Summer of Two Wishes

by Julia London

  “But before we do anything, you have to tell Wyatt,” Finn said. “I’ll come with you.”

  She was grateful for the offer; he was her rock. “I think that would be adding insult to injury somehow. I need to tell him.” Everything will be all right.

  “You shouldn’t do it alone. He’s not going to like it when he hears you’re leaving him.”

  “Honestly, I think he knows,” she said sadly. “But there’s no other way to do it. I owe him this much, at the very least.” She owed him so much more.

  Finn couldn’t argue. “When?” he asked.

  “As soon as I can find him.”

  Macy said good-bye to Finn with another lingering kiss, then slowly climbed out of his pickup truck. She stood at the door of Laru’s house, watching his truck pull away.

  She didn’t realize until he had disappeared from view that Milo had stayed in the truck and had gone with Finn.

  34

  Wyatt got back from San Marcos later than he intended Monday evening and was encouraged with the message Linda Gail had left him—Macy had called three times while he was gone.

  The next morning, Linda Gail told him she’d made reservations for them for that night at Jeffrey’s in Austin. Wyatt was given strict instructions to have an expensive meal, no holds barred, and then move on to music at the Key Bar. “It is very trendy and hip,” she’d said. “You could stand to be a little hipper.”

  Wyatt could honestly say he didn’t know how to be hipper, but he was going to try. He had to trust Linda Gail on this one. He was, surprisingly, a little nervous. He wanted the date to be memorable for Macy, for her to understand how much she meant to him. He did not want to screw it up.

  Everything was arranged. Now, at noon on Tuesday, all he had to do was call Macy and ask her to join him.

  He picked up the phone and called Laru’s house.

  “Hi, Wyatt. What a coincidence. She’s headed into town to your office.”

  “She’s headed for the office?” He really didn’t want to ask her with Linda Gail hovering around.

  “I believe so.”

  “Thanks, Laru.”

  He decided to intercept her. He tried her cell phone, but it rolled to voice mail. He told Linda Gail he was going to grab a bite and got in his truck. As he drove on the road she’d likely take, he spotted her Jeep outside the daycare where Chloe took her kids, and pulled in.

  He could hear the shrieks of laughter outside and walked around the corner. Beneath some very old and towering oaks, which provided ample shade, a monstrous playscape had been built. Yellow and red riding cars littered the ground along with a variety of balls and toys.

  Wyatt spotted Macy instantly. She was pulling Chase and Caden in a red wagon around the perimeter of the fence. A little girl was following along behind them. Macy saw Wyatt when they turned the corner. “Wyatt!”

  “I, ah…I saw your Jeep out front.”

  “Oh,” she said, brushing some hair from her face. “What a coincidence. I was on my way to the office hoping I could grab you a minute and just stopped by to say hello to my two favorite boys,” she said, smiling down at the twins.

  “Make the wagon go!” Chase cried.

  Macy laughed and looked at Wyatt. “Want to walk with us?”

  He looked at the kids. “I need to talk to you, Macy.”

  Her smile faded a little. “Yes. I need to talk to you, too. Give me a minute, will you?”

  Wyatt watched her walk around the perimeter of the fence. When they’d made a square, she stopped, picked up each boy and kissed them, then crouched down between them. Wyatt loved the way she looked with those kids, and they clearly adored her. She said something to them and pointed at Wyatt. They both turned to look at him. Macy kissed them once more, waved her fingers good-bye, and joined Wyatt at the fence. “Let’s walk down to Daisy’s Saddle-brew,” he suggested.

  The place was deserted at three in the afternoon. Macy took a seat at one of the patio tables beneath the vine-covered arbor while Wyatt went in to get some drinks. Sam was leaning up against the counter, reading a magazine. “Hello, Sam,” he said.

  “Hey, Wyatt,” she said cheerfully. “Black coffee?”

  “Actually, today I think I’ll walk out on a limb and get something else. What would you suggest?”

  “I’d stick your big toe in before going all the way,” Sam laughed. “How about a vanilla latte?”

  “Sounds great. Make it two, please.”

