Page 39 of You're My Person - For Always

The tear that had clung to her lashes let go. He watched the droplet slide down her cheek. All those years, she'd stayed away from Gem Haven, away from her husband, away from her kids. He struggled to merge the image of the father he adored with the man who'd let his wife live a lonely life away from everything and everyone.

"You were okay being separated from your kids?" he said.

She inhaled swiftly and pursed her lips. Her chin lifted as if to shield herself from his judgment.

"I lived here because it was best for my kids." She held up her hand. "Don't blame your father. While he had his reasons, I had mine."

"Why?" He pressed his back into the chair. "You missed out on everything."

"It was worth it knowing you grew up with a happy childhood, surrounded by people who supported and loved you." She moved to the side of the room and opened a chest. "When your dad was here, he'd let me in the house after you boys were asleep. I'd sit for hours, watching you and Zane." She held up a blanket and inhaled deeply. "You outgrew this blanket, and I brought it back here so I could have a piece of you with me."

The air left his lungs. "Why didn't you fight harder?"

Fighting was all he'd known growing up under Ridge Stafford. If he wanted anything, he fought for it. Nothing was given to him for free.

She shook her head. "I have my reasons."

"What?" He wasn't going to let her excuse what happened.

She set the blanket back into the chest and closed the lid. "I came to Gem Haven like so many other young women who find themselves partying with the members at the clubhouse. I'd been on my own since I was sixteen."

"Where were your parents?" he asked.

He never had any desire to find his mother's family after he realized that she'd left him. Like his dad, and like Zane, he concentrated on Gem Haven. The members were his family.

"It was only my mom." She worked her hands in agitation. "She committed suicide because of..."

Fuck.

He stood from the chair. His mom had alienated herself into the cabin to keep her sons from hurting the way she had, growing up with a mother who had her own mental health problem.

His mom was afraid that she, too, would not survive and didn't want him and Zane to witness the results of losing the battle. In her own way, his mom wanted to protect her kids from the pain she'd experienced as a child.

He cleared his throat. "I should get home."

His mom nodded, hugging her middle.

Silence hung heavily between them. The thick air now filled with more secrets. He needed to get outside and breathe.

He was at the door in two steps but stopped before walking out.

"You're welcome to come to the house. Anytime. I'll make sure nobody makes you leave until you're ready to go home." He met her gaze. "You're notless. You're enough."

Happiness filled her watery gaze. He dipped his chin and walked out, leaving her alone in the cabin.

He had no idea how many years she'd hidden her struggles or how many sacrifices she'd made. He was starting to understand what kept her away. Zora had nothing to fear anymore.

It wasn't his place to judge her.

Chapter Eighteen

Kenna

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Kenna thumbed through the sketchbook on the bed. Most of her past was drawn in the book. The day her mom died. The day she was told her dad died. Losing contact with River. Meeting Kingsley. Each foster home she was put in and taken out of, juvie, group home, school, jobs, running away.

It was all there, staring her in the face.

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