Page 57 of Fate

Carson is one step ahead, even in his bare feet. “They are not my family… Well, technically Cora is. But you don’t understand. I need to explain.” He holds on to my biceps, keeping me in place.

“No, you need to let me go!” I yell directly in hisface.

He overpowers me in a few steps, pushing me back against my car, towering over me and caging me in. “I’ll never let you go again. Didn’t we decide that just this morning? It’s us. Together. Facing allodds.”

I swallow and my eyes fill with tears. “That was before…before I found out your fucking secret. How long have you been cheating on her? And my God. Blond hair, brown eyes? You’ve definitely got a type!” I sob and push againsthim.

“Yeah, I do have a type. You. Only you. I’m not with Misty.”

I lean harder against the car behind me, not wanting any part of him touching me. It’s too much. Too everything. “Really? She’s wearing a nightie in your house and holding your daughter. My God, Carson. You have a daughter. Not our daughter. Your daughter!” The emotions come barreling out in a heap of sadness and loss. “You. Have. A. Child!” I choke on the words, each one of them shredding my very soul to pieces.

Carson cups my head and holds my chin so I can’t move away. I’m forced to watch his beautiful blue eyes swirl with regret. “Yes. I do. And I just found out about it less than a monthago.”

I sniff and wipe at my nose, not understanding what he’s saying. “What?”

“Will you talk to me? Let me get some clothes on. Come in and talk? Please.”

I jerk my head back. “With that woman here? Prancing around like your wife? I don’t thinkso.”

He sighs and leans his forehead against mine. “She’s not my wife. She’s not anything other than the mother of my child. I swear it. I’ll explain everything, if you’ll just comein.”

I shake my head, my heart breaking with every breath.

“Please. Please. Don’t push me away. Not after this morning. Last night. Last week. Kat, baby, I’m begging you to hear me. See me. Trustme.”

Trustme.

That’s what he said when he left my apartment this morning and ran home to this woman and his daughter.

I close my eyes, a traitorous tear slipping down. Carson’s lip covers my cheek and kisses it away. I moan in agony at his touch, the simple press of his lips to my flesh. I want nothing more than to drown in him. Hug him and make it all go away…but I can’t.

“I’ll take all your tears. Happy or sad. They’re mine. You’re mine. And I’m yours. Don’t throw us away before I’ve had a chance to explain.”

“Carson.”

“No, Kathleen. I’m not letting you leave here, leave me, until you’ve heard every word of what I have to say. You owe me that. Please.”

And I do owe him that. I pushed him away two years ago with everything I had in me. If anything, I deserve to sit through what I can only imagine is going to be a horrifying tale of him falling in and out of love with another woman before coming back tome.

I can’t control my lip trembling or the tears from falling at the sheer visual that image presents. My worst nightmare come to life…and I’ve seen a lot of shit. Went through more with my soul sisters. But this? This has the power to destroy me forever.

“Trust me.” He whispers the words against my lips. “Just trust me.” He presses his lips to mine, and I can’t help but kiss him back. I’m incapable of not reacting to his touch, and with this kiss, he pours himself into it unlike any other. His lips, teeth, and tongue are ravenous, desperate. I’m no better. Kissing him as though it’s our last, like we might never see one another again, and depending on what he has to say, that could very well be the truth.

When we both can’t breathe, he pulls away, sucking in air, his bare chest moving rapidly against my palm where I’ve laid it over his heart. His skin is cold to the touch, and I realize he must be freezing, standing out in the chilly midmorning air with no shoes, socks, or shirt to ward off thecold.

“You need to go inside. You’re freezing.”

“I’d stand in a fucking ice storm in Alaska if it meant I’d come out of it with you by myside.”

“Carson.” I lean forward and wrap my arms around hisbulk.

He burrows his face into my neck. “Will you come inside? Let me explain?”

I can’t deny him this one request. He needs it. Hell, I need it, or I won’t be able to move on one way or the other. I nod against his chest.

“Okay. Come on. We’lltalk.”

He leads me into the house and walks me directly into his room. He grabs a T-shirt out of his drawer and tugs it over his head. “Can you wait here a moment?” His eyes are pleading, one hand holding onto the doorknob as he waits for my acquiescence.

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