Blame it on Texas (13 page)

She should be used to it by now. That was what Ritt was to her, a perpetual heartache.

Shelby added a couple of more lilies to the top of the middle cake. She tossed the stems in the trash as her phone rang. She snatched it from her purse, needing the distraction to keep her from bursting into tears once again.

“Shelby?”

“Mom?” She barely recognized her voice through the crackle and static.

“Sorry. Reception is really bad here, but I promised I would call.”

“It’s all right.” Shelby took a deep breath to steady her nerves and muster up courage. “Mom, did Ritt’s parents pay you to take me away from Texas?”

Her mother waited so long to answer Shelby thought the connection had been broken. “It’s not that simple.”

Her knees went weak. Shelby sank to the kitchen stool, glad the cakes were complete. Her hands were shaking so badly she wouldn’t have been able to hold a decorator’s tube if her life depended on it.

“Shelby?”

“I’m here,” she whispered.

“I…it was a long time ago, and you were so emotional.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Ritt had been right. He’d been right all along. No wonder he had treated her with such contempt.

“There just never seemed to be a good time.”

“I suppose not.”

“Honey, don’t blame Ritt. He had nothing to do with it.”

“I know.” Water under the bridge as they say. “It doesn’t matter.” But it did. Much more than it should have.

She had fallen in love with her husband all over again. No, that wasn’t true, she had never stopped loving him in the first place. But there were too many bad times, too much heartache to give it a second chance.

Static filled the line. At first Shelby thought the call had dropped, then her mother’s voice broke through the crackle. “Shelby, I—”

One of the ushers motioned from the doorway, the signal that people would flood the fellowship hall to drink champagne while the bridal party finished up photographs.

“I gotta go, Mom.” She ended the call without waiting for her mother’s response.

Now was her time to leave. Not just the church, but Texas. There was nothing there for her anymore. She couldn’t ask Ritt to sign the papers, not with her heart still attached to him. But she couldn’t stay. There was too much hurt between them.

She had a life to return to. What there was of it.

How had things gotten so messed up in such a short time?

All she could do was blame it on Texas. It did crazy stuff to her heart.

An hour and a half later, Shelby let herself back into the church. She had a couple of items to get, cake plates and such, then she would be on her way. She gathered her things, stacking them in plastic grocery sacks to carry them to the car.

Her phone chimed as she dropped the key into the church mailbox.

She looked at the message. Ritt.

Meet me at the Longbranch. I’ll wait for you there.

That was so like him, send her a demand and expect her to comply. She had half a mind to get in her car and keep driving. She didn’t owe him a thing after last night. Her phone pinged again.

Please.

Shelby sighed and texted him back.
I’m on my way.

The Longbranch had been there as long as Shelby could remember. Half bar, half restaurant and all Texas honky tonk. Not that she had gone there much as a teenager. She and Ritt had been much more interested in places where they could be alone.

The parking lot was nearly empty when she pulled her rental car into the space by Ritt’s rusty pickup. Four o’clock was an odd time, not quite the hour to drown sorrows and dreams in the beer on tap.

Shelby stepped inside and blinked several times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim interior.

Her gaze swept the room. Everything looked the same as she remembered. Things in Texas might be bigger, but out here, they moved at a slower pace as well. Same ol’ dark paneled walls, same ol’ dance floor, same ol’ barkeep wiping down the bar. The blond-haired waitress was perched on a stool, flipping the pages of a glossy magazine. A sad country song drifted from the jukebox, but soon Shelby knew that the band would be warming up for their Saturday night gig.
 

The blonde looked up, tossing her hair over her shoulder. As she rose to her feet, Shelby pointed to the booth where Ritt sat. The waitress smiled and shot the barkeep a knowing look.

Shelby’s heart pounded against her ribs as she made her way toward her husband.

He didn’t glance up as she sat down.

He looked handsome and troubled. Still in his tux from the wedding, dark-blue tie hanging loose around his neck, top button undone. He rolled something between his fingers, staring at it as if it contained the answers to solving world hunger. A half-empty tumbler sat in front of him, its dark amber liquid looking wickedly potent.

“Can I get you something?” the waitress asked.

Shelby shook her head. “No. Thanks.”

As if sensing they needed to be left alone, the waitress backed up a couple of steps then returned to the bar.

Ritt finally looked up, his expression guarded. “The cakes looked beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“You really know your stuff.”

Shelby clasped her hands in her lap, to stop their shaking. “You didn’t call me here to discuss the cakes.”

He pressed his lips together, then he shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

He dropped what he had been holding. A paperclip. Then he slid a manila folder across the table to her. “You win. Signed them this afternoon.”

The divorce papers.

Shelby swallowed back tears. So much had happened in the few days that she had been in Texas. She had traveled so far to have those very papers signed and the divorce secured. Now that she had it, she didn’t want it anymore. She still loved her husband with as much feeling as she had from the beginning. He was the other half of her soul, the reason she had the guts to become the woman she was today. Leaving him again would tear her heart to pieces.

“Thanks,” she managed to whisper. She picked up the packet and started to scoot from the bench. She needed to get out of there before she broke down.

Ritt caught her wrist before she rose, effectively stopping her escape. “That’s the new set. Craig said to be sure and have your attorney look them over before you sign.”

