all the details of Bud’s abuse. Never explained why he and Joel moved out of the house. “He got violent with Joel,” he said. “Twice. And the shit he used to yell at us—” Tony shook his head. “I know that doesn’t matter. They’re just words.”
“No such thing as just words.” Leo stared at him. “Words have all the power in the world.”
“When did you turn into a fucking philosopher?”
Leo laughed and pushed the door open. “Come on. I’ve got a huge batch of Nyla’s famous chicken-and-barley stew. She makes it with fresh dill and lemon.”
“Your ex-sister-in-law brings you dinner?”
Leo shrugged, not catching the subtext of the question. “Said she made too much the other night, so she brought a bunch for Seth. It’s his favorite.”
“For Seth, huh?”
Leo lifted an eyebrow. “You got something to say?”
“Nothing.” Fine, maybe it was a coincidence Leo kept bringing up Nyla’s name. It was none of Tony’s business. “How’s Seth doing, anyway?”
“Great. He’s getting huge.” Leo pushed the door open, then strode toward the mantel and grabbed a framed photo. “Here’s us fishing the lower Deschutes last summer. He’s already grown another inch.”
“Damn.” Tony studied the photo, ignoring the painful pang in his chest at the sight of father and son with arms thrown around each other. “Hard to believe that’s the same kid who used to sit in the air base break room beating my lunchbox with a spoon.”
Leo laughed and took the photo back, taking his time arranging it on the mantel. Then he turned back to Tony. “All right, enough small talk. Cough it up. What the hell did you do?”
Tony frowned. “I thought you invited me here for stew.”
“No stew until you tell me what happened with Kayla. Nyla said she’s perfect for you, and she seemed pretty great when I handed off the dog. I want to know why you drove her away.”
Tony bit back the urge to point out he’d just mentioned his ex-sister-in-law again. Dr. O’Toole would call that re-centering or redirecting or re-something. He couldn’t remember the exact term.
Heaving a sigh, he dropped onto Leo’s couch. “We’re not a good fit.”
“Bullshit.” Leo dropped onto the other end of the couch and propped his boots on the coffee table. “Try again.”
Tony glared at him. “How do you know what’s bullshit?”
“Because I know you. And I heard the way you sounded on the phone a year ago when you were dating. She’s different; you even said so.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He hefted his feet onto the coffee table, hoping his running shoes didn’t stink. “Think about it, Leo—like, half of all marriages end in divorce.”
Leo shot him a dark look. “I’m well aware.”
“Right, sorry.” Shit.
Leo folded one leg over the other, work boots making a dull thud on the table. “That doesn’t mean you give up on the whole damn thing.”
“Yeah, but how many married people do you know who are really happy? Like really happy—not just thinking they are.”
Leo frowned. “If you think you’re happy, isn’t that the same thing as actually being happy?”
“My mom thinks she’s happy.”
Leo shook his head. “No, she doesn’t. Deep down, she knows she’s not. I can’t pretend I understand why she’s mixed up with Bud, but it’s not happiness.”
“Then what is it?” And how the hell did people keep from ending up in shitty marriages like that?
He didn’t voice that second part out loud, but Leo heard him anyway. “Inertia. Fear. Finances. Self-loathing. Hell, there are a million reasons people stay in bad marriages.” Leo snorted. “Trust me.”
“Yeah, but you’re still friends with your ex.”
“We have to be for the sake of the kid,” he said. “That’s not what I meant. I’m saying that if you go into something with your eyes open and a solid grasp on communication, odds are good it’ll work out.”
Tony frowned. “Did you think you and Mandi would get divorced? That you’d end up a single dad?”
“Of course not, asshole. You’re missing the point.”
“What’s the point?”
Leo shook his head, frustrated with him for being such a dumbass. But Tony really didn’t understand.
“The point,” Leo said slowly, “is that there are no goddamn guarantees. You patch the roof and caulk the walls and hope like hell you’re ready when the rain starts coming down. Because the rain’s coming, whether you want it to or not.”
Tony sighed and buried his head in his hands. “Why does anyone get married? Seriously, knowing how bad it can turn out.”
Leo was quiet a long time. “Why do you jump out of airplanes