I could trust him again.” She looked miserable, and her sisters felt sorry for her.
“What have you told the kids?” Kate asked her quietly, deeply sympathetic to her.
“That we’re taking a break for the summer.”
“Is he going to see them?” Gemma asked.
“He hasn’t asked yet. Maybe he’s too busy with her. I think he’s embarrassed and doesn’t know what to say. Neither do I.” Caroline looked devastated and exhausted, but it was good to be back with her sisters, and the kids would be busy on the ranch. It was the best she could hope for right now. She knew he wouldn’t stay away from the kids for long. But she wondered if their marriage was over. It seemed like a distinct possibility. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. She was still too shocked and upset to make up her mind. She kept going back and forth between wanting a divorce and wanting him to fix it. But how could he? Her heart felt broken forever.
“You two need to talk at some point,” Gemma said sensibly, “and have an honest conversation about it. He needs to level with you about her, and what she really means to him.”
“I don’t know if he will. He hasn’t tried. Maybe he’ll marry her,” Caroline said with tears in her eyes. His silence seemed like a bad sign to her.
“If he does marry her, then you lost him a long time ago. This isn’t just about what you want. He needs to figure out what he wants now. A twenty-three-year-old, or his wife. He’s being an idiot.” And they all knew that only time would help make the decision. For Caroline, it was going to be a long summer. And she wasn’t sure she could ever forgive him.
* * *
—
With both sisters settled in their cottages at the ranch, Thad and Kate were discreetly managing to spend nights together. He didn’t come to dinner every night, but tried to make it more sporadic, when Kate didn’t have plans with her sisters. But he did show up every night around midnight to spend the night with her. He said he couldn’t live without her anymore.
“I’m addicted to you,” he said happily, as he slid into bed with her, and she laughed. Their romance had taken off so suddenly, and with such force that neither could imagine being without the other now. They spent much of their days together, and now nights as well. She liked talking to him over dinner, but sometimes that was harder to manage. Either Gemma or Caroline dropped by in the evening sometimes, especially Caroline to talk about the situation with Peter. She was hearing very little from him. A few emails, mostly about the children, but not much more. After his initial denial, she had hardly heard from him again. And he hadn’t tried to fight the separation for the summer, or the children going to the ranch with her. He hadn’t asked to see them yet, which Caroline found very suspicious, and so did her sisters. Kate had talked to Thad about it, for a male opinion, and he was shocked at the way Peter was behaving. He felt sorry for Caroline and her kids. It didn’t sound to him like the situation could be fixed. He was obviously besotted with the young girl, which Caroline thought too. He had lost his mind over her.
Caroline had just left Kate and headed back to her cottage minutes before Thad arrived to spend the night.
“Wow, you just missed my sister,” she said when he got there and let himself in. She never locked her doors at the ranch. They’d never had a problem. He looked at Kate seriously.
“Is that going to be a big deal if they find out?” He was worried.
“I don’t think so.” Kate smiled at him. “But they’ll be surprised. I don’t usually tell my sisters about my personal life,” she said demurely, and then laughed at herself, “but then again, I haven’t had one in a long time.” She had given up on men for several years. After her one serious boyfriend in college died in a car accident, and several left her and cheated on her, she focused mostly on the ranch, and time had just sped by. Her father kept her too busy and monopolized her time, and dumped everything in her lap, and she never turned him down. He knew she was free at night, so he took full advantage of