck and smiled at my grandfather. “Thanks for the walk, Gramps.”
He didn’t smile back. He shook his head and walked away from me.
“Gramps, what am I supposed to do? I signed up for this job. I have to do it.”
He turned and looked at me. “If it were me, I’d go home and tell my wife how much I love her. Maybe I’d even attempt to make love to her, and then I’d go and do the job if it were that important. It seems to me though that your wife should be more important.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that, Gramps. I would if I could, but I can’t. I’ll talk to Ellie tonight.”
I got in my truck and started it. I drove down the driveway, and I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. I stopped the truck and sent Ellie a text message.
Me: Hey, baby. I’m so sorry. I have to run to Fredericksburg. Karen, the client I’ve been working with, isn’t happy with her bathroom. I promise to make it up to you tonight. See if Mom and Dad can watch the kids. I’ll take you to Austin for dinner. I love you.
Ellie replied before I took off driving again.
Ellie: Be careful. We’ll see about tonight when you get home.
That’s it? Shit. She is pissed.
I looked in the mirror at myself and smiled. I hadn’t dressed up in forever. I glanced over at the clock. It was four thirty, and I’d heard nothing from Gunner. I sighed as I walked out of the bedroom. I went down the hall and into the living room.
I smiled when I saw Gunner’s mom, Grace, sitting on the sofa with Alex on one side and Colt on the other.
Grace was reading to them, and when she glanced up, she did a double take. “Oh, Ellie. You look beautiful, darling.”
Alex looked at me. “Mama, you look even more prettier than ever.”
Colt jumped up and walked over to me. He stopped just in front of me and said, “I’m not sure Daddy is going to like you being all pretty, Mama.”
I bent down and smiled as I tapped his nose. “Why do you say that, Colt?”
He scrunched up his nose. “’Cause all the boys will be looking at you. I’ve heard Daddy tell Uncle Jeff he doesn’t like when other boys look at you. So, when you look so pretty, even more boys will be looking at you.”
I felt the tears burning my eyes. I grabbed my son and pulled him to me as I attempted not to cry. “I love you, Colt Mathews. I love you so much.”
When I pulled back, a tear ran down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away. Colt smiled and then ran back over to Grace. She was smiling at me, but her face was filled with concern.
She handed the book to Alex and said, “Take over for a minute, honey. I have to talk to your mom.”
Alex took the book and began reading to Colt. I loved seeing the two of them snuggled together on the sofa. They were not fighting for once.
Grace took my arm and led me into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
I smiled. “Nothing. Colt just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
My cell phone went off, and I grabbed it from my purse.
Gunner: Baby, I’m so very sorry. I’m trying to get out of here. It’s probably gonna be another hour at least.
I felt my heart drop, and my hands started shaking.
Me: Forget about going out. It will be too late.
Gunner: We can still go out to eat in town.
Me: Where, Gunner? The local diner? No, thanks. Don’t worry about it. Take care of Karen and her needs. Clearly, she is more important.
Gunner: Ellie, don’t do this. Please. I’m really sorry.
Me: So am I, Gunner. More than you know.
Gunner: What does that mean?
Me: Go to dinner with Karen because I’m done.
I turned off my phone and looked at Grace. I didn’t even care that tears were now spilling from my eyes. “He’s not going to be home for at least another hour. Do you mind watching the kids until I can call my mother?”
Grace looked confused. “Why do you need to call your mother?”
I swallowed hard. “I have to get away, Grace. I feel like I’m losing my damn mind. I need a few days to clear my head.”
Grace began shaking her head. “Ellie, no. Don’t do this.”
I looked her in the eyes. “I remember a story you told me once. You left Jack. Do you remember telling me that story, Grace?”
She slowly nodded. “I do.”
“I’m not leaving my husband or my children, Grace. I just need to get out of here. I need time to think.”
“Don’t worry about calling your mother. Jack and I will stay with the kids, and I’ll call her in the morning to let her know what’s going on. I’m pretty sure she is working at the hospital tonight anyway.”
Shit. I forgot she picked up a shift tonight.
I smiled weakly. “I need this, Grace. I just need some time to understand things, like why I feel the way I do.”
“Honey, I think what you need is to talk to Gunner. You both need to talk this through.”
“I’ve tried, Grace. Something about him is off. He doesn’t want to listen. He just keeps blowing off my concerns.”
“Ellie, he loves you so much. You have to know that he would never do anything to hurt you.”
I nodded my head and wiped away my tears. “I’m going to change and head out.”
I walked past her and glanced at Alex and Colt. I began crying harder, so I picked up my pace and practically ran to my bedroom.
I packed a small overnight bag. I just needed one night to clear my head and be alone with my thoughts.
Just one night.
I shut the door to the hotel room and leaned against it. I smiled as I looked at the same room Gunner and I had stayed in before. I closed my eyes, and I could almost feel his lips on my skin. Then, I started crying again.
