Half an hour later, she dropped Ben off and headed toward Davey’s. He had called earlier to say that they’d figure it out. But he’d been distant and preoccupied and his assurances had rung hollow. Like he had been trying to convince himself as much as her.
Pain continued to jab at her heart as she drove across town. But it didn’t matter. She couldn’t allow her choices to ruin Davey’s career nor could she change who she was. Since he would inevitably leave her anyway, she may as well spare them both the façade of trying to patch things up.
She pulled into his drive and made her way to the house. Davey was on the front porch. His arms were crossed, his posture rigid, suggesting his irritation hadn’t dissipated. But when she approached, his face brightened and he gave her a genuine smile.
She licked her lips. Breaking up with him would be so much easier if he were mad at her.
When he pulled her into a hug, she didn’t have the heart to pull back. The way he held on to her like she was his lifeline chipped away at her resolve.
“I’m sorry,” she said, after he finally released her. “I don’t do well with reporters and Ben…he’s just a kid.”
Davey’s understanding eyes made her resolve weaken even more. “Let’s go inside.” He pushed the front door open. “I’m not mad at you, Nora. I’m not mad at Ben, either.”
Her body sagged with relief and a little surprise. How could he not be at least a little mad? This entire dilemma had been caused by her and Ben. But she couldn’t hold Ben accountable. She was the adult and she should have ended the interview.
Davey led her into the family room where they settled on the sofa.
“Want something to drink?” he asked.
She shook her head. Even though Davey was being kind and considerate, she needed to stay focused on the issue at hand. If they stayed together, he could lose his sponsors. She needed to build her resolve, say what she had to say, and get out of dodge.
“I have some shit to deal with.” He clasped his hands together. “Mr. Steak dropped me. Outdoor America is pissed; I’m hanging on with them by a thread.” He rolled his neck. “But at least they’re still talking with me.”
That got her back on track. She narrowed her eyes, thinking about the organizations that Davey supported. Hunting and big steaks. She lifted her chin. “I’m sorry for the grief we caused you and I understand that you need sponsors. But steaks and hunting?”
She rose and crossed her arms. “Your major sponsors stand for everything I’m against. They point to why we’re ill matched.”
“It’s just the one sponsor now,” he said, rising to join her. When he took a step toward her, she took a step back.
Mr. Steak dropping Davey didn’t absolve his advertising of their product or his support of them. “So you’ll pick up Mr. Sausage instead?” She slapped a hand on her hip. “We stand for different things.”
Davey sighed heavily. “I need sponsors.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Racing is supported by folks who hunt, fish, and eat meat. It’s not likely that Tasty Tofu is going to sponsor me.”
“That only proves my point.”
Davey moved into her personal space and took her hand. “Give me a chance. I need OA to keep me for now, then I can shop for new sponsors. Okay?”
A glimmer of hope emerged inside Nora, swirling around her like the mystical blue haze that hugged their mountain peaks. If Davey found new sponsors who were kinder, compassionate, and animal-friendly, that could change everything. Then again, to his earlier point, racing sponsors tended to be more rugged and meat-eating rather than peace, love, and joy vegans.
“OA says they’ll give me one chance to state my case.” Davey rubbed his thumb on the top of her hand. “I have to head to Denver tonight for a meeting tomorrow morning. If they keep me—”
“But Ben’s field trip is tomorrow.” She snatched her hand back. Surely, he wouldn’t pick Outdoor America over Ben.
“Aw, shit.” Davey’s face paled. “I forgot about that.” His brows furrowed. “I have to go, this is my only shot at keeping their sponsorship.” Pacing the floor, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’ll find a way to make it up to Ben.”
Nora crossed her arms again. She had expected Davey to choose racing over her, but not over his son. “They can’t wait one day?”
He shook his head. “I’m not in a position to call the shots. I can’t afford to jerk OA around, they’re my only major sponsor. Without their money, I can’t afford a team.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll talk with Ben. I’ll make it up to him when I get back.”
