Page 24 of Keep This Promise
Holden looks away, and then back to me before speaking. “The last six months in this town have been hard. You met Spencer and Emmett, but you didn’t meet Isaac. He was the best friend any of us ever had, and one of the best guys in general.”
I find that hard to believe since Holden took Eden and me in without a single hesitation. He has been nothing but nice to a girl he barely knows and his daughter he didn’t know he had.
He continues. “He was killed, which has triggered a lot of pain and sadness. Brielle was injured in the same incident, and she suffered memory loss, and . . . well, that’s a story all on its own. But then Emmett almost lost his life, and Blakely was put in protective custody. It’s been . . . a lot.”
“And here I thought my life was fucked up.”
“You are now my drama, it seems. A gorgeous girl rolls into town, three-year-old kid in tow, and . . . poof, I have a kid.”
I look away, hating that for him.
“Hey,” Holden says, tilting my chin back to him. “I’m not upset about it. I was honestly feeling a little left out.”
At that, I roll my eyes. “I don’t think this is something anyone wishes for, Holden. We don’t come without baggage.”
“We all have baggage. I have a past, which includes you.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t seem to have any flaws that I can see. You’re practically perfect.” Once I’m done with my rambling speech, I clasp my hand over my mouth. I am a bloody idiot. I just blurted that out in the car park where people are walking. Damn it.
“I’m far from perfect. I am a doctor who has made the wrong choices at times, and sometimes it cost a patient their life. While it was never negligent, it weighs on me. I knocked a girl up in Vegas and then passed out—that’s you, by the way.” I laugh. “I was married, failed at that. Jenna is a great woman, but I wasn’t the man she needed. We all have flaws, Sophie, and what I’m doing now isn’t heroic, it’s what any man should do.”
Not any man. I dated a horrible man who I ended a relationship with a few days before I went on holiday to Vegas. He never would’ve opened his home to me like Holden did.
“I don’t agree, but I do appreciate it.”
Eden bangs on the window, and then he says, “I think that’s our cue. Plus, it’s freezing out here.”
When we get into the car, there is an awkward silence around us. I am not sure what to say at this point. My entire life feels out of control, and I am grasping for something to hang onto.
Holden drives, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel, clearly not as much of a headcase as I am. I clear my throat. “I apologize for being a bit of a mess.”
“You’re not a mess, and you have nothing to apologize for. If the roles were reversed, I am pretty sure I’d be losing my mind.”
“I’m quite certain I am.”
“Well, if you aren’t, you will be after today. We’re going to Mama James now, and you’re going to love her. She took care of me after my parents took off and is the only real family I have. I’ll warn you, though, there will be a lot of questions, but I’ll do my best to field them.”
Nerves hit me. “Is she going to be cross?”
“About what?”
“Not telling you about Eden.”
Holden shakes his head. “Not at all. Mama James doesn’t really get mad about anything. She’s truly a saint. I don’t know how she came from the same family as my father and is the way she is. There’s no one more kind than her. Sure, she’ll have questions, but then you’ll be a part of her family.”
I don’t know anyone like that. I grew up in a home with parents who used love as a weapon. Family wasn’t a word that held any value to them. It’s why I work so hard to make sure Eden knows she’s loved unconditionally.
Maybe now she can have more, maybe she can have the type of family I never thought possible.
ChapterEight
HOLDEN
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t about to shit my pants bringing Sophie and Eden to my aunt’s house, but lying is what I’m going to do.
The truth is, the quicker I get this over with, the better it is for all of us. Mama James will bear the gossip so Sophie and I don’t have to. While the idea of using my aunt as a human shield doesn’t make me feel all that masculine, I’m man enough to at least admit it . . . to myself.
We pull up, and Sophie sighs.
