Page 74 of Fatal Betrayal

"I remember. I liked it. No one ever made breakfast at my house, so I was thrilled to get it for dinner." She took a breath, feeling like she was walking on the edge of a cliff, but she had to keep going. "If I ask you to tell me more about Kyle's life, would it be too painful?"

He sucked in a breath, resting his hands on the counter. "What would you want to know?"

"Did he go to college? Have a job? Did he live away from home? Did he have a girlfriend?"

"He had a girlfriend for about a year and a half when he was in his twenties. Her name was Georgia Blake. She was a kindergarten teacher, sweet as could be, and she really cared about him. But Kyle had a lot of personal demons that went along with his depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. He also had trouble with communication, which made relationships and jobs hard for him."

"So he had a job. What did he do?"

"He worked at several jobs, mostly with computers. He was good at coding, and he liked not having to interact with humans." Cooper took a breath. "He'd do well for a while, but the mood swings always came back. Medications would help for a while and then need to be changed. Sometimes he'd bounce all the way back and feel like he was completely normal. He'd be the brother I always wanted. And then other times, he'd disappear for days at a time and then he'd get fired. It was an agonizing circle he couldn't get out of. I really wanted to help him, Andi."

"I know," she said softly.

"That's really why I went into psychology. It wasn't just about understanding criminals. I thought if I could understand Kyle better, I could help him. I could…"

"Fix him?" she asked, as he appeared to be searching for the right words.

He met her gaze. "Yes. I wanted to make him better, make him happy, make him whole. But I wasn't smart enough. I couldn't make it happen." He paused again. "But I don't want to downplay the impact the false accusations had on his life. He suffered from a lot of hatred for no reason for a very long time. Even years later, someone would suddenly say something about the kidnapping, make others suspicious of him. He moved away when he was twenty-three for about three years. He was in a small town in Arizona. That's when he was with Georgia, but then a friend of hers from LA said she'd heard his name in conjunction with the kidnapping. I don't think Georgia believed he did it, but it changed things between them. That's when he realized he would never escape the past. He came home and for the next year, I watched him struggle even more. That's when I realized he wasn't the only person who'd ever had to deal with being falsely accused."

She was sorry they'd come back to that part of his life, but she was realizing she could never fully escape from that circle, either.

"What about you?" she asked changing the subject. "I know about your professional life, what about personal? Have you ever been in love? Ever lived with anyone? Thought about getting married?"

"I think we should eat," he said.

"The questions are not that difficult."

"But I'm hungry, and I could use some wine, too. Let's sit at the table."

She slid off her stool and joined him at the kitchen table where he set out a meal that was restaurant worthy, and suddenly she was more interested in eating than hearing about other women. In fact, she wasn't sure why she'd even asked about his love life. She didn't need to close the distance between Cooper and herself; she needed to widen it. While he had a lot of reasons to still hate her, she was finding it more and more difficult not to like him again, and that couldn't end well. So, she focused on her food, which was easy to do. The steak, mushrooms, and onions were delicious, perfectly seasoned, and just the right temperature. The salad was beautiful and fresh, and she enjoyed every bite.

"I can't remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal," she murmured as she cleaned her plate.

"Really? You don't cook at all?"

"Hardly ever. And when I do, it's quick and basic. Unlike you, my mother did not teach me how to cook, and dinner wasn't a meal I enjoyed growing up. That was usually when the fights started and, by dessert, I had an upset stomach."

Cooper gave her a compassionate look. "I knew it was bad, but I don't think I realized how bad."

"I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know. It made me feel like we weren't normal, which I guess was true."

"No family is normal. That's something I have learned in my study of psychology."

She smiled and sipped her second glass of wine, which had definitely mellowed her. "I have also realized since I grew up that even families that look good from the outside aren't always good on the inside. There's almost always a secret. Sometimes, that secret is nothing big. Other times, it's huge."

"Do you think Neil and Claire have a secret?" he asked curiously.

"He had an affair with Jillian. That was a secret."

"Good point. I don't think my parents ever had secrets, though."

"Or they're still secrets," she said. "But they do seem to really love each other, and they have respect and trust. That's so rare."

"What about you? Have you been in love, lived with anyone, thought about getting married?"

She shook her head. "No way. You didn't answer those questions. Why should I?"

He rested his arms on the table and smiled at her. "All right. I'll answer first. I've never lived with anyone, never considered getting engaged. As for love, I've been close a couple of times, but I haven't crossed the finish line."

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