She shouldn’t have been so happy the papers didn’t carry both of their signatures. It left a little room for hope. But only a little.

She adjusted the strap of her handbag and gathered her gumption to walk away. Too bad her feet didn’t get the memo. “My mom called this morning.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

It did, but there was no sense arguing about it. “Okay then,” she said, lurching to her feet. “I guess I’ll be seein’ ya.”

He nodded.

She took two steps toward the door, feeling as if her entire being was shattering to bits. Why did love have to hurt so much?

“Shelby?”

She stopped, aware that every patron in the place was studying them with unveiled interest.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Not last night. Not ever.”

She nodded. “I know.” Then without another glance at his handsome face, she made her way out the door and out of Ritt’s life.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

But the door handle was blurred as she reached for it. She fumbled with the unlock button on the key ring then tried again. As she finally managed to get the door open, the tears started to fall. She wiped them away with the back of one hand and tossed the manila folder onto the passenger’s seat.

It was done. She got what she had set out to get: Ritt’s signature on the divorce papers.

What would happen if she went back in there and told him she didn’t want the divorce any longer? That she loved him and wanted them to be together forever?

He’d probably laugh at her. Or worse, pity her.

Blindly, she shoved the key in the ignition then took a deep shuddering breath. She had to get control for the drive back to Ritt’s house. She should have thrown her bag in the car before she left the house, but she hadn’t known this morning that she would want to leave. That Ritt would finally sign the papers. Car started, tears in check, Shelby turned the rental toward Randall.

At least this way she could say goodbye to Kyle. She wouldn’t think about the fact that she wouldn’t see him or his brother again. A thought like that would start her tears anew.

She needed to remember all the incompatibilities between her and Ritt. She lived in California now. She had built a life for herself. Though her mother had continued to travel around, moving from the Golden State to Nevada and on to Seattle, Shelby had stayed put, nurtured roots, started a business. Her life was in California.

And Ritt’s life was in Texas. Just as she couldn’t leave the West Coast, she couldn’t ask him to leave his family…even his job at the bait shop. He was happy with his life, and she couldn’t expect him to give that up.

It was hopeless. She could see that now. Even if he had asked her to stay, what would she do? Move her entire business to Texas?

She pushed aside the little voice that whispered,
why not?
Kat had wanted to buy her out for years. Shelby supposed that she could move her operation to Texas. But Ritt had signed the divorce papers. He was setting her free. The fact that Randall didn’t have a bakery to speak of—unless she counted the donut shop—was a moot point; her husband didn’t want her anymore.

She swallowed a sob as she pulled the rental into the driveway. Kyle’s modified jeep sat next to another car. Ritt had a guest.

She put the car in park and turned off the engine. She had no idea when the next flight out of Amarillo would be, but it didn’t matter. She would camp out at the airport if need be. She wasn’t going to be hanging around when Ritt decided to come home.

She grabbed her purse and got out of the car as a blond woman came out of the house. Patty McCoy had gained a couple of pounds in the last few years, but Shelby would have known her anywhere.

Ritt’s mother met her halfway to the house, and Shelby braced herself for whatever was to come: contempt, anger, disappointment. Patty McCoy was nothing if not her son’s champion.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Shelby held up her hand to stay the words. “Don’t.” Her voice wavered, and she had to take a fortifying breath before continuing. “I came to get my stuff, then I’m leaving.”

“You’re leaving? Why?”

“Ritt signed the papers, and…it’s time for me to go home.” She tried to smile, but instead her mouth sort of wobbled.

“He signed the papers?”

Surely she didn’t expect Shelby to say the words again. They were hard enough to get out the first time.

Shelby bit her lip and nodded.

But Patty shook her head. “Come in here and talk with me.”

“I really should go,” Shelby said, even as she allowed Patty to lead her into the house. “I should have never come here in the first place.”

“Then why did you?” Ritt’s mother turned to face her as they entered the kitchen, leaning one hip against the counter.

“He wouldn’t sign them any other way.” Shelby wrapped her arms around her middle. Maybe if she held on tight enough she could hold herself together until she got to California…or the airport…or maybe just back to her rental.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“I sent the papers months ago, but he refused to sign them.”

“Shelby, doesn’t that tell you something?”

She wanted to believe that maybe he hadn’t wanted a divorce, but he had signed them now. Whatever he thought could be between them…well, it seemed he’d changed his mind after all.

“It’s not like I could stay here. I have a job, a business in California. And Ritt…well, he has his work at the bait shop.”

Patty shook her head. “You know why he works there? Because it’s a lot like high school. There, he can pretend like you never left.” She took a deep breath and leaned close, patting Shelby’s arm. “I’ve tried to live my life the best I could. Despite that, I’ve made mistakes. More than I care to admit. But offering your mother money to take you away…well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Looking back…all I can say now is I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

Shelby dipped her chin and swallowed hard. “Of course I can.”

Tears welled in her eyes as Patty pulled her close for a hug.

Shelby squeezed her tight then stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I guess I’ll get my things and be on my way.”

Patty frowned. “Didn’t you hear what I said? You don’t need to leave.”

“Yes, I do.” Shelby nodded sadly.

“Ritt loves you.”

“If he loves me, then why did he sign the papers?”