Page 14 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

Dani held me closer and stroked my hair. “What happened, honey?”

It took me a few minutes to pull it together enough to speak coherently, and even then, it was iffy. And I was fairly sure I got snot on Dani’s shirt while I stammered out the entire mortifying story. My sisters swore and gasped at all the right parts while Grandma stayed silent, but I could hear her thinking. It was her way.

When I finally got it all out and my wailing became intermittent shudders, Dani leaned away and rested her hand on my cheek. “He’s going to regret this.”

I shook my head. “They never do. I’m not worth a second thought.”

She swallowed hard and her face went even more pale, which was saying something, since she had obvious signs of morning sickness. “Ah, Kins, if you only knew how loved and desired you are.”

“By whom?” I laughed maniacally. I was seriously on the verge of losing it.

Dani cleared her throat, refusing to answer. More like couldn’t answer because there was no man who loved or desired me.

“Say his name, already.” Grandma threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know what secrets you all are hiding, but this has gone beyond ridiculous. You all act as if Brant has died, though he lives among us. Even more asinine is that we’re all pretending he doesn’t take in Kinsley every second that he can, as if she were the air he breathes.”

The room became astonishingly silent. Even sweet Sammy stilled in Ariana’s arms.

I reached out and gripped the nearby coatrack to keep from faltering. “Please don’t joke about things like that,” I begged Grandma.

She approached me with her shrewd, but kind, amber eyes zeroing in on me. I knew that look. It meant that she was about ready to throw some cold, hard Kay-isms my way. A Kay-ism is the truth according to Kay, that more often than not ended up being right. It was maddening sometimes how right she could be about things. Dani and Ariana felt the same way, which was why Dani stepped away from me and gave Grandma a pleading look to keep her mouth shut.

Grandma was as determined as always and shook her head, making Dani hang hers and sigh. Grandma placed her aged, starting-to-knot hands on my face. She gave me a soft look devoid of pity. She never pitied us. She only ever tried to lift us up and make us see that we were strong and capable, no matter what obstacles we had to overcome.

I felt neither strong nor capable at the moment. And I knew I didn’t want to hear what she was going to say. I didn’t want to hear his name or give any credence to what she had said moments ago about him. For once, Grandma was wrong.

“Kinsley Marie Jones Kramer.” She used my full name, which was never a good sign. Jones was my parents’ last name. I’d wanted to honor both sets of parents, so I’d assumed both names. Someday I thought I would replace them with a husband’s last name, but at this rate, that was a pipe dream.

I closed my eyes as if I could hide from what she was about to say. Tears leaked out of the corners of them.

“I hate it when you girls cry. Especially you.” It was well known that I was the baby and treated as such.

“Open your eyes and face the truth, darling girl,” she spoke tenderly, or as tender as she got.

My eyes remained closed. I was tired of the truth. Because the truth was, I was never good enough. Not for men, my business partners, or life in general. It was almost as if the universe was trying to tell me I should accept that I had been born to poor circumstances and I should get it through my thick head it was all I was destined for. That trying to better my situation was futile. It was as if my nightmares were trying to tell me something—I was meant to be alone.

“Whether you look at me or not, you need to hear this. Most people who drift into your life aren’t meant to stay. Tristan was one of those. He was nice enough, and until today treated you well; but, honey, he was all about the fun and thrill of victory. Not the sort of man you make a life with.”

One eye peeked open. “Why are you just now telling me that’s how you saw him? I thought you liked him.”

“I did like him. He’s great to have a beer with and swap adventurous stories. But he’s not the settling down type. He was a nice Band-Aid for you, but he was never going to heal the wound left by Brant.”

My hand flew up to my throat. Why must she say his name? And I hadn’t used Tristan as a rebound, thank you very much. That honor had gone to a man named Ethan. In my defense, I had told Ethan I was nursing a broken heart when he had asked me out. He’d said he didn’t mind and hoped to heal it some, but then he’d ended up dumping me for a psychic who had told him he would marry a redhead with a beauty mark on her cheek. They were married in the spring and would probably have the four redheaded daughters she had “predicted” too. Honestly, I really needed to give up on men.

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