Page 14 of Playing For Keeps
He shifts and glances at the computer screen. “Um… They would’ve kept information from me.”
“Yet here we are.”
He stands and peers over at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They're involved now, and you’re in the exact situation you were afraid of. Considering you’re calm and focused, I’m wondering if there’s more to the story.”
“What can I say, Hunter?” He shrugs and gestures to the doorway. “Let’s take this downstairs. I’m going crazy in here just staring at the screen.”
I lead the way. “Not to keep at this, but I’ve been around the block a few times. You have more at stake, and I’d like to understand what that is.”
He’s quiet for a moment as we take the stairs down to my main floor. I walk to the kitchen with him following behind. I stand on one side of my center island as he studies me from the other side.
He sets his coffee down. “Hunter, we all have more at stake. Dori’s life is on the line.”
“I have to believe we’ll get her back alive and well.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “We better. She’s got too much to live for.”
“About that. I’ve done some thinking.” My heart breaks in half, knowing what I’m about to say.
He stares at me. “About?”
“Your sister and me.”
“What about it?”
“When we got back together, it was because I had done a lot of work on myself to be a better man. I wanted to be worthy of her love.”
“Yeah, and you can have that again.”
“That’s what I’m trying to explain. When Jamison got shotand she ended it, I slid back into some old habits. I’m not proud of that. That’s why once we get her back, I’m not going to tell Dorothy that she’s been reinstated.”
His chest puffs out. “Why?”
I take a deep breath and focus on being the man I need to be for my son. “She belongs with Jamison.”
“The fuck she does.” Aiden glares at me like he wants to tear me apart.
“Hear me out before you decide to hit me.”
He shifts but stays in place. “Fine.”
“Those old patterns that I was operating from are what got her abducted. If I had been upfront with her and told her what we were planning, she wouldn’t have left Jamison’s place. She’s missing because of me.”
Aiden’s lips part into a snarl as he gets ready to say something, but he stops himself. He shakes his head and spins away.
“Dori never does what anybody asks her to do.” His shoulders rise and fall with each tortured breath he takes. “Fuck! If she wouldn’t have been moving to Miami to be with Jami, she wouldn’t be in this position. It’s his fault she’s gone.”
“No, Aiden. That’s where you’re wrong. My mother wanted Dorothy out of my life. If I didn’t concoct some made-up story to bring my mom out into the open and use Dorothy as bait, she would be in Miami and far away from any harm.”
“So maybe it isn’t his fault, but…” His posture slumps with the truth. “That doesn’t mean she should be with him.”
I picture the look in her eyes when she spoke about Jamison at our lunch the other day. The love she has for him radiates from her soul. A flame of painful longing singes my heart.
“Aiden, she’s in love with him. No matter how hard you try to keep them apart, they’ll find their way back to each other. They always do.”
He twists to me with his face red. “So you’re just giving up and letting him win?”
