Page 49 of Hers to Hold
As he drove away, he considered her request. Considered ignoring it.
Then he put himself in her shoes. She didn’t have any family and was seeking one out. It was on Kady to come clean to her sisters. To tell Kat and Kori what she did would be spiteful. And no matter how he felt right now, he wasn’t a spiteful kind of guy.
He did text his therapist for an emergency session.I should’ve listened to him. Should’ve done the two-week test.At least he would’ve shielded his heart from the pain tearing through it.
Now he had to figure out how to tell Dr. Rafferty he had screwed up.
He had to figure out how to fall out of love with Kady.
Chapter 20
Kady wasn’t sure how long she’d been numb.
The second she came upon Wes in the park, she knew he was the source. Her heart had shattered at his look of disbelief and then fury. She wasn’t sure how to articulate what she felt for him and how their relationship hadn’t been a lie.
Why didn’t you just say that? ‘Wes, you and I are real.’ How hard could that be?
Very. Because she couldn’t do it. The longer she sat beside him, the deeper she swallowed the words. Anger rolled off of him in a hot wave that smacked her and sucked her under every time they locked eyes. She couldn’t breathe.
He wouldn’t have believed you. There was nothing you could say to change his mind about that.
His clipped tone when he ordered her to stay away from him and Chastity still fractured what was left of her broken heart.He hates me, and I don’t blame him.
Kady rushed past the front counter, not acknowledging her fake coworkers before ducking into the kitchen.Please be here.She had to talk to Kat before Wes told Drew—who would tell Kat. She couldn’t expect him to keep her secret. And wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. Drew and Kat were his friends. She was still an outsider. As an ex-soldier, he would protect his family.
From the enemy.
Her.
She hung her satchel up with the rest of the personal belongings and scanned the kitchen. When her eyes met Mary’s, she froze.
Mary smiled and took her hands. “You’re looking for Kat, aren’t you? She’s not here. How about we go to the break room and have a chat?”
Kady swallowed and nodded. After Kady closed the door to the room she faced Mary. “You know.”
Mary nodded. “I do.”
“Since when?”
“The moment I opened my front door and saw your face.”
Kady closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “And you let me into your home? What you must think of me…”
Mary chuckled. “You looked like such a lost little kitten searching for a home. Of course I’d let you in.” She took a seat at a round table and patted the table in front of her. “Come, have a seat.” Kady obeyed. “Now, you want to tell me everything?”
“Gregory…your late husband. He…he and my mother…” Why was this so difficult for her to get out? She was a reporter, for goodness sake.
“You look a lot like Katrina. You both have Gregory’s nose. I figured he’d had an affair. He went on a number of business trips and I always had my suspicions.” She folded her hands in her lap, her lips frowning. “I never got the courage to confront him.”
“I can imagine,” Kady softly reasoned. “He doesn’t sound like he was a very nice man.”
“He wasn’t. Not to me or the girls.”
“I’m sorry,” Kady said in a rush. “I…I thought that he wanted nothing to do with me because he had a family that he loved more than…more than me,” her voice dropped at the end.
Mary snorted. “I’m not sure he loved anyone more than himself. But I don’t blame you for thinking so. He abandoned you and your mother. Anyone would’ve thought the same.”
Kady appreciated her level of empathy, even though she wasn’t convinced it was deserved. Her lungs seized as the confession fell out her mouth. “You’ll blame me for this. I’m an investigative journalist.”
