Page 114 of The Foul Out

“Danielle, your cousin? She came to see me here in Boston. She told me to stay away from her brother. Told me to stop trying to trick him into giving away the family money. Because I’d never be family.” Lips pursed, she shook her head. “She didn’t care that he was the one who’d sought me out.”

I swallowed. “I am aware of the full story.” Now.

“How nice that one of us was.”

“Harper.” I reached for her, and once again, she flinched away.

The move caused a sharp pain in my chest. Rubbing at it, I assessed her. I understood the anger, but I didn’t do any of this to hurt her. There were reasons. If she’d hear me out, maybe she’d understand them.

“If I’d told you who I was at the start, would you have had anything to do with me?”

She didn’t hesitate. Chin lifted again and voice strong, she said, “No.”

Exactly. It was a punch to the gut to hear it, but I wasn’t surprised. “I wanted to help you. To help JJ. And I couldn’t have done any of that if you knew who I was. So can you understand why I didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

“Harper. Please. I get why you’re mad.”

“Then you get that there is nothing you can say.” The response was so chilly I almost couldn’t believe it had come from my fiery girl.

My heart dropped. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” She snapped her mouth shut, and her anger morphed into a mixture of pain and defeat right in front of me. Eyes welling with tears, she said, “I don’t know why everyone I love lies to me.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked furiously. “But I do know you can’t come back from it.”

“I never lied.” The words were loud, full of frustration, causing her to step back. But I pressed on. “Everything I told you was 100 percent true. Not telling you about my family wasn’t a lie.”

“It was.” Her voice cracked. “I need to go.”

Panicked, I moved closer. “Please.”

She held out a hand, stopping me, and shook her head. “I need time to think. The kids and I will be out of here in five minutes. Please don’t make a scene in front of them.”

That request was what made my heart crack in two. Fuck. “You know I wouldn’t.”

With a nod, she turned away.

“Harper. Please.”

She froze, but she didn’t turn back around. “There is nothing left to say.” Her shoulders shook for a moment, but then shetook a deep breath, steadied herself, and walked out of the room. She didn’t appear again until she had the kids and their stuff.

Throat tight, I stood from where I’d been doubled over with my head in my hands. “Can I help with the bags?”

“No thank you.” Her voice was formal. “Wes called a car.”

Of course he did. I’d made it very clear that her wish was his command. Boy, had that come back to bite me in the ass.

“Say goodbye to Kyle.” She swallowed, and her eyes flitted shut. Subtly, her breathing hitched, but then she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin.

She was the woman from months ago. The one with a bird on her head, barely keeping it together in front of her kids. I desperately wanted to hug her, to hold her. And for a moment, I convinced myself that was exactly what I’d do. But before I could, she opened her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“He’s going to spring training and won’t be back for a very long time.”

Sam ran over and jumped into my arms. “I’ll miss you,” he said, squeezing my neck. “You’ll FaceTime Piper, right?”

I glanced over his head at his mom, who shrugged.

“Yes. Help Mom with stuff, okay?” I told him as I set him down.

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