I blew out a breath, not sure I had the answer he was looking for. If it were Violet, I sure as hell wouldn’t let her go without a fight.
“What happened?”
“I came home from work, and she already had a bag packed for her and Dani. Asked me not to make a scene, but that she couldn’t stay. She said she wanted a divorce. I can’t live without her.” His voice cracked and I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
I couldn’t imagine how he felt. The thought of losing Violet was unimaginable, and I was sure I wouldn’t come back from that heartbreak.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
VIOLET
I finished dryingmy hair and glanced at my phone again. I hadn’t heard from Seth, and I was getting worried. When he texted last night and said he had to head home I was confused at the suddenness of it, and a little upset at what it meant for my evening, but I knew it had to be for a good reason. Then he texted late, saying he was at his brother’s, and everything was fine. He explained what happened and we texted for a few minutes before saying goodnight.
But as the morning went by with no word from him, I was starting to let my thoughts get the best of me. I understood his feelings the other night. It made sense. He’d been excited to be afather. He liked kids and wanted his own, and Lucy was offering that. And then it was all taken away. What if he decided getting back together with her would give him the things he wanted?
I shook my head and put my hair dryer in my luggage. I wasn’t going there. James had made me doubt everything, but I wasn’t doing that.
Not with Seth. I refused to be that person.
He said he would be here, and I believed him. He never broke promises or let me down. Even when we were only fake dating.
He would come back, and then we would be on our way to the fundraising dinner. We would spend the night in the hotel as planned, then come home tomorrow. I smiled as I thought about the sexy outfit I’d packed for our night away together. He was going to lose his mind.
My phone vibrated on the bed and I lunged for it, swiping open the text from Seth.
Mountain Man: Not going to make it back in time. Go without me.
What? My shoulders slumped and my stomach revolted as sadness flooded me. I sat down on the bed and stared at the message, praying it would magically change. But it didn’t. I tried calling and it went straight to voicemail. Which just ended up causing frustration to bubble up. If he was going to bail, he could have at least called.
This was not the Seth I’d fallen in love with. He would have never let me down. I pinched my eyes shut and chided myself for thinking the worst. Maybe things with his brother escalated and he really couldn’t make it back.
At this point I didn’t even want to go. Not without him. But the college was expecting me and I didn’t want to let them down. So I had to suck it up and make the best of it.
Chapter Forty
SETH
I hustledup the steps toward the door. I’d stayed later than I should have at Mason’s, heading straight for Violet’s event after leaving my brother’s house. He was still a mess, and I had no idea how everything was going to turn out for him, but his situation had cemented even more for me what was important. I hated that I had to leave him, but at least he was sober and he understood this was important, encouraging me to go and that he’d be fine.
I made my way inside and looked around, hoping I wasn’t too late.
My gaze landed on Violet, beautiful and sexy as hell in her black lacy dress that ended just above her knees. She stood talking to a woman and a man, and immediately I moved toward her.
The couple’s eyes widened as I approached. Maybe I looked like a man on a mission. They nodded in my direction and Violet spun toward me. As the couple turned and walked away, I prayed Violet wasn’t angry. But the one thing I’d learned about her in the short time I’d gotten to know her was that she wasn’t one to get mad easily. Not unless you took advantage of her easy-going personality, and I had no intention of ever doing that.
She tilted her head, assessing me. After what felt like a lot longer than a few seconds, my shoulders finally relaxed as she smiled brightly at me. “You made it.”
I wrapped her in my arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course I did.”
Did she doubt I would come? I told her I’d be late, but in no way would I not be here.
“I knew you would.” A lighthearted chuckle passed through her lips. “Well, okay, at first I wasn't sure. But once the initial shock and doubt wore off and I thought about it, I knew you wouldn't let me down.”
I’d made the almost three-hour drive in record time. It would have taken me almost two hours to get back to Half Moon Lake from Charlotte, putting me there later than she needed to leave to get here on time. I could have asked her to wait for me, and she probably would have. And I probably could have made it if the traffic gods were feeling kind, but apparently they had other plans, as evidenced by the wreck on the main highway getting out of Charlotte.
I knew I couldn’t ask her to wait, either. That would be selfish, and this event wasn’t about me. That made the decision to come straight from Charlotte a little easier. It would carve offa little bit of time, putting me here a bit late, but still better than the alternative. Luckily, I’d planned on heading straight to her place after shift, so I already had everything I needed in the car when I left the station last night.
Her smile faded. “But, I did try calling after your text, and it kept going straight to voicemail.”
