Chapter 27

27

TRISTAN

T ristan fidgeted with his keys. When they'd set up this therapy thing in the beginning, Shane had assured him that he could leave Mathew in Dianna's capable hands. It wasn't that Tristan hadn't believed his friend; he'd just been overprotective. Then everything had shifted and he continued to be present during their sessions because he wanted to spend time with Dianna.

He didn't think he'd be able to stay in the same area as her, not so soon after their breakup. So he'd told Mathew he had errands to run.

Dianna would be arriving any minute, and he wasn't sure how she'd react to him leaving. At this point he figured it could go either way. She might be upset, or she'd be relieved.

Mathew stood at the window, bundled up and ready for their walk to the arena where he'd get his session. Then they'd come back to the cabin for his schoolwork.

Tristan had called the sitter to come over in a few hours so he could be gone for most of the day. He kept telling himself this was what she wanted. Dianna didn't want to be smothered. She wanted space. As much as that pained him, maybe she made a good point.

"She's here! She's here!" Mathew spun around and glanced at Tristan. "When are you going to be back?"

He ruffled Mathew's hair and smiled. "I'll be back by dinner."

Mathew hurried to the door and yanked it open before Dianna had a chance to knock. "My dad is going away today. It's just gonna be us."

Dianna's surprised expression lifted to his and she blinked. "Oh?"

Mathew grabbed her hand. "Yup. He said he has some errands to run, but he'll be here before dinner. Are you going to have dinner with us?"

Tristan grimaced. He probably should have told Mathew in more detail what he meant when he said Dianna would be spending less time with them. He avoided her gaze as he dropped down to pull Mathew close. "Remember when I said that Miss Dianna wouldn't be spending as much time over here?"

Mathew frowned.

"Well, she's going to be busy and?—"

"She's always busy. And she still stays." He spun around, pulling away from Tristan as he lifted his face to Dianna. "You said you liked spending time here."

Tristan risked meeting her eyes and immediately regretted it. Her large eyes were pools of pain and hesitation. Nothing had changed. But why would it? She didn't want to be with him. She'd said as much over and over again. She was probably wondering why he didn't just get the hint and walk away.

He had mixed feelings over such a notion. Grace had given him a sliver of hope. He'd grasped onto it so tightly he couldn't figure out where his longing ended and her suggestion began.

Dianna seemed to be frozen to her spot. He couldn't blame her. Mathew could be so direct sometimes.

Tristan took in a deep breath and rose. He placed a hand on Mathew's shoulder and gave him a small smile. "I'm sure Miss Dianna would love to stay, but she won't be able to today. Besides, Kimberly will be here in an hour or so. You've been wanting her to come back, remember? You said she promised to show you how to solve the Rubik's Cube."

Mathew shot a look in Dianna's direction, then brought it back to Tristan. "I guess."

Tristan patted him on the shoulder. "Go find your cowboy boots while I speak with Miss Dianna."

Mathew left without a word, leaving him with no buffer between himself and Dianna. She stood stiffly in the doorway. There were a thousand things he wanted to say and no way to form the words.

Shifting, he put his weight on one foot then the other. "I wanted to let you know that I was heading to town for the day—getting some last-minute Christmas presents. Mathew has his work set out for when you're done, and Kimberly will be here soon so you don't have to wrangle him all on your own."

There was a heaviness in the air between them. What he wouldn't give to tear it down and reach for Dianna to show her just what she was missing.

Instead, he let out a sigh. "If you need me to stay…"

She shook her head sharply. "Nope. I think we're good. I might even have one of the ranch hands come out and work with Mathew since we know he does so well with me."

He nodded. "Sounds like a good plan." Tristan turned toward the interior of the cabin. "I'm leaving, buddy. Is there anything you want me to pick up for you?"

Mathew materialized. "I want some drawing pencils. Dianna said we could work on our drawing."

"You got it, kiddo."

He shouldn't have done it. He should have walked right on by the florist and let her be. But now he was back in front of his cabin, holding a single rose. He was going to regret it, but the funny thing was that he didn't care.

In this moment, he was prepared to give her the rose. He wasn't sure why just yet. All he knew was that he wanted her to have it and he didn't expect anything in return.

The sack in his other hand dangled and bounced against his leg with the breeze that pulled at him.

Before he could reach for the doorknob, the door swung open, revealing Mathew with Dianna behind him. They were both bundled up and ready to head out into the snow.

