Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(77)
Author: Brenda Novak

“Is there anything wrong with that?” he asked, pinning her with a level glare.

“No, of course not. It’s just…interesting, that’s all.” With a laugh, she finally slipped her hand inside the crook of her father’s arm, and they walked away.

Isaac raked his fingers through his hair as he watched them go. Reenie hadn’t “bet” on him. They’d…gotten involved, had a relationship. A relationship wasn’t anything catastrophic.

At least it wasn’t until she’d quit seeing him.

The door swung open again and Isabella dashed out.

“Isaac!” she cried and ran toward him.

Lifting her into his arms, he gave her a hug but, preoccupied though he was, he knew the very instant Reenie appeared. He could feel her gaze, could remember every intimate thing they’d ever said or done together.

“Hello,” he said hopefully, over Isabella’s head. Just smile at me. Give me one smile, please.

But the smile she offered wasn’t anything he’d been hoping to receive. It was polite, empty. “Hello,” she said and, with a quick hug for Liz, she called her children to her and walked right past him.

“That’s it?” he murmured.

She didn’t answer, but Liz must’ve heard him because he felt a comforting hand on his arm. “If you’re ever going to give in and get married, do it now,” she said softly.

He turned to watch Reenie climb into her van. “You’re kidding me,” he said. “You didn’t even want me to get involved with her.”

“I was wrong,” Liz admitted. “She’s probably the only woman I know who’s worthy of you.”

Isaac couldn’t marry Reenie. She belonged here in Dundee, and he belonged halfway around the globe, doing what he loved best. “I only want to say goodbye,” he said. It was actually much more complicated than that. He wanted to thank Reenie for all the fun they’d had, tell her how much he’d miss her, maybe make love one more time. “Why does it have to be all or nothing?” he asked.

Reenie’s van pulled out of the lot. “Because she’s got three kids, and she’s in love with you, Isaac,” Liz said. “If you don’t want to marry her, just leave her alone.”

AFTER HIS TALK with Liz in the parking lot at the Running Y, Isaac had told himself he wouldn’t try to contact Reenie again. For the past week, he’d stopped e-mailing her and quit angling to catch her alone at school, which wasn’t too hard because they’d been so busy those last days. On some level—actually on all levels—he’d hoped she’d soften and call him. Surely she must’ve heard that he was leaving today. How could she act as if they’d never shared what they’d shared? His hands literally ached to touch her.

He checked the clock as he finished packing. He had to leave in an hour. But he couldn’t do it without calling her one more time.

With a sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hello?”

His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice. “Reenie?”

There was a slight hesitation. “Yes?”

“How are you?”

“Fine,” she said, but she didn’t elaborate, and he was willing to bet she wasn’t doing any better than he was. Their month together had been like one big drunken binge, and they’d spent the past three weeks paying for it.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’m tired of this hangover,” he said.

“What?”

“Nothing. I miss you. I really do.”

He wanted to hear her say it back, but she didn’t. “Why are you calling, Isaac?”

He closed his eyes. “I was hoping you and the girls would drive me to the airport.”

“What about Liz? Can’t she take you?”

He was getting desperate. “She has to work,” he lied. “I’ll say goodbye to her and the kids here.”

This time there was a long pause.

“Isaac…”

“Are you really going to let me go without saying goodbye?” he asked.

Nothing, but finally she said, “When do you want me to pick you up?”

His hand tightened eagerly on the phone. “In an hour. And I hope you don’t mind taking the van,” he said. “I sold my truck to Earl.”

“I saw him driving through town in it yesterday.”

“He needed an extra pickup to help move things around at the store.”

“See you in an hour,” she said, and disconnected.

REENIE LET Isaac drive. The girls chattered the whole way in the back seat, talking about everything from what they had planned this summer to what they wanted to eat once they reached Boise. But Reenie had little to say. Isaac didn’t seem particularly talkative, either. Almost as soon as they got started, he reached over and took her hand, though. And she couldn’t help curling her fingers through his.

When they were only fifteen minutes or so from the airport, he looked over at her as though he wanted to break the strange silence between them.

“What?” she murmured.

“I’ll be back at some point. You know that, right?”

“When?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure, exactly. That hasn’t been tied down yet. But I’ll come as soon as I can.”

“For a visit.”

He turned down the music. “It’s better than nothing.”

Reenie was tempted to accept what she could get. She’d thought along those lines once—that something was better than nothing. But she’d spent almost her entire marriage frustrated with Keith’s absences. She couldn’t take on the same old problem. She wanted a closer relationship. She wanted a man who’d be happy staying with her in Dundee.

“I’m sorry, Isaac. An occasional visit isn’t enough.”

His eyebrows drew together in an obvious sign of displeasure. “Can you honestly tell me that you don’t want me anymore?”

She looked at him squarely. “No.”

“Then, why not hang on?”

“Because I don’t want to miss you, to constantly wonder if and when you’ll visit, to worry about how long you might or might not stay. I’m looking for something deeper.”

“But I’ve never…”

“What?” she prompted.

“Met anyone like you.”

“You’ll find someone else,” she said softly. “Maybe in a few years, when you’re ready.”