Page 35 of Texas Made
“A long time ago,” she said defensively.
“How long did you try?”
“Not very long,” she was forced to admit. “But it was long enough to realize commuting back and forth would never work.”
“And now you’re convinced it won’t work with us either.”
“Not convinced but I’m afraid it wouldn’t. And I don’t want to ruin what we have.”
“You want to be able to look back on our time together with no regrets.”
“Well…yeah. I don’t want us to start hating each other.”
“Jaclyn?”
“Yes?”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
For a moment she simply stared at him. “It’s not dumb,” she said, insulted. “It’s realistic.” She stomped past him into the living room.
Following her, he said, “No, it’s not. We’re not going to hate each other, no matter what happens.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Yes. I can. If that’s really what you’re afraid of and it’s not just an excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse.” He didn’t speak but his expression spoke for him. “Do you think I want to break up? Because I don’t.” But neither did she want a relationship with her living in Dallas and him living in Whiskey River. It might be okay for a while, but long term?
“Why can’t we at least try long distance? It wouldn’t be easy but we should be able to manage seeing each other at least every few weeks.”
“You’re going to come to Dallas?”
“I’ll have to get Damaris and Chase on board but yes.”
Wearily, she scrubbed a hand over her face. “I don’t know, Marshall.”
“You tried it once and never again? Don’t you think that’s a little bit of overkill? Why are you so dead set against trying again?”
Damn. She was going to have to tell him instead of beating around the bush. “I have reason to be.” She walked into the kitchen. “I’m going to get a glass of wine. Do you want something?”
He followed her. “That bad, huh?”
She didn’t answer until she handed him a beer, poured a glass of wine for herself and walked back into the living room to sit on the couch. “I’ve been over it for a long time but I still can’t think about that experience without wanting to—” She halted, unsure how to categorize her feelings. “Let’s just say it wasn’t anything I want to repeat.
“I had a job with a makeup company in Dallas. I’d been dating a guy who was a high-powered attorney. I was madly in love—or thought I was. Keith was in love with me too. He said he was, anyway.”
“You don’t sound too sure of that.”
“At the time I was sure he loved me. In retrospect, not so much. Anyway, things were going all right until I decided to go out on my own. I had big dreams of a makeup company of my own. One I built from the ground up.”
“You succeeded.”
“Yes.” She sipped wine. “But it cost me my relationship.”
“Was it worth it?”
“Yes. Absolutely. He wasn’t the man for me although I didn’t know that then. Keith got a really good job offer, a fast track to a partnership with a firm in Houston. The day I secured a loan for my company, for the manufacturing site, I went home so excited to tell Keith about it. He knew about my plans, of course, but I think he thought it was a pipe dream and I’d never really do it. Anyway, that day he told me about moving to Houston. He took it as a given that I’d move with him.”