  “Two?” she looked up, her expression changing slightly when she spotted Macy sitting outside. “Two it is.” She moved to get the drinks.

  Macy smiled and thanked him when Wyatt returned with the lattes. As he sat down, he realized he should have gotten an ice tea. It was awfully hot, far too hot for coffee. Macy fidgeted with the cardboard heat band around the cup. “So how are you?” she asked.

  Raw. So raw. “I’m good,” he said. “I’ve been really busy. Listen, Macy, I have…I have a surprise,” he said. “I know it’s short notice, but I thought maybe we could go into Austin and have dinner at Jeffrey’s tonight.”

  “Jeffrey’s?”

  “Jeffrey’s. And then, I thought we could hit the Key Bar.”

  “The Key Bar,” she repeated.

  “It’s live music. Very happening place,” he said, realizing he never would say happening and place together. But these were extraordinary circumstances.

  “Ah,” she said, and slowly tore the cardboard heat band from the cup.

  Wyatt should have trusted his instincts, and he’d be sure to tell Linda Gail that first thing in the morning. Macy did not want to go—her body language said it all. This was the moment Linda Gail had planned, the moment Wyatt was supposed to sweep her off her feet, seduce her, assure her that he was The One, but the moment felt entirely wrong. It felt awkward, stupid. This was not him, asking his wife for a date. How had he let Linda Gail convince him that it was?

  “David and Aurora are big fans of Jeffrey’s,” he said, aware that he was, already, mentally grasping at straws. “Supposedly the best food in Austin. I think the chef worked in the White House.” Linda Gail had said something about the White House, hadn’t she? “We could talk. Or not. We could just be together for a change.”

  “Wyatt, I don’t think…”

  “Or, we could just get some burgers and see a movie if you’d rather,” he said, a little too desperately.

  Macy looked down and rubbed her forehead a moment.

  “It doesn’t have to be this hard,” he said quietly. “I know we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms the last time I saw you and I apologize for that. But let’s move past it. Everything will be all right, I promise.”

  Her shoulders sagged; she looked up at him and Wyatt knew instinctively he did not want to hear whatever she might say. “You haven’t touched your coffee. Drink up.”

  “Wyatt—”

  “Let’s just enjoy the afternoon, Macy. I’m not asking for anything but company.” A breeze filtered through the patio, lifting a bit of her hair. Wyatt had an insane urge to touch her hair, to feel it between his fingers. His longing clouded his vision and a dull fear filled his throat.

  “I appreciate the offer,” Macy said. “It is obvious you’ve thought a lot about it.”

  “Us. I’ve thought a lot about us.”

  “Us,” she repeated. “You have…you’ve always been wonderful to me, Wyatt.”

  He softened a little bit. “I was pretty rough on you the last time I saw you, and I wanted to make up for it somehow.” He glanced sheepishly at her. “I’m really sorry about that. I don’t have an excuse for it, other than I’ve been extremely…frustrated.”

  “I know,” she said, and slid her hand across the table and covered his hand.

  The small, soothing gesture surprised Wyatt. His heart skipped with a beat of hope. Had he misread her? Had he jumped to conclusions because of his fear of losing her? Could it be possible that the ordeal was coming to an end?

  But
then Macy drew a breath, and he knew.

  “I hope if there is one thing you know above all else, it is that I love you.” She lifted her gaze to him, and her blue eyes were swimming in sadness. “You’ve been a wonderful husband. The best. I am a very lucky woman to have you in my life.” She drew another deep breath. “And, I have some news,” she said, her voice breaking a little. “I…I’m pregnant,” she said in a voice so soft that he wasn’t sure at first that he’d heard her. But then she smiled a little sheepishly and Wyatt’s heart, his battered heart, soared.

  “What?” He came out of his seat and impulsively grabbed her up, pulling her to her feet and into a bear hug, twirling around with her. “That is fantastic! That’s the best news you could have given me!” But even as he was speaking he knew something was wrong. Macy wasn’t laughing or exclaiming with him. She was clinging to him to keep herself from falling, not out of shared joy. He loosened his grip and let her slide down to her feet. Macy’s hands came up between them.

