Page 71 of Hidden Memories

“Now it fits you better.” He smirks.

He’s flirting?

I cock my eyebrow. “You better stop being so nice to me.”

“Or what?”

“Or it’s going to be really damn hard to be just friends.”

His lips press together. “I want to do right by you, Kat. But I don’t think either of us knows what that looks like yet.” He lowers his tone. “Plus… if you keep looking like that around me, it sure is going to be hard. Very, very hard.”

My breath stills.

“But no matter how hard that is, a real man doesn’t treat you like less just to make things easier on him.”

And you truly are the definition of a real man.

“Grub’s up!” Luis calls from what feels like a million miles away.

Santi is more serious now. “Think about Anton and Gabriel helping. Please.” He glances toward Theo, watching him play. Then back at me. “Don’t let pride keep you from taking what you need, Kat.”

As if it’s just that easy. Nothing in my life has ever been easy. Accepting their help means admitting that the danger is real. That I can’t protect Theo on my own. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that truth just yet.

Chapter Seventeen

PRESENT

Theo wantedto drive back with me in the truck, so he and Kat came with me. Only moments after Theo’s buckled into the backseat, he’s snoozing. I glance in the rearview mirror, and he’s clutching the hunk of wood I gave him for his first project like it’s a blankie.

Kat catches my eyes on him and turns to peek herself. “Are you sure you have time to teach him whittling?” She settles back into her seat. “You must be so busy with Monarch Hills.”

“It’s busy, but I’m stepping away more. When Ispoke with the foster agency, they said my application wouldn’t get approved if I couldn’t show I’m able to prioritize Owen. I promoted my stable manager and head trainer to Executive Director. Bran’s so good I’m having separation anxiety from work. Point being, giving Theo whittling lessons will keep me out of trouble.”

She hums a laugh but glances out the window, thoughtful.

I turn left onto San Antonio Valley Road. Julia’s is only another five minutes away, but I wonder if Kat would notice if I took the long way around.

“It’s incredible you made all your dreams come true,” she says, her voice tinged with whimsy.

“What about you?” I ask, the irony not lost on me. “Did you finally become a starving artist like you always wanted?”

“The only thing I ever became was a wife and a mother.”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

A beat of silence passes, heavy with unspoken words.

“It wasn’t my plan. But Theo has brought out the best in me, unlike his father.”

I flip the station to Smooth Jazz and redirect the radio to the back speakers only. “You said you were never engaged to Nic? Not even before getting married?”

“No. It was a shotgun wedding. It took a long time to move on from you. About two years after something just clicked in me that I needed to at least try to live my life. My few friends in the apartment block were dating and going out, whereas I was focused on my schoolwork and binging reality shows where they redesign cars into rat rods and works of art.”

“Love those shows.”

“Yeah. I did a whole series of car designs back then.”

I wonder if she still has them but don’t want to change the subject. Quite the opposite. I want to stay on track. “So, it took two years to move on? That’s fast.” I tease.Sort of.

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