“I knew this was gonna happen.” She took another step back. Early in their relationship, she’d told Davey that she could only give him one night. That had been her intuition telling her not to get attached. But she hadn’t listened. She’d jumped in full-throttle even as caution flags had waved at the edges of her consciousness. Now, it was all the more painful to do what she had to do—red-flag their relationship.
“This isn’t working.” She forced resolve and confidence into her voice to cover up the pain she felt inside.
His lips curved down. “Come on Nora, we can work this out.” He reached for her, but she stepped back again. If he touched her, she was afraid she would fold. Her feelings for him hadn’t changed, but she wouldn’t ruin his career.
“I’m not cut out for this life.” Her throat thickened with tears as sadness welled inside her. At the same time, irritation skittered in, overlaying the sorrow. Why hadn’t she listened to her intuition before she’d gotten in so deep? “Tell your damn sponsors that we broke up. Maybe they’ll keep you then.”
“Nora, no.” The hurt in his eyes caused a boatload of guilt to rock her insides. The waves nearly made her back down. But she couldn’t. This was for the best. She knew it, and after he had time and space to think about it, he would realize it too.
“For Ben’s sake, we should stay friendly.” She silently commended herself for holding back the flood of tears as she made her way toward the door. “I’ll come by later to take care of the animals.” She also needed to figure out what to do with the animals. It wouldn’t be fair to leave them at Davey’s. But she would think about that when she was less emotional.
“Please don’t go.”
The panic in Davey’s voice strengthened the waves of guilt cresting and troughing inside her. She heard his footsteps hot on her trail but before he caught up, his phone rang.
“Damn it. It’s OA.” He put a hand on her arm, and she whirled around. “I’ve been waiting for this call.” He gave her a pleading look, which further intensified her guilt. “Please don’t go,” he repeated. “Just give me a few minutes.”
He answered the call. “I know. Yes.” Nora hovered, knowing she should go, but wanting like hell to stay. “I’m very sorry,” he said. “Right. Whatever you need.” There was a long pause. “Yes, of course. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow.” She pressed her lips together as he sucked up to the company that stood for everything she detested. “Yes, understood. We’ll clear everything up tomorrow.”
Clearing everything up meant distancing himself from her. They had come full circle back to the inevitable. As Davey’s Outdoor America masters continued to pull his puppet strings, she spun on her heel and stalked out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Davey ended his call with the Outdoor America EVP. Glenn had agreed that OA would consider giving him one more chance after they talked tomorrow. God only knew what he’d have to do to get that chance, but he’d think about that later.
Now he needed to talk with Nora and with Ben. He grabbed his jacket and keys, then got into his truck. As he drove to Nora’s, his heart thumped with anxiety. But he refused to believe their relationship was over. If she would just give him time, he would figure out how to make everything right. He needed to talk with Ben too. He raked his fingers through his hair thinking about that conversation. He hated to disappoint his boy, but he
had to make the trip to Denver to meet with OA. When he got back, he would make it up to Ben.
He parked in front of Nora’s, drew in a long breath and made his way up the porch steps. When he reached the front door, he pressed two fingers to his temples. He hadn’t thought this through at all. Annoyed with himself, he scuffed a foot on the porch. He should have stopped to buy flowers, or at a minimum, planned what he was going to say.
But he was here now and he could do this without planning. He squared his shoulders and gave his signature knock.
When Nora pulled the door open, he noticed two things. Her entire body was tense and her eyes were sad and puffy. He reached for her, but she stepped back.
“Nora, talk to me.” His voice sounded panicked, which was how he felt. She didn’t look like she had any intention of talking with him. Not now, maybe not ever. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a firm hands-off look.
“There’s nothing more to say,” she said, biting her lower lip. Her words stabbed at his heart, but her actions made him hope she hadn’t really meant it. “But you need to talk with Ben,” she added in a hushed voice.
