Page 52 of No Regrets

Kelly closed her eyes only to see Dex’s face when she told him he had to let her go. He’d been shocked and hurt. She could read him easily after all these years. If things were different, she would give anything to go back to what they had, to how they were. One day she hoped to be ready for an intimate relationship, but that day wasn't here yet and she had no way to predict when it might be. The thought of Dex waiting for her to be ready was just too much pressure. He was a red-blooded man. He couldn’t wait forever, and he shouldn’t have to.

A knock at the door startled her. Setting down her wine, Kelly moved to peer through the peep hole. Oh shit. Matt Dawson stood on the other side. Had Dex told him? Hell, she really didn’t need to explain her reasons to Dex’s father. Leaning her head against the door, she took a breath. She couldn’t ignore him. This was Matt. The man was like a second father to her. Plastering a smile on her face, she opened the door.

“Matt.”

“Hi, Kelly. If you want me to go just say so. I won’t be offended.”

“Did Dex speak to you?”

Matt frowned. “No, should he have?”

Kelly relaxed a little. “No, it’s fine. Come on in.” She stepped aside to let him through, but he hesitated.

“Are you sure? I’m leaving tomorrow, and I just wanted to say hi before I left. I don’t need to come in.”

This time Kelly’s smile was more genuine. “Matt, it’s good to see you, and I’m glad you stopped by before you leave. Now come in.”

Matt stepped inside and Kelly closed the door. “I was having a glass of wine, want one?”

“Sure, that would be great.”

“Make yourself comfortable.”

Kelly grabbed another glass from the kitchen and poured Matt a more conservative amount of wine.

“You look well, Kelly. I’ve been worried about you, even though I have no doubts that you’re strong enough to get through this.”

“You don’t need to worry. I’m doing OK, really.”

“I want you to know that I’m here for you. I don’t know what’s going on with you and Dexter, and I don’t need to know. It makes no difference. I’ll always be here for you. Just pick up the phone.”

Kelly’s eyes filled. Damn, she thought she had been getting the tears thing under control.

“Thank you, Matt.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t. It happens a lot these days, and today has been quite a day.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“You really haven’t spoken with Dex?”

“He mentioned he saw you at the base and that the team spun up, which he’s pretty torn up about.”

“Shit, I forgot about that. Do you know where they’ve gone?”

“No. But apparently it should only be a few days. It’s tough on him. Not that Ryan can’t lead the team, but you know my son. He doesn’t do well sitting on the sidelines.”

“And he’s there because he came to get me.” And hell, I dumped him on the same day. Good timing, Kelly.

“Come on, you know it’s not because of you, and Dex doesn’t think that either. He made a choice knowing there would be consequences.”

Kelly was aware of how Matt felt about Dex going against orders. There was no gray in Matt’s world, only black and white.

“Two more weeks and he’ll be back with the team. He’ll be fine,” Matt continued.

“I hope so. I didn’t make things better for him today.”

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