“Your uncle has always been a real man, Tisha. I promise you that. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever met.”
Her eyes flicked up from where they were gazing longingly at Gulliver. “You know Uncle Seth?”
“He sure does, baby girl,” Seth said, walking across the lawn in his full sheriff getup. Damn, the man could wear a uniform like nobody’s business. “Mr. Wilde and I grew up together.”
I felt my skin prickle with awareness as he came nearer. I’d never been able to be this close to Seth Walker and not touch him. Even when we were in class together, we’d have the edges of our shoes touching or our elbows brushing.
I swallowed hard. “Hey.”
Walker studied me. “Hey yourself. Haven’t seen you around lately.”
I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep from grabbing the front of his jacket and shaking him. “Been in Dallas.”
His nostrils flared slightly, and he glanced at Tisha before bringing his eyes back up to bore into mine.
“So I heard.”
The awkward silence was broken only by the desperate internal screaming and wailing of my double-crushed heart.
Thank god Tisha spoke up. “Look at this pretty horse, Uncle Seth. Do you think maybe it could have babies so I could have one?”
Walker smiled down at her with a softness in his face I’d never seen. “No, cutie pie. Gulliver is a boy horse, which means he’s not having babies anytime soon. I think it’s time for you to skedaddle, though, because your mom is planning on taking you to church with Grandma and Granddad.”
She huffed out her displeasure and gave another longing glance Gulliver’s way before looking up at me with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilde. Hopefully I’ll see you and Gulliver again some time soon!”
I smiled back at her and nodded. “Nice to meet you, Tisha.”
Once he made sure she was back in the house, Walker turned to face me.
“Can we talk, please? I need to explain some things to you.”
My heart thrummed painfully in my throat as I considered his words.
“I’m not sure there’s anything to say, to be honest. You’re married with a child. Can’t say as I understand it, really, but it’s not my place to. It’s your business.”
“Bullshit,” he barked angrily. Gulliver and I both startled and stared at the sheriff. It wasn’t like Walker to lose his cool.
“How is it my business, Walker?” I snapped back.
“Because I love you, dammit. I’ve always loved you. All I’ve ever wanted is Ottowa Hubert Wilde. It was always supposed to be you and me together forever and now you’re fucking saying you don’t matter? That it’s none of your business? What the fuck, Otto?”
His voice ramped up in tone and intensity until it was almost a sob. Hearing him say he loved me had to have been a hallucination. Seeing him hurt and confused gutted me. It made all the raw parts of me feel even more exposed and vulnerable until I thought I might detonate right there and just be done with it.
“You left me, dammit! Do you remember? Do you remember you were the one who decided it was over? How dare you act like you’ve only ever loved me and it’s only ever been me. Bullshit. Don’t you for one minute tell me I have a say in who you’re with. That ended ten fucking years ago when you chucked my heart straight out the door. Fuck you, Seth Walker. Seriously. Fuck. You.”
I turned to get on Gulliver, but I wasn’t fast enough. Walker hopped the fence in one smooth move and shoved me against a tree trunk on the other side of the trail. My back hit the hard bark with a jarring thud, and I took a moment to be grateful for the thick coat I had on.
Suddenly, I found myself nose to nose with an angry Walker. His eyes were stormy and fraught with emotion. I thought he was going to yell at me again, but he didn’t. The lapels of my coat were bunched in his hands up under my chin, and he tightened his hold before speaking in a rough voice.
“It’s over with Jolie. Done. I’ve already hired Honovi to start divorce proceedings. He says it’ll take at least sixty days. Please, please, don’t leave me again. I was never in love with her, Otto. I swear to god. I married her because Ross got her pregnant and then got himself killed in a fucking bar fight before the baby was even born.”
“Ross is dead?” I asked in shock.
Seth’s anger turned to grief in an instant as he nodded. His eyes filled, and I wanted to pull him into my arms to comfort him. But he wasn’t mine to console.
“He got beaten so badly in a bar fight when she was pregnant that he was on life support. Before they intubated him, he begged me to look after Jolie, to marry her so the baby had a father. Jolie never had a dad and that’s why Ross promised to marry her, so their child wouldn’t experience the same fate. He said Jolie and the baby shouldn’t have to suffer because of his stupid mistakes. He made me promise, Otto. What could I do?”