“You didn’t tell him?” He had half hoped that Nora had already talked with Ben to pave the way for him, even though he knew that wasn’t fair.
She put a hand on her hip and gave him a look that said he was a dumbass. He brushed his bangs away from his face. This wasn’t going at all like he had hoped. “I’ll talk with him, but I don’t want to leave things like this between us.”
“Fine,” she said, her voice clipped. “We can talk when you get back.”
There was no enthusiasm in her voice, but it was still a window of opportunity. Hope slammed into his chest so hard that it hurt.
“But it doesn’t change the fact that we’re different people who live different lives,” she said, chipping away at his hope. “Or the fact that your sponsors need you to be someone who supports the things I stand against.”
Well, hell. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Of course OA wanted him to support their business, that was the whole point of a sponsorship arrangement. He had already told her that he’d look for new sponsors but, in the meantime, he needed to keep his racing operation afloat.
“I can’t be with someone who doesn’t care about animals the way I do.” Nora pressed a hand to her mouth, but not before a loud sniffle escaped.
The hope in his chest caved. Panic took its place, molding into a hard ball the size of a melon. This was no longer about faceless sponsors, now it was personal. But he wasn’t the kind of person she had painted. “I love animals.” He stepped toward her, but she moved out of his reach. “Come on Nora, you have to know that.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” she quipped. “I’ll go get Ben.” There were more sniffles as she hurried away. They got progressively louder as she disappeared up the stairs, making his heart, his head, and his whole being hurt.
Nora was the kindest, most compassionate woman he’d ever met. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt her. He flopped on the couch, put his head in his hands, and waited. And waited…and waited.
It felt like an hour before she reappeared with Ben at her side. One glance at his son indicated that Nora had taken his hint and had talked with Ben. His son’s eyes were large and misty and his lower lip quivered as he made his way over.
“Aunt Nora told me you can’t go on my trip,” Ben said, shifting from one foot to the other, “ ‘cause you have an important business meeting.” When Ben’s voice cracked, Davey’s heart cracked along with it.
“I’m really sorry,” he said, reaching for Ben.
Ben stepped into his embrace. As he held his son, warm vibrations spread throughout his body. He squeezed Ben in tight and didn’t want to let go. “I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered, even though it was lame. He was leaving Ben—and the school—high and dry.
“It’s okay,” Ben said, his voice still unsteady. “Aunt Nora’s gonna come.”
Nora was a saint, Davey thought, as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. The deep, anguished sorrow in her eyes caused his already shattered heart to take another hit.
He pressed his fingers to both temples. Rising, he promised Ben that they’d do something fun after he returned, then reiterated that he wanted to talk with Nora after he got back. With nothing more he could do here, he went home and packed.
A couple of hours later, he was pacing the main corridor of Tyson McGhee Airport. He’d been scuffing around for twenty minutes and still had another forty-five minutes before his flight was scheduled to board. He had arrived at the airport early to get out of the house and away from the painful memories of the morning.
It had been a shitty ass day. Breaking his word to Ben and Nora breaking up with him had topped his shit list. But the rest of the day had been pretty crappy too. He’d spent most of it on the phone planning damage control with Cruz and his manager, then talking with his various sponsors. He’d been on the phone multiple times with Outdoor America. His OA rep had been a complete dick, but Davey could play the game, and he had.
But it had come at a major cost. Thinking about the hurt he’d caused both Nora and Ben made his heart and his head throb. He pressed a fist against his achy chest but it did nothing to ease the pain.
As he stalked past the security checkpoint for the hundredth time, a TSA agent scrutinized him. Scrubbing a hand over his cheek, he let out a stifled laugh. He probably looked like a crazed lunatic who was plotting the airport’s demise.
Get yourself under control. The last thing he needed was to be held for questioning and miss his flight or even worse get arrested. Neither of those outcomes would help his reputation or improve his situation with his sponsors.
