"It's just a horse," he said.
She started to cry. "No. He was your friend. You could talk to him when you couldn't talk to me."
"Ed was a horse," he repeated. "I'm glad it wasn't you."
She leaned toward him, leading with her right shoulder. He drew her close, taking care not to touch her left shoulder.
"Crying isn't going to bring him back.
No, it wouldn't for a fact, but then, neither would sulking. Maybe he was ready to forgive her now. She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly until it no longer faltered. Finally she drew back and gazed up at him.
"I'm sorry I disobeyed you."
His brows shot up in surprise. "Disobeyed?" The brows came down crouching over brooding dark eyes. "This is a marriage, Carmen, not a dictatorship. You promised me you wouldn't go up there alone and you broke your promise. Don't act like I'm some kind of control freak."
She caught her breath and took a step back.
"I didn't mean to … I know I broke my promise, but … sometimes things happen and we change our minds."
He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned down at her.
"So what was this important situation that forced you to break that promise?"
"I left my phone up there and it was going to rain. It would have ruined the phone."
His brows shot up again. "The phone was insured."
She met his gaze. "I know that, but what would Jonathan say? He'd use that for an excuse and …"
Alex rolled his eyes and interrupted. "That's lame, Carmen. Who's the adult here? So, if you left your phone up there it would have been ruined. Would that have been more irresponsible than what actually happened? We told him he couldn't have a phone. That's all we needed to say. You're the one who tacked on the reasoning that he had become irresponsible."
She frowned at him. "He hasn't been taking care of his horse and …"
"No, he's been absorbed with the band. It isn't that he's irresponsible. The problem is that he is making poor choices. Do you think your example is going to correct that problem?"
She stared at him, squelched by the truth. A person never got old enough or mature enough that they were no longer capable of making a poor choice.
Alex continued. "What I don't understand is why you didn't get Rob to go up there with you. I understand the rest of them were gone, but he was there at the house. And why didn't you at least tell Felipa where you were going so someone would have known to look when you didn't get back on time. What were you thinking?"