He quirked a brow. “Does it ever, considering?” He huffed. “Tell me again why I do this? I should leave and go sit on a rock somewhere. Let you handle it. Everyone loves you.”
Maria smiled and lowered her long-limbed body into the chair in front of his desk. “Well, first of all, I don’t growl at people. I say hello and ask how they’re doing. You kind of come across a little…gruff.”
“I’m not warm and fuzzy. They know that. It’s part of my charm.” His attempt at humor, like everything else in his life lately, failed miserably.
“What time does the plane leave for the retreat?”
“Oh God, must you remind me?” He flopped back in his chair, arms dangling to the sides. “I can’t think of anything worse than being trapped in some small town in the middle of nowhere with the heads of every department. It’s going to be a nightmare.”
A sleek dark brow arched high. “Come on. It’ll be fun. You can horseback ride and feed the donkeys.” She snickered. “Maybe milk Bessie the cow.” She slapped her thigh and howled with laughter.
Jake waited until she subsided. “Did anyone ever tell you how funny you aren’t? And it’s not really that.” Not by a mile. His shoulders drooped. “I don’t like leaving Stacey for even a couple of days.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.” The laughter faded, replaced by a pucker of concern across her smooth brow. “Terry’s going to stay with her, right?”
A picture of his daughter sat on his desk. It was taken on her second birthday, and he and Brian held her hands while she sat on a carousel horse. The pure happiness on Stacey’s face had capped off a day of magic for her. Only two years later, something had shattered her world so completely, she’d stopped speaking. The doctor called it traumatic mutism. Jake called it a knife to his heart every time she wordlessly clung to him, anxiety filling her sad eyes.
“Yes, of course. But it’s hard to look into her face and tell her Daddy’s leaving. What if she thinks I’m never coming home?” He traced her face. “I don’t know if she even remembers Brian…”
How do you go from loving each moment with someone, sharing every secret, hope, and dream, to forgetting their kiss on your lips or the touch of their hand on your face? He and Brian had almost seven years together, but all Jake could recall was the back of his head when he walked out on him and their daughter.
And a few months later, their marriage was over, and Jake had begun a life he’d never anticipated. One of horrendous downs, where he doubted himself and every move he made. Still, he never gave up hope that one day his once-laughing daughter would break free of the silence she’d locked herself in.
“You need to start dating again.”
“Still on that bandwagon? Come on, when do I have the time?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I have two more people to terminate today, and then I have to haul ass to the airport. My flight leaves at four. Everyone else has already left, so I’ll be checking in late.”
“Okay. It’s only three days. I’m sure you’ll manage to be with everyone and not want to strangle them.” Her lips twitched, and he snorted.
“Do you know who’s going to be there? Dick Sterling, whose name says it all about his personality. Lucy McBride, the woman who once whispered in my ear that if I only dated her, I wouldn’t be gay anymore, and Elspeth McQueen, who thinks she’s royalty.”
Maria fell out laughing. “Okay, okay. I hear you. But maybe the change of scenery will be good for you. And Oliver and Erica will be there too. It’s only until Monday, right?”
“Yeah.” Moodily, he stared at the computer screen. “I’ve never ridden a horse, and was never one for hiking. Maybe I’ll go fishing, although worms…egh. Who knows what will be crawling around there?”
Maria rose gracefully from her seat and shot a rubber band at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. “You’re an idiot. Go out there and try to have some fun.”
She closed the door behind her as he laughed.
Fun. Yeah, right. Like spending a weekend in the middle of Nowheresville Texas—on an office retreat to learn how to work well with people whom, aside from his two friends, he neither liked nor trusted—was going to be anything more