The window went up as Boog pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and started a call before going back around the side of the house and out of sight.
We rode down the dirt road that had almost killed me yesterday, the truck’s shock absorbers doing little to keep my teeth in my gums. I had a headache by the time we reached the main road.
“I sure hope you’ll be able to stay for the picnic. It’s a big event for the family, and since you’ve got some MacKenzie connection somewhere in your line, it would be nice for everyone to be able to meet you. We have MacKenzies coming in from some other counties, not just the immediate area.”
Great. More people to witness my shame. “I really can’t. I have to get back to work as soon as possible. After I talk to Mack, I’ll be heading out.”
Maeve frowned but said nothing in response.
After a little while, the silence started to eat at me. “So, do you know why Mack had to go into town?” I was trying to sound friendly-casual about it. “He’d told me we could sit down and chat at nine, so I was kind of surprised to hear he wasn’t around.”
“I have an idea why, but I’m not sure it’s right.”
I bit my lip. “I hope it wasn’t an emergency. I mean anything bad.” I cringed at my complete lack of finesse.
Maeve didn’t seem to notice. “He just has some loose ends back in town that he’s been putting off taking care of. I guess he decided it was about time and got a bug up his buns to do it right away.”
“With Hannah Banana?” I did it. I totally went for it. And now that my mouth had leaped in front of my brain once again, I was just going to have to live with the fallout. I waited on pins and needles for Maeve’s response.
She looked at me sharply before turning back to face the windshield. “How did you know about Hannah? Did Mack tell you about her?”
I shrugged. “I saw her at the diner when I was in there yesterday for coffee, and then I saw the pictures of her and Mack in your living room. I just put two and two together.” Stupid jealousy was eating me alive. Before, Hannah being in Mack’s life had just been a suspicion, something I planned to use to force his hand into signing the papers. Now it was something else entirely. Does he love her? Does he want to marry her? Why do I care?
Maeve sighed deeply. “Hannah is … how can I say this nicely …” She pressed her lips together for a few seconds. “Hannah has been hanging on to the idea of her and Mack being together since she was fourteen years old.”
“That’s…” I paused to estimate the years.
“A long time,” Maeve finished for me. “And in all those years, Mack never reciprocated the feeling.”
“But don’t they live together?”
“Yes, but not as a couple.”
I snorted. Mothers could be so clueless.
Maeve frowned at me for a split second. “No, really. I’m not privy to all of their private moments, but I know my son.”
I nodded noncommittally, not believing a word of it. Maeve believed it, but that was just a mother’s naiveté, what she wanted to be true. A man like Mack and a woman in love with him for over ten years couldn’t possibly live together and stay just friends. He would have had to beat her off with a stick, and he was too nice a guy to do that.
I shook my head, battling tears. It figured. I had the best sex of my life with a man who was already spoken for, and the sex education he’d provided me was enough to make me realize that the man who’d I’d planned to marry was not the man for me. Or maybe he was. Maybe I was better off with a guy who was cold, calculating and absolutely sure of how I fit into his life.
Nothing made sense anymore. I was so confused. The divorce papers in my bag were either my ticket to happiness or my doom; I had no way of knowing. Investing in a Magic Eight-Ball when we got into town seemed the best plan of action at this point. Asking it to solve my problems would probably put me on a better track than I’d be able to manage for myself.
“When they were growing up, Hannah was always on the outskirts of my boys’ games. She watched them doing their rodeos when they got older, went to their sporting events … but never once did Gavin give her the time of day. He didn’t respect her is what he always told me. She married another man - a friend of Gavin’s - and then ended up in a bad way a couple months back, so he offered her a place to stay. He did it at his friend’s request, not Hannah’s. He’s just being a good friend.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I said, staring out the window. Maeve was pushing a knife into my chest with every word. Next she’d probably tell me how they had to share a bedroom, all because Mack’s such a good guy. A veritable saint in form-fitting jeans and a cowboy hat.
“You should talk to him about it. He’ll explain.”
“He doesn’t need to,” I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice. “It has nothing to do with me.”