by Kait Nolan
He wished that was the only thing he had to worry about. He wished he could just focus on the joy and relief of finally getting a true chance with her after all these years. But bound up in that joy was blistering fury at Davis for the role he’d played in keeping them apart. If not for that interference, Abbey would be his wife. They might have started a family by now. They’d certainly have built a life together. Despite all his advice to her earlier that they should let go of the past and focus on the now, he felt the weight of every single one of those missed years with her.
Unable to sit still and needing to vent all this rage, Kyle strode outside, phone in hand. It was late, and Davis probably wouldn’t answer anyway, but he had to at least say something, even if it was just a threat of legal action via voicemail.
But his former manager answered after only a single ring. “Kyle.” He recognized the smooth, negotiator tone. “Well, I have to say, you lasted longer than I thought you would. I knew you’d see you couldn’t do without me.”
The unfathomable nerve of this man. “That’s not why I’m calling.”
“Oh?” There was an edge to the faint tone of interest, the only thing that let Kyle know he was really listening.
“Why did you do it?”
“Why did I do what?”
“Why did you lie to her? To me?” The reason didn’t really matter, but he needed to know.
“To who?”
Kyle’s hand fisted around the phone. “You know damned well who. To Abbey. You had no right to interfere.”
Davis dropped the congenial, I’m-completely-innocent tone. “I had every right to protect my investment in you. If you’d married her, you never would have made anything of yourself. You’d have run back home and wasted yourself on some small-town job because you couldn’t bear to be away from her. You’d have none of the money, none of the acclaim, none of the career you’ve had.”
“You can’t know that. She would have supported me.”
“Would she? Or would all the sacrifices your career demanded have been too much? I did you both a kindness cutting that foolishness off before it ruined you.”
Outrage boiled up, hot and deadly, driving him into a furious stride across the darkened yard. He needed to move, needed to hit something, needed some kind of outlet for all this frustration.
This man had run his life for years. Kyle had let him, believing Davis was looking out for his best interests. But the only interests Davis was protecting were his own. He’d been using Kyle for his own ends from the beginning, and abruptly, Kyle needed to know exactly how else he’d been manipulated. “What else did you do in the name of protecting your investment?”
“What I had to. You wouldn’t have this career if not for me.”
“And is that why you leaked the information about my parents? To prove you giveth and you can take away?”
“You’re talking about that little stunt on Countrified? That wasn’t me.”
“Really. You expect me to believe that?”
“As you pointed out, I signed an NDA.”
“No one else has reason to—”
“Listen to what’s coming out of your mouth. Someone else very definitely has reason, and you ignored her. The way you’ve been ignoring them both for years. You want to blame somebody, look at your dear old mama.”
The idea of that made Kyle’s blood run cold. He wanted nothing to do with either of his parents. And he couldn’t see his mother being behind this. “She wouldn’t have stopped with just that piece. She’d tell everything.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you. Not that it matters.”
“If not either of you, then who?”
“Did it ever occur to you that you brought this on yourself? You’re the one who told the world about Abbey. How long do you think it’ll take a determined reporter to dig up the rest of your past? Much of it is a matter of public record if someone figures out where to look.”
He wasn’t wrong. There was only so much that could be protected by a legally changed name.
When he said nothing, Davis continued. “You can think what you want of me, but I wasn’t wrong. You can never keep your past a secret if you don’t cut yourself off from it. At this point, it’s only a matter of time. I hope she’s worth it.”
“She’s worth everything.”
But his only answer was the weighted silence of dead air. Davis had hung up on him.
A sense of impending dread settled over him as he shoved the phone in his pocket. Today’s interview would only be the first volley. More would follow, and what would be left of his reputation when it did?
Kyle realized he’d paced the hundred yards or so from the main house to the house where he’d lived with his parents. After they’d gone to prison, the Whittakers hadn’t taken on more permanent help, so the house had been turned into lodging for seasonal employees. It had been painted, furniture changed out, landscaping updated. All that had happened before he’d left Eden’s Ridge. But no amount of cosmetic change kept him from seeing what it had been for him back then: a prison of verbal and sometimes physical abuse. Was it any wonder he’d lived in the orchards, up at the big house, anywhere Abbey had been? He’d realized years ago that the Whittakers had kept his parents on long after they should have because of him. And they’d paid dearly for that kindness. He would never, ever stop trying to make up for it.
Arms slid around him from behind. He knew it was Abbey, even before she rested her cheek against his back. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He settled his arms over hers, feeling the warmth of her soak into him, and the knots inside him began to loosen.
“You okay?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say yes. Because he’d grown accustomed to skating over the truth. But this was Abbey. “No. I just spoke to Davis.”
He felt her stiffen. “Oh?”
“He claims he wasn’t the leak.”
“Do you believe him?”
Needing to see her for this, Kyle pivoted, pulling her close. “I think I actually do. Despite the lengths he’s gone to over the years to protect his investment, violating an NDA to screw with me doesn’t really make sense. He doesn’t do things by halves. If he wanted to torpedo me, he’d have done a lot more than feed one tiny detail.”
