Page 128 of Resisting Isaac

I keep checking on her from the corner of my eye, hoping she’ll say something. Crack a joke. Yell. Cry. Anything but this endless nothing.

Five hours of nothing. Makes me grateful I sprung for the more expensive, much faster Lancair years ago instead of a Cessna.

By the time we touch down in Paradise Valley, it’s almost dinnertime. My mom, Ivy, Willow, and Sutton greet us by the hangar like a homecoming parade.

Ivy hugs us both and asks to see pictures of the ceremony.

When Elena mumbles that one of her family members took photos but we haven’t seen them yet, Ivy backs up to give her some space.

She’s radiating strongstay the fuck away from mevibes. I thought it was just for me, but apparently it extends to everyone.

“We thought we’d throw you a little reception,” Ivy says, looking less excited and more uncertain. “Just us. Dinner on our back deck. Dessert courtesy of Laurel.”

I’m starving. We didn’t eat before we left New Mexico, and I only stopped once for fuel and to grab Elena snacks she didn’t eat.

But Elena steps back. “I’m exhausted,” she says quickly. “Sorry. Could we maybe do that another time?”

“Oh,” Ivy says softly. “Yeah. Of course.”

“I’m just going to go lie down. If you’ll excuse me.”

I wave the well-meaning women in my family off and tell them I’ll check in tomorrow and let them know.

I start to follow my wife, thinking we’re heading home. But she turns toward the guest cabin.

“Elena? You okay?”

She clears her throat. Glances at my family behind us. “I think I just want to be alone tonight. And maybe we shouldn’t cohabitate. Keep this already messy situation as uncluttered as possible.”

“Uncluttered?” I repeat.

She nods. “I’ve just played fake bride all that I can manage right now. I’m sorry. But it’s better this way,” she says flatly. “So, we don’t forget this isn’t real.”

My heart drops. “Elena?—”

“Let’s not complicate things any further, Isaac” she says, sad eyes flicking anywhere but my face. “You live at your house. I stay in the Lazy Bear cabin like I was always supposed to. We maintain boundaries.”

Her hands shake when she picks up her bag. And her voice breaks on the last word. Barely there, but I know her now. I’ve seen her come undone. This isn’t indifference. This is armor.

I carry her bag to the cabin’s front porch, set it down and step aside, giving her as much space as I can.

“Did someone say something?” I ask, jaw tight. “Your mom? Someone in your family? Diego?”

I saw them. Talking outside. Standing closer together than I would’ve preferred.

But it didn’t look romantic, and she mostly looked annoyed or maybe even disgusted by him from what I could tell. By the time I was heading outside, he was driving away. But then she never mentioned it. And she’s been out of sorts ever since.

“No.”

“Then what the hell is this?” My voice rises. “We gotmarried, Elena. I get that it was supposed to be fake, but none of it felt fake to me.”

She stiffens. “Well, that’s your problem. Another reason for both of us to stay where we belong.”

“You want to go back to before? Suffering through training camp pretending we were strangers?” I ask. “Fine. But at least admit it’s because you’re scared. Say it’s because it’s easier than admitting you love–”

“It’s because I don’t want anything from you, Isaac,” she snaps. “At all. You’ve done enough. I just didn't want to lose my job or for the ranch to lose the location contract.”

“You don’t mean that.”