One Night with a Cowboy - Sara Richardson Page 0,91
and then sat back down. “I take it Ryan wasn’t thrilled to hear that my brother took off?”
“That’s putting it mildly.” She took the fishing pole from August and set it on the porch behind them. “He’s going to want it eventually. When he’s had some time to get used to the idea that Wes is gone.” Her son’s heart simply hurt, and anger was easier to manage. She knew that to be true.
“I know this probably won’t help, but Wes didn’t want to leave,” August said. “It was a reaction. He’s always been impulsive. Sometimes he acts on those impulses without thinking things through.”
“So I’ve heard.” She’d known what people had said about Wes—Jane included. But she’d seen something else in the man. His deep concern for other people. The way he related to Ryan. She hadn’t expected to feel such a connection with him. “I didn’t think he’d leave,” she admitted. “Not after he told me he would stay.” Since Dylan had rarely kept his word, it surprised her that she’d trusted Wes so easily.
August plucked a piece of long grass next to the stairs and rolled it between his fingers. “When our father died, Wes didn’t just take it hard.” He seemed to choose his words carefully. “My brother suffered a lot of trauma that day. The only way he could deal with it was to escape. That’s how he’s lived his life ever since. And I think what happened with Ryan triggered that same trauma again.”
“I know.” She’d seen the trauma from his past when they’d driven down to see Jane in the hospital. He still lived it. “But I don’t know what to do for him.” Maybe it was better this way. Wes had made the decision for her. She wouldn’t have to worry about letting him all the way into her heart and risking failing again. She wouldn’t have to put her kids through a potential breakup down the road. There might be fewer complications without Wes in her life.
And yet…those few moments she’d let her guard down, the time she’d spent in his arms… What she felt for him might’ve been worth the complications.
“I’m not exactly qualified to give advice when it comes to relationships,” August said after a thoughtful silence. “But maybe all he needs is for you to not give up on him. Not yet.”
Give up. That’s what she’d done with Dylan. And maybe it was okay to give up sometimes. Like her daughter had so eloquently reminded her, she couldn’t change someone else’s heart. But things had been different with Dylan. She’d been different. She was stronger now. She knew more of what she wanted from life. She knew how it felt to start opening her heart, and she didn’t want to turn back now.
“He’ll figure it out,” August said. “I know he will. It might take him some time, but he’ll come to his senses eventually. I have a lot of faith in him.”
“So do I.” How could she not? He’d been there when she’d needed to cry. He’d been there to tell her she was a good mom when she needed to hear it the most. He’d respected her when she’d needed space. The moments they shared flickered in her mind, reminders that Wes was good. He was safe. He was loyal. And he was wounded too. “I won’t give up on him.” She’d already wasted too much time hiding. Now it was time for her to learn how to fight for what she really wanted.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Thea had never been nervous about moderating a group discussion before—that had always been part of her job. But now she was half tempted to hide behind the fireplace in the lodge’s great room so she wouldn’t have to face the rest of the adults who would file in any minute for their support group discussion.
It had become a tradition on these trips to sit down about halfway through the retreat and share what the participants were learning, what challenges they were facing, and what they wanted to work through before the week was over.
In the past, Thea had always moderated—focusing on other people’s responses and not on herself as the leader, but that would change today. It had to change. In order to be honest with herself, she had to be honest with everyone else first. And living out a tough truth had never been easy for her.
Maybe it was because Dylan had been so focused on appearances. Or maybe it