Page 14 of Billionaire Unexplained: Kaleb

“I don’t feel normal,” I said drily. “I feel like a crazy woman. I can’t do my job anymore, and my work has always been my entire life.”

“I have to admit that I feel like a hypocrite for saying this because my work life is the same way. Work has been my entire life, too,” Kaleb replied. “However, work isn’t always a great escape from things that are eating at you. It might delay reality, but those feelings are going to work their way to the surface, eventually.”

Why did it sound like he was speaking from experience? “Are you here to try to deal with something painful, too? Is that why you’re here at this cabin right now?” I asked.

I knew I was getting personal, but I didn’t care. I’d just spilled out a lot of the things that were bothering me.

He answered without hesitation. “Yes. But we’re talking about you right now. It’s nothing as traumatic as what you’ve been through.”

“Tell me,” I begged. “Maybe it will make me feel more normal. I’ve spilt my guts to you.”

He was silent for a moment before he spoke somewhat reluctantly. “I already mentioned that my female cousin had a stalker. Her name is Shelby. She’s more like a little sister to me than a cousin. She’s now married to Wyatt, one of my best friends, and living happily in San Diego. During that stalking, she came to Montana to visit. I knew it was possible that she was in danger. Her home in San Diego had been broken into weeks before she came here to Montana, but nothing odd had happened since that break-in. My brothers and I were careful. We kept a close eye on her, but I let my guard down one day. We were going to go riding. I stayed in the house for a few minutes to finish a work call while she headed to the barn. In those few minutes that she wasn’t in my sight, she was kidnapped by a serial killer who was obsessed with her. She was eventually rescued before he had a chance to rape and kill her, but she went through hell because I couldn’t leave work behind to prioritize her safety. I guess I’m here to get my priorities straight. I wasn’t home when my father died suddenly of a heart attack three years ago, either. I was out of the country…working.”

My heart ached because I could hear the guilt in his tone, and I was extremely familiar with that particular emotion. I could also sense that guilt because even though our circumstances were different, we were both struggling with the same emotions. “Neither of those things were your fault, Kaleb. Sometimes things just…happen.”

“Have you really been able to convince yourself that’s true?” he asked. “I think there’s a whole lot of guilt and self-blame flying around in this room right now.”

His question was more thoughtful than accusatory. If anything, he was mocking himself and not me.

“I haven’t,” I confessed. “But I know logically that it’s true. Unfortunately, sometimes logic and emotions don’t match up. I can’t explain how I feel. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t rationalize those emotions away, even though they aren’t logical.”

“Ditto,” he answered wryly as he tightened his arms around me protectively.

I allowed myself to totally relax in his sheltering embrace. For the first time in months, I felt safe and understood.

“If you want to have a good cry, feel free,” I teased. “It might make you feel better. I think it helped me.”

“I think I’ll pass,” he said in a throaty, amused voice. “But I’m more than happy to lend you a shoulder to cry on anytime you like.”

“I really hate the fact that I needed that,” I confessed. “I’m generally not the type of woman that cries all over someone I hardly know.”

“I know that,” he said simply. “But I’m here for you, Anna. You’ve been through hell. I can’t say I totally understand all that you’ve been through, but I think you need someone else you can trust right now. I’m going to be that person for you.”

Relief flooded over my body.

He was right.

I needed someone to lean on right now, and Kaleb was the only person I’d let into my head for a long time.

I wasn’t quite sure why I trusted that he wouldn’t judge me or my craziness, but he’d accepted how I felt without question.

He made me feel…normal.

“Why?” I whispered next to his ear. “I’m a virtual stranger to you.”

“I don’t know,” he said earnestly.

I didn’t push for an answer. There was some kind of connection between the two of us that was definitely not logical. And for once, I wasn’t going to question those feelings.

“Maybe you need me right now, too,” I mused. “Maybe we can help each other.”

I got the feeling that Kaleb wasn’t the kind of guy to open up to anyone, but we could talk.

We understood each other because we were struggling with regrets about our pasts.

Obviously we couldn’t heal each other’s wounds in a few days, but it felt good that we could be open and honest with each other about why we were here in the Montana wilderness right now.

He’d probably never know how much it meant to me that he accepted exactly who I was and what I was feeling without knowing my true identity.

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