She was still sitting on the floor an hour later when Nadia knocked. “Is this a bad time?”
“No. Come on in and pull up a piece of carpet.”
It surprised Sky when Nadia plopped down. But she focused on Eliza. “She’s a beautiful baby. She has your cheekbones.”
Skylar tried to remember in the last month if anyone had mentioned Eliza resembled her in any way. She heard Kade’s rumbling voice, she has your cute little upturned nose. I’m hopin’ she gets your freckles too. And your laugh. I love your laugh.
“She has your disposition.”
“Marvelous. I’m the picture of well-adjusted, aren’t I?”
Nadia sent her a panicked look. “No. I meant, she’s very vocal.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“Trust me, that’s a good thing, to not be afraid.” Nadia wrapped her arms around her up-drawn knees. “Look. I want to apologize for putting you in a bad position all these months by asking you to lie to my husband.”
“It’s understandable.”
“No. It’s not and I’m sorry I missed work the last two days. But after Rex showed up here…and Eliza’s father…” Sky’s gaze snapped up. “He did the right thing, when it wasn’t the easiest thing. When most people don’t get involved. I hid behind the blinds and watched a man I didn’t know from Adam, stand up to Rex, because he was trying to protect you and everyone in this place, including me—who he didn’t know from Adam—I realized it was past time I stand up for myself.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Hiding out, hoping Rex will go away won’t change any of the problems and isn’t the example I wanna set for my boy. The reason I was gone the past two days is because I talked to a lawyer. Then I went to the sheriff and told him what happened out here and about some other stuff Rex threatened to do. I filed a restraining order against him. A piece of paper isn’t armor, but it shows Rex I’m done being afraid of him. And we’re done. For good.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.” She grabbed Nadia’s hand. “Are you really okay?”
“Yes. I feel more in control of my life than I have been in years.”
“I’m glad, Nadia, I really am.”
“All thanks to you.”
“To me? I appreciate the sentiment, but you were the one who took that first step. It’s easier not to change.” How well she knew that. She let her head fall back against the wall. “I’ve done some things wrong, things I plan to change as soon as possible. I thought you were coming in here to quit, and I was all ready to whip out my spiel about how I intended to beef up external security and do some things differently around here to get you to stay.”
“Quit? I’m not going anywhere. This is the best job I’ve ever had. We all think that.” Nadia rolled to her feet. “You give us more than just a good paycheck and a great place to work, Skylar. You show us how to be strong. You give us confidence in ourselves. No matter what mistakes we made in the past, what’s been done to us, you’ve shown us we don’t have to live there, we can overcome it, change, and work toward a better future. We deserve to live our dreams the same as anyone else.”
She slipped out the door leaving Sky staring after her, feeling a little more at peace with her business, and her relationship with her employees, but not having a clue how she could make things right with Kade.
With everything that’d happened, the mindless sorting of paperwork was a welcome reprieve. Except the phrase, we deserve to live our dreams, hung in the air and stuck in Skylar’s brain on a continuous loop. A life with Kade and Eliza was her dream.
When she reached the bottom of the fifth box, the corner of an envelope—stuck in yet another safety supply magazine—poked out. Before her fingers connected with the smooth white paper, she knew. This was the letter Kade had sent.
Sky flipped it over. No return address. Post marked Gillette, WY…two months ago. Using a pen, she slit open the top and dumped the letter on the floor. She unfolded the single piece of lined notebook paper. The blocky printing filled up half the page:
Skylar—
I’m probably the last person you expected to hear from. I hope you won’t crumple this up and will give me a chance to explain.
After the bad way it ended with you last year, I needed time to re-evaluate some things. I moved to a remote section of the ranch, which is why I haven’t approached you before now.
In the year I’ve been alone on the range, I’ve had time to think about what happened between us. What I did wrong. I can honestly say I’m ashamed of myself. My intention wasn’t to deceive you, but to get to know you.