  “No,” he said, searching her face. She looked down; Wyatt grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. “Don’t tell me it’s his!”

  “No! No, Wyatt, this baby is yours.”

  “Then what is wrong?” he asked. “Why do you look so miserable? Is something wrong with the baby? Is it all this goddam stress we’re under?” he asked, his eyes fixing on her stomach.

  “The baby is fine—listen to me,” she said, and caught his face in her hands, drawing his gaze up. “There is nothing wrong with the baby, and you are the father. But Wyatt, I can’t…” She closed her eyes as if she’d felt a sudden pain. “I can’t be with you,” she said, opening her eyes. Sad eyes. Eyes that should be bursting with the light of joy were dulled with sadness. “I love you, and I wouldn’t hurt you for anything. You have to know that. But I love Finn, too—”

  Wyatt suddenly pushed her away.

  “I know how hard this must be to hear,” she said, her voice shaking, “because it is very hard to say. But I am being as honest with you as I know how to be, and we promised each other we’d always be honest.”

  “I don’t want to hear this,” he snapped. “I don’t give a damn how honest you think you’re being, Macy.”

  “You have to hear it,” she said, her voice full of regret. “I can’t help how I feel. I have agonized over it, but I keep coming back to—”

  “Shut up,” he said angrily before she said another word. “I don’t give a shit how much you have agonized,” he spat, and moved away from her, clenching his fist to keep himself from exploding. “I get it, Macy! You are carrying my child, you promised me the rest of your life, and you want to be with him!” He laughed derisively. “That’s about the size of it, isn’t it?”

  An elderly couple walked by and looked at them. Wyatt forced himself to smile. Macy pressed her lips together as they waited for them to pass, and in that time, Wyatt felt something splinter inside him, the pain giving away to fury. As soon as the couple was out of earshot, Wyatt said, “You can forget it, Macy. I won’t give you a divorce.”

  “But—”

  “No buts,” he said, cutting her off. “You are carrying my baby. I’m not going to let you take my baby and go live with G.I. Joe! Forget it.”

  “Wyatt, you’re being irrational.”

  “I’m being irrational?” he shouted at her. “How the hell can you say that? You’re about to throw away our marriage and I’m being irrational! Get a grip, Macy! Come down off your little fantasy cloud! You are married to me whether you like it or not, and I have some say in whether or not this marriage ends!”

  “Technically, this marriage doesn’t exist,” she said evenly.

  “Hey!” It was Sam; she’d appeared in their midst, looking alarmed.

  “Jesus, Sam, please,” Macy said.

  “Is everything okay?” Sam asked Wyatt.

  “Everything is fine. We’re fine,” he said, glaring at Macy.

  Sam hesitated, but then slowly retreated.

  When she’d gone inside, Wyatt said, “You have to file suit to have our marriage dissolved. Do you honestly think a judge is going to sign off on that suit to make this marriage void when you are carrying my baby?”

  “I think he has to do what the law says. You can’t stop me, Wyatt.”

  It was true; he knew it was true, and he mentally stumbled, his thoughts and reason collapsing on one another in his panic. He was going to be a father—without his baby or his wife? “Jesus Christ, Macy,” he said, bewildered. “How can you do this?”

  She swayed a little bit and put her hand to the back of the chair to steady herself. “It’s heartbreaking,” she admitted.

  Fury gave way to fear and Wyatt said, “I’ve never asked you for much of anything, but I am asking you now—please don’t do this. Please, God, don’t do this. That’s my baby, Macy. That is my baby! Please—” He caught himself, tried to swallow down the angry pain. “Please don’t take my life and my baby from me.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and she suddenly put her arms around Wyatt. “I would never take this baby from you,” she said softly. “Never. But I have to do what is right for me and for everyone.”

  “This isn’t right for our baby!” he cried, pushing free of her embrace. “And it’s damn sure not right for me!”

  “This baby will very much be a part of your life. And I will still be in your life if you want me. I just can’t be your wife.”

  He made a sound of disgust and flicked his wrist at her.

  “Wyatt…do you really want me in our house—in our bed—knowing that I want to be with another man?”

