“Baby, please come back home. I swear to you, Ellie, I would never do anything to hurt you or the kids. Y’all are my life. Please…just stop acting like this, and come home.”
And there it was. He was being the Gunner from the last two weeks, the one who had kept accusing me of acting like a child.
I stood up and balled my hand into a fist. “That is exactly why I left. Please enlighten me, Gunner, as to how I’m acting. Like a spoiled brat? A child maybe? Jealous and bored housewife perhaps?”
He sighed. “Ellie, I don’t think you’re any of that. I’ve just been really stressed out with this job, and I want to do a good job for Bill.”
“Why, Gunner? You have a job. You own one of the biggest cattle companies in central Texas. You’re a partner in a fast-growing breeding business. You’re a father to two beautiful kids who hardly got to see their father before he took on his new job. And as far as I’m concerned, when was the last time you touched me or held me in your arms or told me you loved me?”
“Ells…”
“I can tell you when the last time was—the night you went to your first evening meeting with your client.”
“I swear to you, nothing has happened. I have no feelings for her. What do I have to do to prove that to you?”
A sob escaped my mouth. “I think we need to be apart for a few days. My mother can help with the kids. I’ll call her, and—”
I heard Gunner crying, and my whole world shattered.
“Ellie, no. Please don’t leave me.”
I took in a deep breath. “I’m not leaving you. I love you, Gunner, more than the air I breathe. I feel like I’ve been slowly losing myself the last few months, and then after all this with your new job, I just need some time to myself. I’ll call the kids in the morning.”
“Ellie, wait. Just tell me where you are.”
“I love you, Drew.”
I quickly hung up the phone. I lay down on the bed and slowly let myself fall apart.
What did I just do?
Oh God, what did I just do?
“Daddy, is Mommy going to be calling soon? She was gonna call after dinner.”
I glanced up and smiled at Colt. Alex and Colt were sitting on the kitchen island, watching me make their lunches for tomorrow.
“Yeah, buddy. She’ll call soon.”
Alex looked at me, and I swore, she had tears in her eyes. I tried to smile bigger, but she looked away from me.
“Daddy, is Mama coming back home? She started crying this morning on the phone. She sounded so sad when I talked to her.”
My heart felt as if it had just been ripped open. “Baby girl, come here.”
I bent down as Alex jumped off her seat at the island. She walked into my arms, and I held her as tightly as I could.
“Of course, she’s coming home. She is sad, honey. She hates being away from you and Colt.”
Alex pulled back, and her blue eyes caught mine. “Then, why did she leave? When she left, she told me she was only going to be gone for one night. It’s been three already. Tonight will make four. I want her to come home.”
I closed my eyes and then opened them. “I’m so sorry, Alex. Daddy wasn’t being a very good daddy or husband to y’all. Mommy just needed to…she needed to…”
The phone started ringing, and I silently thanked God that Ellie was calling early.
Alex pushed out of my arms and ran for the phone. “Mama! Colt, it’s Mama!
I helped Colt down from his seat and watched him run over to Alex. I stood there and listened to them each take turns talking to Ellie. Each night, she had hung up before I could even talk to her. If she were trying to teach me a lesson, she had succeeded.