A Turn in the Road - Debbie Macomber [47]
Bethanne slipped her arms around his waist and held on, although less tightly than the first time she’d ridden with him. Closing her eyes, she felt the breeze rush past and after a few minutes she relaxed. She wasn’t sure where Max was going. It didn’t matter.
When he slowed the bike, Bethanne realized they were completely out of the city, on a hill that overlooked the valley. Night had settled in and the casino lights lit up the sky.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, after they’d parked and taken off their helmets. He looked down at the city, and Bethanne joined him.
“I used to sit up here and just stare at the lights,” Max continued. “It’s so crazy down there and so peaceful up here.” He stood beside her in silence for a few minutes. “Tell me about your ex-husband,” he suddenly said.
“Grant?” she asked, uncertain what to say.
“You have more than one?”
“No. Your question surprised me, that’s all.”
“Is it difficult to talk about your divorce?”
She shook her head. “Not anymore. I guess it comes down to a case of the two of us growing apart. He found someone else and the sad part is, I was so involved with his career, with our children and friends, that I didn’t notice. I mean, a wife’s supposed to sense these things, right?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Did you…did you ever cheat on your wife?”
“Never.” His answer was quick and decisive. “I wasn’t even tempted.”
“At the time, Grant and I had been married nearly twenty years. We’d grown comfortable with each other. Complacent, I guess. He wanted me to be a stay-at-home mother and I enjoyed that role. I hosted dinners, arranged all his travel… I considered myself a full partner in his life and his career—and yet I didn’t know about Tiffany. I honestly didn’t have a clue. If someone had told me, I swear I wouldn’t have believed my husband was capable of betraying me that way.”
“Were you unhappy?”
“No, not in the least. But after Grant moved out, I was an emotional mess. I felt lost, bewildered, defeated. As if I’d suddenly been blinded, with no idea where I was or how to find my way out. It took weeks—no, months—to come to grips with the situation. I’m a different person now. The years have given me perspective. I can understand better what happened and why Grant was attracted to Tiffany.”
“Sounds as if you’re making excuses for him.”
“Does it?”
“Yes.”
She looked down at the ground and moved the dirt around with the toe of her shoe. Maybe she was making excuses for Grant; if so, it was probably because he’d recognized how wrong he’d been and told her so, over and over. “Grant’s sorry about it now…. I mentioned before that he wants us to get back together. He had roses delivered to the hotel.”
“Here in Vegas?”
She nodded. “They were in the room waiting for us. He wanted to apologize because we had a small argument over the phone last night.”
“About me, I suspect.”
“If you must know, he was horrified that I’d taken off with you.”
“He’s right. It was a risky thing to do.”
“Are you dangerous, Max?”
He didn’t answer.
“Is Max your real name?”
“It is. Max Scranton. My friends find it ironic—the Mad Max thing. But I’ve been Max my whole life.” He hesitated and leaned back against the bike, stretched out his legs and crossed his arms. “Kate used to call me—” He didn’t finish the sentence.
“Does it hurt to talk about her?”
He looked away. “What you told me yesterday is true. It does get easier. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“How much longer will you continue to run?” she asked. She wouldn’t have been nearly as forward if he hadn’t been curious about her and Grant.
“Is that what I’m doing? Running away from the pain?” The question didn’t appear to offend him.
She nodded. “Actually, I think I would’ve pulled up roots and left Seattle if not for Andrew and Annie.” It occurred to her that he might have children. “Did you and Kate have a family?”
Anguish came and went in his eyes so quickly