Page 50 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

Whoa. This was news to me. I mean, Dani had intimated that Jill wasn’t as great as she portrayed herself to be, and we’d made fun of her fashion choices, but Dani had always tiptoed around the subject. I’d figured she just hadn’t wanted to rub salt in my wounds. But was there more to the story?

Sheridan shook her head and put on a fake smile. “I’m sorry, darling. Let’s not discuss her. We are here to focus on you.”

I took her hand. She was clearly distressed. “Please, don’t worry about me. What can I do to help you?”

She leaned away with a grin. “Let me treat you today.”

I hung my head. “I walked into that one, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” she sang.

I bit my lip and hemmed and hawed a bit before I relented. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her more. “Okay. Just this once.” How could I tell her no?

She waved her hand in front of me. “Let’s not make promises we won’t keep.”

“Sheridan, as kind as this is, you don’t need to do anything for me. You should spend it on your family.”

She rested her hands on my shoulders and with determination said, “I have every intention of making you part of my family.”

Those words hit me like a bulldozer. I was sure I was bright red, for as hot as I felt. “Uh . . .” I couldn’t form any words together.

“Yes,” she smiled. “You catch my drift, don’t you?”

I nodded, still unable to speak. I couldn’t believe what she was intimating. She saw me with her son? Did Brant know that’s how she felt? If he did, he needed to set her straight—tell her that I wasn’t good enough for him. That thought afforded me the ability to speak. “Sheridan,” I croaked, “I’m done with men.”

She squeezed my hand. “Darling, I don’t blame you. I am well aware of the trouble and hurt they cause,” her voice hitched unnaturally.

I was sure she was alluding to her husband.

“Regardless, you don’t have the full picture, and it would be unwise to make such rash decisions.”

“I promise you, I’m not.” It was Sheridan that didn’t have the full picture. Did she know that I had kissed her son and after that we had hardly spoken for almost two years? Even now when we talked, he ran so hot and cold. And he was cautious. I could only call him, and if we did meet, it was at the running trail. It was as if he were paranoid for some reason. And let’s not forget he’d been engaged. Though perhaps I had been wrong about that entire situation, given Sheridan’s ire a few moments ago.

“I’m sure you believe that. And you have every right to. But I’m begging you, please keep an open mind.”

I was going to ask her to elaborate when Shelby walked in with another customer who wanted to try on some clothes. Shelby saw her into the fitting room next to mine before directing her attention toward us.

“My, my, Miss Kinsley, you are too hot for words. Please tell me you are buying this dress. It was made for you.”

If it were anyone else, I would think she was just making a sales pitch. However, she was too sincere. She almost made me a believer.

“We’re taking it all,” Sheridan said before I could say a word.

That was all Shelby needed to hear before she rushed off, probably afraid I would make Sheridan change her mind. I didn’t think I had the power to do that.

Once Shelby was out of sight, Sheridan wrapped an arm around me and whispered in my ear. “You’re part of the package too. I’m taking you as well. Once and for all, I’m going to make things right for you, for Brant, for everyone,” she vowed.

I’m not going to lie; I was more than a little concerned. What did she have to make right for Brant? For everyone? Who was everyone? However, I did know one thing, “Brant and I don’t belong together,” I said, quiet as a mouse.

“Oh, darling, take it from me—don’t live a lie. You have no idea the pain it can cause.”

“I’m not lying,” I stammered.

She gave me a sad smile. “I know part of you believes that, but”—she pointed at my heart—“listen hard to what this is telling you. Don’t trade tomorrow’s happiness because you’re hurting today.”

“I can’t,” my voice trembled. “I can’t hope anymore.” I turned toward my fitting room to get out of the dress before I started to cry.

She grabbed my hand. “Kinsley,”—her eyes bored into mine—“I will hope for you until you can believe again. Please hold on.”

“Hold on to what?” Brant and I had never been anything but friends.

“Yourself. Your true self. Don’t be afraid to dream big.”

I grabbed my heart. My mother used to say that exact thing to me. I used to believe her. But that was before I knew the truth. After all, dreaming had never done my parents any good. “They never come true.”

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