  Of course he didn’t want that; he wanted his wife back, he wanted his baby, he wanted the life he thought he and Macy would have. “What about me?” he asked. Macy didn’t answer him, but he saw the raw pity in her eyes.

  He twisted around, away from her. He couldn’t even look at her. He was angry, so angry that he could hardly catch his breath. “As long as we’re sharing news,” he said in a voice that was barely controlled, “here’s some news for you to chew on—whatever it is you and Cowboy Bob think you’re going to do, you’re going to have to do it someplace other than Cedar Springs, because I sold the Two Wishes Ranch.” He shifted his gaze to her. “It’s all gone, just like the life you had with him, and you can’t get it back, any more than you can get your little fairy tale back.”

  Macy gaped at him, clearly stunned. “You sold it?” she said incredulously. “You told me you’d canceled the closing!”

  He shrugged indifferently. “I lied.”

  “How could you do that? It wasn’t yours to sell!”

  “Like hell it wasn’t. You gave me power of attorney. You said, Please handle it for me, Wyatt, I can’t bear to do it,” he said, mimicking her. “Well, I handled it for you, Macy. I sold it.”

  “You have no idea what you’ve done,” she said breathlessly.

  “Neither do you,” he shot back.

  She put a hand to her head, her eyes locking on the tabletop. “It’s been—what, a little less than a week?”

  “The deal is done, Macy. One week, one day—the papers are signed and the money is in the bank.”

  She glared at him. “You can’t do that,” she said, her voice shaking with anger now. “By law—”

  “By law, if the land sells, he can’t get it back. Just the value of it.”

  “So…so what is the point?” she cried.

  “The point is that he can’t set up his little dude ranch here! He’ll have to go someplace else. Maybe Mexico. I don’t care where the hell he goes, as long as it is someplace other than Cedar Springs!”

  “If he goes, I go with him.”

  “Maybe you do, but my baby won’t. I will fight you with everything I have.”

  Macy’s jaw dropped. “Where’s the money from the sale?”

  “In my account,” he said.

  “Wyatt…that land belongs to him.”

  “Then come and get it,” he challenged her,
and sat in his chair and picked up his coffee. He took a careless drink; the liquid burned his tongue.

  “Oh, my God,” she murmured, her eyes widening as the implications sank in. “Oh, my God.”

  “Go cry on his shoulder,” Wyatt snapped. “I’ve got better things to do with my time than listen to you snivel about that goddam ranch.”

  Macy gaped at him. She abruptly turned away and walked briskly, one hand pressed against her abdomen, as if she were feeling ill.

  Wyatt watched her go. He could feel himself deflating, his fury giving way to impotent sorrow.

  He didn’t know how long he sat there before Sam came out to pick up the cups. She eyed him closely as she wiped down the table. “Are you all right, Wyatt?”

  He smiled at her. “Not really.”

  35

  Trembling with regret, anger, and shock, Macy drove straight to Finn’s house when she couldn’t get him on the phone. She couldn’t believe Wyatt had sold Finn’s ranch. Wyatt was an ethical man, an honest man, or so she’d always believed. When she thought of Finn’s plans, his large-animal rescue ranch—

  She came to a halt so abrupt and hard that her wheels slid on the gravel drive. Karen Lockhart came out of the kitchen door, still wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Macy? Where’s the fire?”

  “I’m sorry—is Finn here?”

  “No,” Karen said, eying her suspiciously. “He’s out.”

  “Do you know where?” she asked frantically. Karen frowned. “Please, Karen. I need to speak to him. It’s important. Please tell me where he is.”

  Karen’s arms dropped to her sides. She frowned at Macy. “I don’t like what’s going on here,” she said. “He left his phone on the charger and it’s been ringing like a tornado bell. Whatever it is you have to tell him, can’t it wait ’til morning? I don’t want him running off again.”

  “He’s not going to run off,” Macy said quickly.

  “How do you know?” Karen asked suspiciously.

  “Because I know, Karen. I am doing my level best to make this right. Just…just please tell me where he is.”

  She studied her a moment and then sighed. “He’s at Brodie’s, helping him with some plumbing repairs.”