She tucked her legs beneath her and grabbed another mug off the side table. She held fresh coffee out to him. “It’s decaf.”
He took the mug from her and took a long sip. “Thanks.”
“And I’m glad you stayed. Not just because you shouldn’t be on the road,” she said. “I still owe you a conversation. I was sitting here trying to think of how to go about that.”
He warmed his hands on the mug. “Bec, you don’t owe me anything.”
“That’s not true.” She reached down and grabbed the remote control from somewhere beneath her. She clicked the TV on but left it on mute. “What happened last night is all over the news already. I’m not going to have much time to figure this all out, but thank you for getting me out of the police station this morning. My dad… I was blindsided.”
Wes pushed the blanket off and glanced at the news on the screen. Police officer shot by son, stable condition was the headline along the bottom of the screen. “Anyone would be. That was…insane. Your dad is intense.”
“I’m sorry for all the things he said to you,” she said, her voice catching. “And I’m sorry about losing funding for the program.”
He looked back at her.
Tears shined in her eyes. “You’re going to lose a restaurant again. And the kids are going to lose—”
He set his coffee down and got up, crossing the room in two strides and then crouching in front of her. “Hey, none of that, okay? I’ll survive. The kids will survive. It’s not over, just…delayed.”
“But they were so excited,” she said miserably. “You were so excited.”
“We were, but we can get there again. We at least know what our goal is now. We can fund-raise, find investors, whatever it takes. And I’m going to put my own money I’ve been saving into the project, too. I’d been planning that anyway. We’ll still get a food truck built. It will just take a little longer.”
A pang of loss went through him at the thought of the project slipping through their fingers, but unlike the first time, that didn’t feel like the end of the world. The kids in his program were scrappy. He was scrappy. They would figure it out, and it would get done somehow. Even if it took years. He would make sure it happened.
“I don’t want to mess things up for you,” Rebecca said, pain in her voice. “Please don’t let this derail you. You’ve come so far, and if…”
He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. “Hey, I’m solid.”
“You were at a bar last night.”
“I was,” he agreed. “I ordered a drink and didn’t take one sip. And, believe me, if I managed not to take a drink last night, I promise you I can handle this.”
“But you were there,” she said as if that explained everything. “Why?”
“Because going there was like muscle memory,” he said with a sigh. “I was upset and hurting. I’d lost something important to me, something I hadn’t even realized I wanted.” He looked at her. “I’d lost you right as I realized I was falling in love. I didn’t know if I could take that sober.”
He hadn’t meant for the words to come out quite that honest, but once they passed his lips, he felt something release in his chest, a tightness easing. Regardless of how she felt about him, it felt good to get those words out.
Her gaze jumped to his, a startled look there. “Wes…”
“I’m okay, Bec,” he said gently. “I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty or expecting you to say something back to me. You told me what this thing between us was supposed to be up front. I’m the one who changed the rules of the game on you. I’m just telling you that I’m not a man on t
he edge anymore. Last night was a test. I passed. I was hurting, but I didn’t want that drink. I was already walking out when the police called. So, you’re not going to mess things up for me. Break my heart, yeah, but I’ll deal. That’s part of life. I can trust myself to handle that now. You gave me that gift. You forced that face-off with temptation, and I won.”
She stared at him and then shifted out of the chair and slid down to sit next to him on the floor. “Only you could spin me acting like a lunatic into me doing you a favor. What is wrong with you, Wesley Garrett?”
“Many things, I’m sure.” He scooted over, giving her room, and forced himself not to put his arm around her. He looked over in the flickering light of the TV.
Rebecca was staring at the screen with a tense expression, lips pressed into a line, hands clasping a throw pillow like a life raft. “I never wanted to hurt you. I… You have to know that this has been more than a fling for me, too. We both changed the rules. But I don’t even know why you’re still here after what you heard.”
“Bec…”
“My father will tell everyone. If I don’t give in to him, he’ll stick to his word. He doesn’t make idle threats.”
Wes watched her carefully, treading lightly. “Tell them what exactly?”
She pulled the pillow closer to her, her fingers working the piping around the edge. “That I’m a hypocrite and a liar. That I’m a horrible person.”