Her eyes searched his face. “So who?”
“Maybe no one. Not the way I was thinking. I’ve put so much effort into hiding my past, I guess I felt like it was a more deeply buried secret than it is. But anybody who connects me to this place—as they will through you—can find it.”
When she started to pull away, he held on. “No. Don’t mistake me. I don’t regret being here. I don’t regret being with you. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being worried. What will my fans say when they find out that country music’s Captain America is the son of a couple of felons? That everything I’ve done has been to outrun the stink of who I am?”
“That isn’t who you are, Kyle.”
His lips twisted in a bitter smile. “They don’t know who I am. Not really. Image takes years to build and moments to destroy.”
“Your fans—your true fans—are about your music. And it’s not like huge numbers of people in this country don’t have relatives involved with the justice system on some level or other. Everybody who commits a crime is related to somebody.”
“It’s not that. I don’t actually think people will stop listening to my music because of where I came from. But you remember how bad it was here during and after the trial. People looking, whispering, making judgments about what I’d done, whether I was more involved. If everything comes out, it’ll start all over again on a much bigger scale. And I don’t know if I can deal with the shame of that.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished them unsaid. Verbalizing this fear felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy. But maybe it was too late to stop that.
Abbey’s eyes were fierce as she reached up to frame his face. “I don’t know how to get you to understan
d that shame only has power in the dark. If you bring it to light, it can’t survive. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. You never did.”
But being told—as he had been for years afterward—had never done anything to shake loose the shame that was so deeply embedded in his heart. It was why he hadn’t ever tried to cross the line with Abbey in high school. Why he’d been driven to make something of himself. Why he’d simply accepted that she’d cut him off for years without a word. Because, deep down, he didn’t feel worthy of her. He never had.
And there was a part of him that was waiting for her to figure that out for herself.
“Stop it.” Her words were soft but full of heat. “Stop looking for the end of us when we’re barely begun.”
Kyle sucked in a breath. “Am I that transparent?”
“Did you forget that I know every shade of this face? Every look in your eyes? We may have missed a decade of experiences, but it doesn’t change the fact that I know you. And I love you. I always have.” She rose to her toes, brushing a quiet kiss over his lips. “Now be a good boy and let me.”
Pulling her closer, he found her lips again. “As you wish.”
Abbey cracked open an eye and found daylight. That couldn’t be right. Slapping her hand on the nightstand until she found her phone, she brought it close enough to read the time. After seven.
“Shit!”
Vaulting out of the bed she’d sadly had to herself, she moved from dresser to closet, grabbing up clean clothes and racing for the bathroom. She’d overslept and didn’t even feel rested from it. That was, she supposed, what happened when you spent half the night awake, thinking about life-altering sex and wishing you could do it all over again.
Embracing the messy bun, she leapt into the shower, lathered up, rinsed off. Ten minutes after she’d rolled out of bed, she was dressed and as presentable as she was going to be for the day. Her clients hardly cared whether she had on full makeup or just mascara and blush. The scent of food and, more importantly, coffee drew her to the kitchen. As none of it smelled burned, she was banking on Kyle being the origin.
He stood barefoot at the stove, in jeans and a soft, soft t-shirt that molded to his chest and shoulders in a way that had her mouth watering and her hands itching to trace them again. This whole picture could be a calendar. Sexy, thoughtful man makes breakfast. Affection, amusement, and attraction bumped together inside her like a trio of joyful, rough and tumble puppies. But the dark specter of regret sucked some of the life out of the scene. How many mornings like this could they have had if only they’d both fought harder?
He’s here now. Don’t spend this time thinking about what might have been.
Determined not to waste another moment, she crossed to him, laying one hand on his shoulder and stopping his automatic “Good morning” with a kiss. Soft, sweet. I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re mine.
“Finally did something about that, huh? About damned time.”
Abbey dropped back to her feet and pressed her lips together in mortification. She hadn’t seen Granddaddy camped out at the kitchen table, which said a lot about her focus on Kyle. For his part, Kyle’s blue eyes danced with laughter. The sight of it warmed her heart, made her feel like they shared a secret. They’d had so many growing up, and it was an intimacy she’d missed.
“Good morning, Granddaddy.”
“Good for somebody anyway.” He smirked over his coffee cup.
Oh my God. Was he implying… Nope. No way. Her brain was not going there. It violated the laws of her personal universe. She rejected this reality and substituted one of her own where her grandfather had not just casually remarked on her sex life. He wasn’t supposed to know she had a sex life. Which… she hadn’t since she moved home to Eden’s Ridge.
“You want coffee?” Kyle asked.
More than my next breath. “I’ll get some at the spa. We have an early meeting I forgot about, and I overslept.”
“Take some breakfast, at least.” Turning back to the stove, he quickly scooped some scrambled eggs onto a tortilla, added a couple strips of bacon and some cheese, and rolled it into a burrito. Wrapping the whole thing in a paper towel, he handed it over. “Portable.”
“Well, aren’t you handy?”
“Lots of experience eating on the go.”