Dianna sucked in sharply, but Mathew let out an excited, unintelligible noise. "Dad! You're back!" He tugged at the bag. "Did you bring me the pencils?"

"Sure did." Tristan's gaze locked with Dianna's. "But it looks like you have other plans in mind." They continued to stare at one another like they had before he left. Then he jolted forward. "I got you this." He shoved the single red rose surrounded with baby's breath in her direction. "I'll let you two get to it." Tristan brushed past her and headed inside. He didn't want her to overthink his offering.

Or maybe he did.

He just didn't want it to blow up in his face and end up having to explain why he got it for her. Tristan placed his hands down on the counter, his back toward the door. When it clicked shut, he released a breath that had been locked in his lungs.

There were two ways to look at this most recent interaction. He could pray this was a step in the right direction—that Dianna was pleased with his offering. Or the more likely scenario—she wanted him to just forget about her.

Tristan removed the items from his bags. He placed the pencils on the table next to Mathew's notebooks, then put away the few odds and ends. Then he moved to the window and watched his son and Dianna building another snowman. It appeared Kimberly had left. She wasn't inside the cabin. He'd have to ask Dianna why she left early.

Watching the two of them playing only served to ruin his current mood further. Anger, frustration, helplessness. He could no longer find the hope that had been in his heart the other day.

Grace had mentioned it might be a good idea to go on a few dates with someone else—get his mind off things while he played the waiting game. It felt wrong, somehow. But then she made a valid point. Distraction would be a good thing.

He spun around and pulled out his phone.

Shane answered on the first ring. "Just the man I wanted to speak to."

Tristan opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.

His friend chuckled. "I wanted to formally invite you to the Christmas Eve party I'm throwing at the club. It's going to be family-friendly, so bring Mathew. The whole town is invited, though I don't expect all of them will come."

"I—that sounds great." This could have been the perfect opportunity to bring up needing a date for the party. But then the door opened and Mathew came stomping into the cabin. Snow fell from his boots and he stopped long enough to wait for Dianna to enter.

"I'm sorry. You called me. What's up?"

Dianna shut the door, then hovered there, watching him.

Tristan turned away and lowered his voice. "Nothing. I mean, I don't remember. Just… we'll be there."

"Great. Oh, and Tristan?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we haven't discussed it officially, but I wanted to touch base with you about your stay. When do you plan on leaving? Of course you're welcome to stay as long as you would like to. However, I might need to move you to another location." He chuckled. "Unless you plan on staying even longer. Perhaps you'd like help finding a place to stay in town?"

The silence on the other end was deafening.

He froze, unable to form any kind of coherent sentence.

"You don't have to tell me right this second. Keep it in mind, and let me know when you figure it out."

Tristan dragged a hand down his face and nodded. But then cleared his throat, his voice squeezing out in a rasp. "Thanks. I will."

"Take care."

He hung up the phone and placed it on the counter, then turned to face Dianna. "Where's Kimberly?"

Dianna's brows lifted. "Oh, right. She got a phone call and needed to head home—something about a family emergency. She asked me if it was okay, and I told her to go ahead."

His chest tightened. "She should have called me. She can't just leave?—"

"Tristan," she said. His name on her tongue did strange things to him. His head snapped around and he met her gaze. "It's fine. We didn't want to bother you. I knew you'd be back soon enough, and Mathew was well-behaved." She offered Mathew a grin. "You did amazing today."

Mathew beamed. "Does that mean you'll stay for dinner?"

She frowned. "Not today, buddy. But I'll see you again next week."

"Next week? I thought we had a couple more sessions before Christmas." Tristan moved forward. Was this another tactic to distance herself from him?

She folded her arms, standing her ground. "I wanted to talk to you about that. I've got some family traditions. If it's okay with you, we can start back up the day after Christmas."

It was just as well. If she wanted space, he needed to give it to her.

As hard as it was to agree, he nodded. "Sure. Whatever you need." It would be nice for her to notice how hard he was trying. But to point it out would defeat the purpose.

Her gaze darted to his, as if she was doing just that. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I guess I'll see you next week." She reached for the door, and he stepped toward her once more.

"Will you be going to the Christmas Eve party at the club?"

She glanced at him briefly. "I'm not sure."

"I hope so."

Dianna ducked her head. "Then maybe I will." She offered him a small smile. "Thank you for the flower."