Page 8 of Bride for Keeps

Carter didn’t look up from the cafeteria sandwich. “That isn’t any of your business.” Even the mention of Sierra made his brain shut down, leaving a numbness. His body and brain refusing to deal with the pain that ached there. A protective mechanism.

Lina huffed. “For someone who isn’t actually Dad’s blood relation, you sure do sound like him.”

He flicked a glance up at her, but that tiny glimmer of anger faded so fast he wasn’t even sure it was real beyond all the numbness.

“What iswrongwith you?” she said. “Thatshouldpiss you off. Sierra wanting to divorce youshouldscare the hell out of you.”

“She doesn’t want to divorce me,” Carter replied, without really thinking the words through. But, she couldn’t want…that. Things were bad, but she’d initiated that night last week. She wasn’t going to leave him.

She couldn’t.

“Carter. She’s been to a lawyer.”

“That isn’t true.” It couldn’t be. They’d… They’d slept together. Yes, it had been a mistake and yes, he’d walked away and stayed away for a week, but it meant she cared. She’d made vows. She was supposed to stick with him through thick and thin. That was how this worked.

“You need to talk to her, or you need to get professional help. Actually both.”

“Professional help?” He stared at his sister blindly.

“You’re depressed.”

“I’m notdepressed. I’m…” Fine wasn’t the right word, but he couldn’t come up with an alternative that fit what he was feeling.

“Are you sleeping?”

“I—”

“No. Anyone can see that. Eating?”

“I eat.”

“Not enough. Are you enjoying your work, work that you’ve always enjoyed, or are you just going through the motions?”

“I…” He was sure her point was wrong, and yet he couldn’t find an adequate defense of how he was feeling, or his actions.

“You’re depressed, Carter. Talk to your wife, or talk to a therapist, or, like I said, both, but you have to talk to someone. You have to…do something. You can’t keep being this.” She made a hand motion that seemed to encompass his entire being.

Talk to someone? That didn’t change anything. His life was still upended, and talking only ever… He needed to handle this like his father did. Strong. Sure. Calm. Once it was handled, he’d be able to act. “I’m handling it.”

Lina shook her head and handed him an envelope. “Then why am I handing you divorce papers?”

Carter could only stare at the envelope.

“Sierra came here wanting to give them to you herself, but she… Anyway, she asked me to do it. And I agreed so I could try and talk some sense into you.”

“I’m having the worst year of my life and she wants to divorce me?” Divorce. It was hard to make his mouth even move to say that word, because that word conjured up images of a life without Sierra and…

Haven’t you been living a life without Sierra?

“Do you think about anyone but yourself?” Lina asked disgustedly, tossing the envelope next to his tray and onto the table. “Have you given even five seconds of thought to anyone who’s also affected by all this, or is it only about poor Carter?”

This time the spark of anger lit and stayed. “I have been busting my ass to take care of Mom. I have been—”

“Hiding,” Lina finished firmly, looking down at him with suchcontempt. His little sister who was forever trying to one-up him, and he hadn’t even had to try to make it impossible.

Except she’s his and you’re not.

“You’ve been an ass and a coward, and maybe some of that would be forgivable if you cared about anyone but yourself, but I guess I’ve been wrong all this time. You are just like Dad, biology or no. Nurture versus nature, right?”

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