Page 54 of Mine to Keep

“Shit,” Jamison said. “That’s fucked up.”

“You’re right. It is. It’s the worst kind of betrayal.” Timothy used to tell her that he hit her because he loved her. That if he didn’t care that much, he wouldn’t bother. At first, she’d found that statement laughable. But near the end, she had begun to believe it.

Jamison hissed.

“The hardest part of all was that the other people in my life who were supposed to protect me, turned a blind eye to it all.” Not that her father and sister hadn’t paid attention—because they knew what was going on—but they had become so fed up with Bryn, her calls for help, and her unwillingness to do anything about it, that they had told her they would be there for her when she was ready to leave.

For good.

But if she kept going back to Timothy, then they couldn’t help her.

Well, she left. But now her family believed she was dead.

“What do you mean?” Jamison asked.

Here comes a big whopper of a lie. “My mom,” she said.

“That’s rough. That’s the one person you’re supposed to be able to depend on.”

“Exactly. And that’s why you struggle with yours.”

“My mother and I were always very close until this happened. I did feel betrayed. Much like I did when Cheryl cheated on me.”

“That makes sense. But now, let’s take this one step further. What your parents did was to protect you from something that shamed them and something you couldn’t understand as a child. Your mom didn’t want to break up her family, even though she risked it all when she had the affair. Your dad didn’t want to hurt your brothers, even though he left a few times. Steve had his own shit to deal with, and while doing that, he tried to respect everyone’s wishes. But because he didn’t take responsibility for his actions early on, he was the easy one to blame. But aren’t you also feeling like something was stolen from you?”

“That’s the rub. I’ve always been proud of who I am. I’m not sure I know how to be a part of Steve’s world and be proud of it.”

“You won’t know until you spend a little more time getting to know him, but don’t do it at the expense of losing yourself. You, my friend, have not changed. Your circumstances have, but you have not.”

That was something she wished had been true of herself. Unfortunately, everything about who she thought she was had changed the second Timothy had taken control of her life with his fists.

She was still trying to find her way back to her old self. But, sadly, that person was probably gone forever. Timothy had beaten her to death. Maybe that was a good thing, considering Bryn Tinsley needed to be stronger and fiercely independent.

“I’m ready for a nap after that,” he said. “So, how do I move past all this?”

“By spending time with each of your family members separately. Get to know them again. Reconnect.”

“I don’t know. Steve told me he’s going to propose to my mom. She’s going to move into this house if she hasn’t already, and I just can’t see her living like this. The only one in my family that would really like this lavish lifestyle besides my ex-wife is my private investigator brother, Rhett, and even he would have to scale it back.”

“Is there another reason you’re angry with your mom besides her affair and lying to you about who your birth father is?” Bryn relaxed into Jamison’s arms.

Birds chirped overhead. The sun beat down, warming her face. It had been years since she’d felt comfortable in a man’s embrace, and that scared the shit out of her for a variety of reasons. This shouldn’t feel normal. She shouldn’t want to be here like this with Jamison.

She should be sitting in her own space, but she wasn’t, and she wasn’t doing anything to get there, either.

“You’re a smart woman,” he said.

“Why are you so angry with your mom?”

Jamison pressed his lips against her temple. They were warm, soft, and she felt safe. Maybe too safe.

It was a set of emotions that she wasn’t sure what to do with. On the one hand, she wanted to stand up and run. Being in a man’s arms wasn’t smart. Yet, it seemed benign. As if nothing would ever come from this moment. Only she knew if this continued, something would indeed happen and she couldn’t afford to be entangled with anyone, especially someone like Jamison.

It was difficult to get a read on him, and because he could be controlling, she needed to put an end to this insane thinking.

And hugging.

But she didn’t move.

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