Page 64 of Forever Your Touch

Her face crumbled, but he didn’t let it sway him.

“I need you to explain to me how a someone as smart, independent, and honest can stay with someone who treats them like Ray does you. You know better than that. You were raised like I was, to respect yourself and everyone else. I talked to your parents and to Keith yesterday, thinking maybe you’d had a boyfriend before Ray who treated you the same way. I thought maybe you had it in your head that was how women were treated or something, despite the very good relationship your parents have. I don’t understand how you can love Ray when he treats you like a second-class girlfriend on a daily basis.”

“There’s more to the story than you know, Mason. Something I never even told my family about.”

“Will you tell me? Because I’m having a hard time here, Josephine.”

She was silent for so long, Mason thought she was going to say no, so he was surprised when she nodded.

“Ray and I had been together for about a year when I got pregnant. It was an accident. The condom tore, and the antibiotics I was on screwed with my birth control.”

“Did you have an abortion?”

“God, no. I don’t believe in that, but the miscarriage was my fault.” She took a shuddering breath. “Me, and my klutzy curse.”

“Josephine…”

She held up a hand to stop him, and he retreated into silence. “We were camping, and I decided to hike up the hill. I was bored and wanted to do something besides sit and look at the lake. My feet got tangled together, and I fell, bouncing down the hill, and landed on a rock. Hard. The cramping started soon after that. By the time Ray got me to the hospital, I’d lost the baby.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

“It was my fault I lost our baby, but Ray never blamed me. He took care of me. He was there when I needed him, stood by me through my depression and rage. He was sweet and kind even when I didn’t deserve it. I’ll always blame myself for it. I owe him my loyalty, Mason, because he was loyal to me during the worst moment of my life.”

Fuck. He’d never suspected anything like that. His heart broke for her.

“Jo, it wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. You may not believe it now, but it was. Ray was right to stand by you like he did, but that doesn’t give him the right to treat you like he does now. No one deserves to be treated like a flyaway thought.”

“I know.” She took a deep breath. “Being around you and away from my family has opened my eyes to a lot of things. Losing our child was awful, and I made up for it by letting him treat me that way. I thought I deserved it for the longest time, but I can’t do it anymore, Mason. I can’t keep letting him put everything before me. I needed him here with me yesterday, and he chose his dad and their fishing trip over me. Despite what happened to our baby, I deserve better than that.”

Not knowing how else to comfort her, he pushed her over slightly and crawled into the bed with her, pulling her close. “It’s okay,moye dragotsennyy. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I’m saying goodbye to the last three years of my life, Mason. It’s going to take a while before it’s all okay.”

“You’ve got me.” He leaned over and kissed her temple. “Your FIBB will always be here when you need a shoulder to cry on or when you get too lonely.”

“That may be harder than you think when I’m three thousand miles away. I don’t want to go back to California, but my parents are going to insist on it when I tell them I’m breaking up with Ray.”

“Do you have any other place you can stay besides Ray’s?”

She thought for a few minutes. “Maybe, if my sorority has a house on campus. They might have a room.”

“You’re in a sorority?” He was shocked to the bone. She so wasn’t that kind of girl.

“My friend Abby dragged me to Kappa during rush week our freshman year. They knew who I was and thought I’d be good publicity for them. That’s what I figured, anyway. Who the hell would want the world’s biggest klutz as a member? They realized how clumsy I was the first fundraiser we organized.” She let out a little snort. Mason loved those snorts of hers. “After that, I got to sit and help out. No more accidents.”

“Kappa does have a house on campus.” He grabbed his phone and texted one of his brothers to haul Kappa’s president over to the hospital. He was doing his best not to crow. She was leaving the bastard, and now he might have a chance with her. Keeping the victory off his face was hard, but she’d just told him about the worst moment of her life. Showing how happy he was right now wasn’t the best way to handle her baring her soul to him. “I’m having one of my buddies bring the president over here to talk to you. If they don’t have any room, we’ll figure something out. You’re not going back to California.”

“It can wait a few days, Mason. I’m not leaving here anytime soon.”

“Yeah, well, I’m getting this shit locked down so you’ll have a plan when your parents try to get you to come home.”

“You’re intent on me staying in New York, huh?”

He saw something in her blue eyes that he pushed away. He didn’t want to scare her. She was just getting the courage to leave Ray. He couldn’t push her. Not yet, anyway. He’d keep his feelings tucked away for when she not only was ready to hear them, but also be in a place where she could respond to them.

“You’re staying right where you belong.”

“And where do I belong, Mason?” Her voice went soft and a little husky at the same time.

---