Page 33 of Quinton's Quest

Huh.

Obviously I’d misstepped there somehow.Maybe because you implied he needed counseling?

Huh.

Had I done that? Had I thought that?

Possibly.

Probably.

Along with a shit ton of love for his kids was a shit ton of regret for the way he treated his ex. I understood the impulse to protect. If I ever thought someone was a threat to Mama, I’d take them out.

I put myself in Leo’s shoes. If I’d been the one to come home and find my husband passed out from drugs and our two young children in the next room, I’d have lost my shit as well.

Huh.

I tapped the phone and the screen lit. I considered long enough that the screen went dark again. To text or not to text—that was the question.

Better not. He knows where you are.

I rose from the table and retrieved a container. Enough of my dinner remained that I wasn’t going to put it in the compost. Nope, I could eat it for lunch the next day.

Once all the leftovers were organized, I gazed down at my outfit. Tight jeans, super tight T-shirt with a unicorn vomiting glitter. I’d done my eyeshadow to perfection, and I was ready to hit the town.

Except…now I didn’t feel like it. What I really wanted was to drive over to Dr. Leopold Rodgers’s house and to give him a big, old hug.

Letting out a long sigh, I headed to the bathroom.

I was too tired anyway. I’ll go out tomorrow night and paint the town neon pink.

Yeah, except I didn’t do that either.

Chapter Ten

Leo

Dr. Kennedy Dixon. Healing Horses Ranch.

Except Dr. Dixon didn’t have an opening. So, despite Gideon’s suggestions, I’d been stymied.

The nice lady who answered the phone, saying she was Rainbow Dixon, had let me know Justin Bridges-Powers had an opening and so here I was, on a Thursday evening, meeting with a therapist.

Gideon hadn’t said anything after my weird text asking for a recommendation for a counselor. The Sunday-night handoff had gone well. Melodie appeared reluctant to let me go when I returned her to Gideon, but Trevor was already cuddling with Lucky, and they were happy together. “They’ll be okay,” Gideon had said. “We’ll send lots of pictures. And, if you want, you can come for dinner on Wednesday.”

Being a masochist, I’d gone for dinner.

Archer and Gideon were clearly holding back on the PDA. They reached for each other several times, only to pull backwhen they remembered I was there. Well, if the little looks they gave me were any indication.

Our kids were, apparently, over the moon at having all their daddies in the same place. Slowly but surely, Archer had moved into the stepparent role with ease—even if the two men weren’t officially married.

I did my best to smile, enjoy the lasagna, and prove to our children—as well as the adults in the room—that I could be civilized and friendly. It shouldn’t have been as difficult as it turned out to be.

Hence me showing up at Healing Horses Ranch the next night to see a therapist.

A lovely woman with black hair and eyes the palest shade of blue I’d ever seen greeted me in the parking lot, along with a yellow lab. “I’m Rainbow and the dog’s Tiffany. She’s very friendly, but don’t feel pressure to interact with her.”

“She’s the therapy dog?”