What in the hell is wrong with me?
I exhaled a deep breath and made my way over to the bed. I sat down and looked around. “Why did I decide to stay here?”
I reached for the phone and dialed Ari’s phone number.
“Hello?”
“Ari, it’s me.”
“Oh, yes. Hold on just one minute, please.”
I heard Ari telling Jeff that she was stepping outside to take a call.
“Jesus H. Christ, Ellie. Where are you?”
My mouth dropped open, and I went to talk, but Ari cut me off.
“Gunner has flipped out. I mean, he has flipped out.”
“What? How do you know?”
“I know because his ass is standing in my kitchen. He’s been begging Jeff and me to tell him where you are.”
I looked at the clock. I’d only been gone for around two hours. “What did Grace tell him?”
Ari let out a sigh. “She told him that you said you needed some time to clear your head and think. I’m telling you, Ellie, I’ve never in my life seen Gunner so freaked out. If I wasn’t worried he might have heart failure, I’d use this opportunity to screw with him.”
“Good. He should be freaked out. He hasn’t seemed to care where or what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks.”
“Ellie, I don’t want to be dragged into this, and I’m not saying who is right. All I am saying is, don’t you think you should have maybe stayed and talked to him? Maybe he doesn’t realize how badly he has been ignoring you and the kids.”
I swallowed hard. “He knows, Ari. I’ve tried talking to him, and he blew me off. He just said he wanted this one opportunity to design something big. The fact that he withheld his late-night meetings were with a female client doesn’t sit well with me. Why did he feel the need to keep that a secret? If he had told me, I’d be okay. All I’m doing now is wondering why he hid it. If he hid that, what else is he hiding?”
Ari covered the phone and said something to someone else. “Ellie, I think Jeff knows I’m talking to you. What do I do? What do I say?”
“I’m sorry I put y’all in the middle of it.”
“Ellie, do you honestly think Gunner would ever cheat on you?”
I looked down at the floor and closed my eyes. “If you asked me that same question two weeks ago, I would have said never. Last night, when he came home from a meeting with Karen and Bill, he was standing on the porch, talking to her on the phone. I was on the other side of the door. I was going to open it, but then he started talking to her. Why was he talking to her that late at night when they just left each other?”
“What was he saying?”
“He told her that he understood why she was being picky and that he would do whatever it takes to make her happy with the design.”
“Ellie, you are reading way too much into this.”
Then, I heard Gunner’s voice. Shit.
“Ah hell, get ready to grab the phone,” Ari said.
“Ellie? My God, what are you doing? Where are you?”
The sound of Gunner’s panicked voice caused my heart to drop, but a part of me was glad he was worried. It served him right.
“I, um…I’m fine, Gunner. May I please speak with Ari?”
“Baby, please come back home. I swear to you, Ellie, I would never do anything to hurt you or the kids. Y’all are my life. Please…just stop acting like this, and come home.”
And there it was. He was being the Gunner from the last two weeks, the one who had kept accusing me of acting like a child.
I stood up and balled my hand into a fist. “That is exactly why I left. Please enlighten me, Gunner, as to how I’m acting. Like a spoiled brat? A child maybe? Jealous and bored housewife perhaps?”
He sighed. “Ellie, I don’t think you’re any of that. I’ve just been really stressed out with this job, and I want to do a good job for Bill.”
“Why, Gunner? You have a job. You own one of the biggest cattle companies in central Texas. You’re a partner in a fast-growing breeding business. You’re a father to two beautiful kids who hardly got to see their father before he took on his new job. And as far as I’m concerned, when was the last time you touched me or held me in your arms or told me you loved me?”
“Ells…”
“I can tell you when the last time was—the night you went to your first evening meeting with your client.”
“I swear to you, nothing has happened. I have no feelings for her. What do I have to do to prove that to you?”
A sob escaped my mouth. “I think we need to be apart for a few days. My mother can help with the kids. I’ll call her, and—”
I heard Gunner crying, and my whole world shattered.
“Ellie, no. Please don’t leave me.”
I took in a deep breath. “I’m not leaving you. I love you, Gunner, more than the air I breathe. I feel like I’ve been slowly losing myself the last few months, and then after all this with your new job, I just need some time to myself. I’ll call the kids in the morning.”
“Ellie, wait. Just tell me where you are.”
“I love you, Drew.”
I quickly hung up the phone. I lay down on the bed and slowly let myself fall apart.
What did I just do?
Oh God, what did I just do?
“Daddy, is Mommy going to be calling soon? She was gonna call after dinner.”
I glanced up and smiled at Colt. Alex and Colt were sitting on the kitchen island, watching me make their lunches for tomorrow.
“Yeah, buddy. She’ll call soon.”
Alex looked at me, and I swore, she had tears in her eyes. I tried to smile bigger, but she looked away from me.
“Daddy, is Mama coming back home? She started crying this morning on the phone. She sounded so sad when I talked to her.”
