“Call me. Let me know how you’re doing. Whether you get the job and how to fix these ad campaigns,” her father said as he pulled the door closed. The car started and the driver’s window rolled down. “I love you, baby girl. Never forget that.”
“I know. I love you too, Daddy. Nothing and no one will change that.” She leaned forward and gave him another kiss on his warm cheek, feeling closer to him than she had in a while. Straightening, she swiped a hand under her eyes to wipe away a tear as he nodded. With tires crunching gravel, he pulled out. She stood watching the car wind down the driveway, her thoughts darting among the many threads of their conversation. But the one that pulled at her the most was the knowledge that Chance had refused to see his mother—refused to forgive her. Just like he wouldn’t forgive Libby.
The knot that had been tangling her insides pulled tight. How had she gone from feeling on top of the world just an hour ago to feeling like she was buried at the bottom of a very big mountain?
“So you didn’t leave?” Chance said as she stepped back inside. He’d been waiting for her by the door, probably watching it all from the window.
She set the folders down on the table in the great room. “No. Did you think I would?”
He shrugged. “Seems last time you had reason to stay, and you left. This time you have no reason stay, and you didn’t leave.”
He knew just what to say to slice her heart into little slivers. If declaring her love for him in front of her father didn’t matter, what chance did she have to soften his heart and change his mind?
But she had to try.
Chapter 15
Chance felt like the world had shifted on its axis. Libby had severed her ties with her boyfriend and shown her father the door. Question was, why? And the answer couldn’t be him, despite her confession that she loved him—or thought she did. He’d been as honest as a man could be with a woman. She might think she loved him, but her father was no doubt closer to the truth. It was probably more pity or guilt than anything to do with love, not that he put much faith in an emotion that had been fleeting in his life, at best.
“So why didn’t you go with your father?” Even Chance could see that Sam Brennan wasn’t the same vigorous man he’d been five years ago. There was a strong possibility Sam might need Libby more than he did.
Libby lifted her chin. “I didn’t. That’s all there is to it.”
“That’s not all there is to it. You said you loved me, Libby. You know it’s likely more pity than anything else.”
“Give me credit for knowing the difference between pity and love.” She bit her lip and cast a downward glance. “It took a lot for me to admit that, Chance, knowing how you feel.”
Truth was, he didn’t know how he felt about her. But he knew what he should feel about her, and that was the line he was walking. As for love, she might believe she was in love, but she’d thought that before.
“Whatever you’re feeling, Libby, you know we can only be a temporary thing, right?”
She glanced down at her hands. “I know you don’t feel you can trust me with your heart.”
Well, she’d gotten that right. But then, he didn’t feel he could trust anyone with his heart, not anymore. Not ever again.
She raised her head and stared right at him, accusation in her eyes, but all she could accuse him of, in his mind, was being honest. “I couldn’t stay with Ben when I didn’t have the deep feelings for him that…that I should have if I’m going to marry someone. And I didn’t go with Daddy because I need to stand on my own two feet. I think he finally accepted that.”
“You know you are still living in my house.” That wasn’t exactly standing on her own two feet.
She let out an exasperated breath. “Of course I know this is your house. And I intend to move on just as soon as you need me to, but this is a start.”
There was definitely something to admire about this Libby. She seemed stronger than before. More resolute. More her own person. More the person he’d fallen in love with. That confounding mixture of starry-eyed optimism and vulnerability.
“I respect you for trying. You’ve always been stronger than you gave yourself credit for. That’s why I married you that first time.”
“At the time, you had more confidence in me than I deserved. But this time, I intend to deserve it.”
Maybe that was what had made it so painful before. He’d been so sure she was strong and as determined as he had been to prove the naysayers wrong.
He shook his head. “You definitely showed some grit.” More than he would have bet on.
“Of course, you’ve got that determination and grit down pat. It’s what’s made you so successful at rodeo. But it’s also caused you to doubt others who maybe don’t have that same grit.”
“I’ve had a lot of reason to doubt others.”
“You’ve had. And I’ve had a lot of reason to doubt myself. But we can grow. We can change. We can see things in a different light.”
He brushed his hand along her face as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know if I can see in a different light.”
“You’ve got to try.”
*