“Boy, don’t you be giving away all my bacon.”
Kyle pointed the spatula. “You want that bacon, you eat your fruit. That was the deal.”
Granddaddy’s chin jutted out in familiar defiance. Recognizing what was coming, Abbey opened her mouth to warn Kyle, but he just shooed her toward the door.
“I’ve got this.”
“But—”
“You already said you’re late. Get going.”
Abbey hesitated. Kyle hadn’t dealt with Granddaddy in one of his belligerent moods. And if he was starting out that way this early in the day, that didn’t bode well. Maybe she should make some other arrangements.
“Abs, really. I’ve got this. If we need you, we’ll let you know.”
She had to trust somebody sometime. “I’ll see you both later. Keep out of trouble!”
It felt weird to leave them there together and head off to work. Not that she hadn’t been doing exactly that most of the past week, but today felt different. Because they were different. Now it wasn’t a favor or some kind of exchange. Now it was… domestic. Family. They’d been a form of family for years, but this was something else. Something deeper. Richer.
Abbey was beyond grateful to have this opportunity with him, and she’d do anything she could to protect it. Which was why she was absolutely headed to work early to bust up in the middle of the weekly Reynolds family breakfast at The Misfit Inn, where all the sisters and an assortment of their respective spouses and children showed up to share a meal. Xander would probably be there. She needed to talk to him as Sheriff, and she preferred to do it in private rather than down at the station.
With the privilege of friendship, she let herself in through the front door of the inn and headed straight back to the kitchen. Whatever Athena was making smelled divine, as always. The din of voices grew louder as she stepped through the swinging door and into the familiar chaos. The benches around the massive farmhouse table were full, exactly as Kyle’s foster mom, Joan, had liked it. If she’d lived, she’d have adored seeing Kennedy bouncing her chubby infant daughter Caroline, while a besotted Xander looked on. Pru’s husband Flynn herded their toddler Bailey toward a highchair, while Pru herself had an intense discussion with Ari about… something or other. On the other side of the big island, Athena moved shoulder-to-shoulder with Dylan, the eldest of her two adopted boys, while the younger, Jesse, and her husband, Logan, carried platters to the table. The only no-shows for the morning appeared to be Maggie and Porter, with their infant daughter, Faith.
Perfectly at home, Abbey strode into the chaos and made a beeline for the coffeepot. She’d already grabbed a mug from the cabinet before anyone actually noticed her.
“Here to mooch?” Athena’s tone lacked the bite it would’ve had before Logan. Love had mellowed her considerably.
Abbey slipped into the space that opened up between Ari and Pru and reached for one of the few big, fluffy biscuits remaining. “Partly. Is it so hard to believe I would like to enjoy y’all’s delightful company?”
Athena, who’d seen her with Kyle when they’d picked up Granddaddy last night, just pursed her lips. Abbey wondered if she’d had their afternoon’s activities tattooed all over her face.
Pru passed the butter. “Did you need a break from things with Kyle?”
“No.” She’d come to talk to Xander. She considered waiting, trying to speak with him privately. But in the end, this would likely impact the entire family. They all needed to be aware of what could be coming. “Actually, I needed to ask our sheriff for a favor. In his professional capacity.”
At the opposite end of the table, Xander sobered. “Are y’all having more trouble with the papara
zzi?”
She shook her head. “No. I mean, not more than before. This is something else.” For a moment, she hesitated. Kyle didn’t want this information getting out. But this was his family, not the general public. It’s in the name of protecting him.
“Kyle’s mom is out of prison.”
A burst of exclamations circled the table until she held up her hand for silence.
“I need you to find out whatever there is to find. When she got out. Where she’s living. Presumably she’s on parole. What are the terms of that?”
“You think she’ll be out to cause trouble?”
“She showed up at his last concert. He didn’t speak to or acknowledge her, but she wants something. And I think after everything that happened, she’ll absolutely feel like he owes her. I figure it’s only a matter of time before she shows up here.”
“You got it. I’ll check on his dad, too.”
“Thank you. It would help to have some idea what we’re up against.”
“We?” The surprise and skepticism in Kennedy’s tone made her bristle.
“I’m not leaving him to face them alone.” She’d been protecting him in big ways and small for most of their lives. No matter how long they’d been apart, that was still her natural inclination.
“So you’re back to defending him?” Pru’s tone was carefully neutral. Ever the peacemaker.
Well, she could hardly resent their incredulity when she’d bristled at the mere mention of Kyle’s name for the past decade. Tearing off a piece of fluffy biscuit, she sucked in a bracing breath. “We finally talked and cleared the air about… before. It wasn’t what I thought. It wasn’t what either of us thought. Defending him is the least I can do for not giving him the chance to explain sooner.”
The strain of denying her feelings was gone. Being able to release the burden of believing the worst of him was such an incredible relief. Deep down, a part of her had always known he wasn’t that guy. The guilt over her own role in their time apart still weighed heavy, but she was more than willing to lay the blame where it truly belonged—on his snake-in-the-grass manager. They’d both been young and foolish, and he’d played them.
