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“No. Well, yes,” Isabella said. “She is my best friend, but we’re also in a relationship, Spencer.”

He stared at her. “I told you the boys shouldn’t be around her,” he said, pressing his lips together in anger. “She’s gay, Isabella, and now you’re telling me you are too?”

Isabella took a breath. “What I’m telling you is that Kelsey and I are making a life together.”

“You are not taking my boys to Denver!” he exclaimed, hitting his hands on his thighs.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Isabella said calmly. She sighed and tried to choose her words carefully, but finally she blurted out, “I love Kelsey. Wyatt and Gus love her, too. She’s part of our lives now and I thought you should know.”

“Where is this coming from?” he asked. “You couldn’t be like the other wives and stay at home, raise the boys and go to the fucking country club or whatever they do?” He stood up, waved his arms, and began to pace in front of the couch. “Oh, no! You had to work and then start your own business. I didn’t say anything when you started these monthly trips and now you’re telling me you’re gay.” He stopped in front of Isabella and stared down at her. “I won’t have my boys around her.”

“Are you finished?” Isabella asked as she stood up and stared at him.

He exhaled loudly and sat back down.

“Our sons live with me and we share custody,” Isabella said, sitting back down. “I’m telling you about my relationship with Kelsey out of courtesy, Spencer. We agreed not to introduce the boys to anyone new in our lives until it was serious. We also agreed to have a conversation if either of us want to move out of North Carolina. Do you remember?”

“Yes, Isabella. I remember,” he replied acerbically.

“The boys are happy here. There’s no reason to change that right now. They come first and I will always do what is best for them,” Isabella said.

“People are going to gossip about you and that will affect Wyatt and Gus,” Spencer said.

Isabella scoffed. “They aren’t going to gossip about me any more than they did when we split up. I have to hear about every one of the women you date.”

Spencer squirmed in his chair. “The boys haven’t met any of them.”

Isabella simply looked at him.

“All your friends will drop you,” he said.

“What friends?” Isabella said. “You’ve made it so awkward that most of them don’t talk to me anyway.” She stood up and walked back to the island. “I’ve got work to do.”

“So that’s it,” he said, following her into the kitchen. “No discussion.”

“We just talked about it,” Isabella replied. “There’s nothing else to discuss. I love Kelsey, she loves me, and we’re together from now on.”

She walked to the front door and opened it. Spencer stared her down one more time then stopped in front of her. “We’ll see how long this lasts.”

“It’s a forever thing,” Isabella said with a smile.

Spencer left and Isabella shut the door. She walked over to the island and was still smiling when she called Kelsey.

“This is going to take us up the mountain,” Dana said, stopping in front of a four-seater ATV.

Gus squealed and hopped into the front seat on the passenger side. “Let’s go!”

“Uh,” Wyatt said, holding up a finger. “There are six of us and four seats.”

“It’s okay, Wyatt,” Kelsey said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Your mom and I will stay down here.”

“If you’ll follow that trail just into the woods, there’s a bench with a nice view. We won’t be long,” Dana said. “Buckle up, buttercup,” she said to Gus as she went around to the driver’s side.

Gus giggled then he leaned over towards Dana. “I know what they’ll be doing.”

“What’s that?” Emma asked, getting into the back seat with Wyatt.

“They’ll be holding hands and kissing the whole time we’re gone,” Gus said.