He pulled himself together and made his way to Starbucks. When he reached the front of the line, the barista, an older woman with bright red hair made him think fondly of his mother. Just before he’d left for the airport, his mom and Cruz had shown up on his doorstep. Even though Nora was mad at him, she’d cared enough to call his mother and Cruz to ask them to check on him. It made him smile, even though he didn’t deserve her kind gesture.
His mom had told him not to give up on Nora. Her words gave him a trifling glimmer of hope in his otherwise dark, cavernous heart. Cruz had offered to accompany him on the trip, for moral support and to help him plead his case. Cruz’s ongoing support meant the world to Davey, but this was his fuck-up and it was his responsibility to fix it.
After retrieving his Venti bold coffee, he made his way to the row of rockers and tossed his small overnight bag next to the chair at the end. He slumped onto the chair, hoping he could rock away his pain.
But it didn’t happen. Rocking back and forth, he sipped coffee and pondered how his life had gone from sitting on top of the world to wallowing in the globe’s worst hellhole over the course of a single day.
He wished that Nora and Ben hadn’t talked with that stupid reporter. But he couldn’t be mad at them. He loved who they were and he loved the strength of their convictions. They had been nothing but truthful.
It was a shame he couldn’t say the same about himself. Ben had told the reporter that his dad would never hunt and that he’d never hurt an animal.
Davey had never hunted a day in his life. So why the hell had he taken on a sponsor whose organization equipped people to hunt? Before Nora and Ben had come into his life, he’d thought of OA as big money, as a way for him to race. He hadn’t considered that accepting their sponsorship meant he was promoting their brand and everything they represented.
But he needed the sponsorship. Not just for him, but for his team. Without Mr. Steak and OA’s funding, he wouldn’t be able to race nor would he be able to pay his team. If he could get OA to keep him for a few more months, he was confident he would find new sponsors, and then he could win Nora back. In the meantime, he’d come up with a way to make up for his broken promise to Ben. Hope slid inside him as he rose and made his way to the gate.
Flyi
ng over the Great Smokies on the short flight from Knoxville to Atlanta, he couldn’t stop thinking about Nora. Like the mountains, she was beautiful, natural, impressive. She was true to herself, true to her principles.
He, on the other hand, was a fraud. Representing a company he didn’t believe in, forgoing his scruples to make a buck.
My dad would never hurt an animal. Ben’s sweet statement replayed itself in Davey’s mind. He wouldn’t shoot an animal, so why did he represent a company that promoted doing just that? In essence, he was hurting animals by advertising for Outdoor America.
Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes. An image of a brown and white cow formed in his mind. Concordia. He’d gone to the barn to see her before he’d left. Being around her never failed to calm and steady him. She’d simply been there for him as he’d rubbed her, pressed his head against hers, and kissed her soft fur.
After he’d developed a relationship with Concordia, he had reconsidered his eating habits. He hadn’t eaten a piece of beef since the day he’d met and bonded with her. Not a single hamburger, not even one big, juicy steak. Every time he so much as thought about it, a vision of Concordia came to him along with her quiet, calming presence.
When he had first met Nora, he’d thought her ideas about food were radical. But after getting to know Concordia and the other animals they had rescued together, he understood. He couldn’t eat Concordia or Pumbaa. His mind flashed to Ben’s declaration that he wouldn’t hurt an animal. But hadn’t he done just that when he had devoured cheeseburgers and steaks? When he’d dined on beef and pork, he had been supporting the companies that bred cows and pigs for slaughter. If he stopped eating beef for good, he would be a voice for Concordia and for all of her gentle brothers and sisters. If he never ate bacon and ham again, he’d be standing up for sweet pigs like Pumbaa, Cuddles, Ford and Bristol.
The pilot announced that they were starting their descent into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Davey glanced at his watch. He had an hour layover before his flight to Denver, plenty of time to get to his connecting gate.
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