My heart felt as if it had just been ripped open. “Baby girl, come here.”
I bent down as Alex jumped off her seat at the island. She walked into my arms, and I held her as tightly as I could.
“Of course, she’s coming home. She is sad, honey. She hates being away from you and Colt.”
Alex pulled back, and her blue eyes caught mine. “Then, why did she leave? When she left, she told me she was only going to be gone for one night. It’s been three already. Tonight will make four. I want her to come home.”
I closed my eyes and then opened them. “I’m so sorry, Alex. Daddy wasn’t being a very good daddy or husband to y’all. Mommy just needed to…she needed to…”
The phone started ringing, and I silently thanked God that Ellie was calling early.
Alex pushed out of my arms and ran for the phone. “Mama! Colt, it’s Mama!
I helped Colt down from his seat and watched him run over to Alex. I stood there and listened to them each take turns talking to Ellie. Each night, she had hung up before I could even talk to her. If she were trying to teach me a lesson, she had succeeded.
Colt looked at me and smiled. “Oh no, Mama. Grams hasn’t been over in two days. Yes, ma’am. Daddy has been. He’s been making us breakfast each morning, and he’s even packed our lunches.”
Colt turned away from me a little and attempted to whisper, “He really doesn’t know what to pack us. He put a cheese stick in my lunch.”
I let out a chuckle.
Alex laughed. “Let me talk to her again, Colt.”
“I love you, Mama. Please come home soon. We all miss you. Yes, ma’am, I will. Night. I love you,” Colt said before handing the phone to Alex.
“Mama, yes. Yes, ma’am.” Alex looked at me. “Yes. No, Daddy picks us up from the bus stop.”
I smiled slightly. I knew Ellie was asking Alex a million questions about who was taking care of things.
I turned around, opened the dishwasher, and began loading our dinner plates. The last few days had really shown me how much Ellie did around the house. I wanted to kick my own ass for taking her for granted.
“He, um…well, he turned my white shirt to pink by mistake.”
I smiled. Neither of my children were good at whispering.
“Um…sad. Yeah, I mean, he looks really sad.”
I turned and looked at Alex. She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. My mouth dropped open.
“Okay, Mama. I love you, too.” She hung up the phone and looked at Colt. “Mama said to make sure you get your reading in.”
“Ah, man!” Colt said as he stomped out of the kitchen.
Alex walked up to stand beside me, and she smiled. “Mama said she misses you.”
I nodded my head and smiled slightly.
“Daddy, why are y’all not talking to each other?”
I sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out. “I wish I knew, kiddo. Grown-up stuff, I guess.”
She nodded her head. “Do you know where she is, Dad?”
The way Alex had just called me Dad made me stop and look at her. My baby girl was growing up.
I placed my hand on the side of her face. “You look so much like your mother. You’re both so beautiful.”
She blushed and looked away before looking back at me. She shrugged her shoulders. “I overheard Aunt Ari telling Grace that Mommy needed some time to think. I don’t know what she is thinking about, but I bet she’s thinking of you, Daddy. She asked me a lot of questions about yo
u. She even asked how you looked, and I told her sad. She said she thought she probably looked sad, too, but she was in a place that had happy memories of the two of you.”
In that moment, I had an idea of where Ellie might be.
I bent down and looked into Alex’s eyes. “Alex, did she tell you anything else about where she is?”
She smiled. “No, but she did say she had walked on a trail around a lake. I’m not sure which lake she was talking about. But, Daddy, she said she is coming home tomorrow. I don’t think she told Colt that. I bet she wants to surprise him.”
I grinned and said, “I bet. Alex, I need to make a phone call, sweetheart. Go get your homework done before bedtime.”
She nodded and walked out of the kitchen. I walked over to the phone and dialed my parents’ number.
“Hello?”
“Mom! I need a huge favor.”
My mother laughed. “You think you know where she is?”
“I do. Can you take care of the kids tonight and get them to school tomorrow?”
“Of course.” She pulled the phone away and said, “Jack, we’re gonna spend the night at Drew’s.”
I quickly put the kids’ lunches in the refrigerator and made my way to our bedroom.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, Mom. I owe you and Dad big time.”
She chuckled. “Just go get her and bring her home already.”
“Oh, I intend to, Mom. I intend to.”
I stepped out of the elevator and made my way down the hallway of The Driskill hotel. I smiled as I stopped and stood in front of the room where Ellie and I had spent our honeymoon. I pushed my hand through my hair and counted down from ten. My hands were shaking, and for some reason, I was scared to death she would open the door and shut it in my face.
I knocked and held my breath.
When the door opened and she saw me, her eyes lit up, and the biggest smile spread across her face. “Drew.”
I smiled and slowly let out the breath I had been holding. “Ellie.”
She shook her head. “How did you know where to find me? I told Alex I would be home tomorrow. What are you doing here?”
I started walking into the room as she began walking backward.