Page 17 of Wilde Ride

He shook his head and stared off into the distance, a smile on his handsome face. “Well, when a pretty woman’s asking, it’s hard to say no.”

“I’ll be sure to let my mother know you said she was pretty.”

Levi let out a bark of laughter. “She is, but I was talking about you, Em.”

I felt my cheeks heat, and I pushed off the tree and started toward his truck. I turned and walked backward as I called out, “I hope that means you’re paying for lunch!”

The drive into town was filled with easy conversation. Levi asked about the ranch, my parents, my uncles, and inquired further about the camp, as well as how I’d been doing over the last few years. And, finally, whether I was dating anyone.

“I’ve dated off and on. A couple of relationships, but they didn’t last long.”

“Why not?”

I shrugged and didn’t say what I wanted to say. Oh, because they weren’t you, Levi. So I went with the second reason they never lasted.

“Apparently, I work too much. Both of the guys I dated long term said that the ranch and the camps consumed all my time, and that I never made time for them. First of all, they knew that going in, and nothing will ever take me away from the ranch. I love that place, and I love my job. The horses are…well…they’re everything to me.

“And the camp? Well, I can say they made me realize I was taking on too much. I’m the camp director now, but there are some tasks I should be delegating to others. I’m slowly getting better at that. So, I guess I can thank those guys for opening my eyes a bit. But no one is going to tell me how to live my life or spend my time.”

He laughed. “You for sure have Wilde blood pumping through those veins.”

Smiling, I turned to look at his handsome profile. “Wilde as in my last name, or W. I. L. D. kind of wild?”

“Both.”

I grinned. “Fair enough.”

When the conversation about me had nowhere else to go, I took the opportunity to ask Levi the one question I’d been dying to ask, but wasn’t sure I should.

“So…you and Caroline?”

He glanced at me and shrugged before focusing back on the road. We were about to drive into town, so it was probably a question I should have saved for the drive back to the ranch. Or maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. I was pretty sure it had everything to do with Brooke and the accident.

“Things between us hadn’t been great for the last few years. Hell, our whole marriage, if I’m truly being honest. We fought a lot. Basically, if she wasn’t sleeping, she was picking a fight with me. On the day of the accident, I told her I thought we should separate. She freaked out on me and said she’d never give me the kids. She went on about some other crazy things, then grabbed Brooke and said she was leaving.”

He closed his eyes and drew in a slow breath.

“Brooke was crying; she didn’t want to go with Caroline. I should have demanded that Caroline leave her with me. I don’t know why I didn’t.”

I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “There was no way you could have known what would happen, Levi.”

He nodded. “I know. There are nights I wake up in a cold sweat, hearing Brooke cry out for me. Anyway, the accident wasn’t Caroline’s fault. A truck ran a red light. Brooke passed on impact, and for that, I guess I’m thankful. Caroline immediately blamed me for making her leave. She completely ignored Rhett for weeks, and when she finally managed to get out of bed, she started drinking. That’s something I don’t share with many people.

“I finally realized that my being there wasn’t making things better. Rhett would overhear us fighting, hear Caroline blaming me. He unleashed on her one night, and told her that she was the reason Brooke died. That’s when I realized I needed to get us both out of Denver. I asked for full custody, and she didn’t argue, and had given written permission for me to move back to River Falls with Rhett. I served Caroline with divorce papers three weeks ago. I’m waiting on her to sign the papers so I can move on.”

Stunned, I asked, “She gave up custody of Rhett, just like that?”

“Yeah. Pretty sad, isn’t it? And Rhett, he lost his sister and best friend, and his mother. It’s been tough on him.”

“Where is she? Back in Denver?”

He drew in a breath and then quickly released it. “As far as I know. She moved out of our house and into an apartment right after the night Rhett unleashed on her. I told her about my plans to return to River Falls, and that if she ever wanted to share custody of Rhett, she’d have to move back. She just stared at me with a blank expression. The last thing I said to her was that she needed therapy…and I hope she gets it for Rhett’s sake.

“Caroline’s never going to win Mother of the Year, but she had a rare moment or two when she was a good mom. We had some good times, but it was pretty clear we weren’t meant to be together. Brooke hadn’t been planned. She was a happy surprise, but we hadn’t planned on having any other kids.”

Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Levi. I’m sorry about Brooke, Rhett, and your marriage. It seems like a lot to lose in such a short amount of time.”

“Thank you, Emeline. I appreciate it.”