Eva’s back straightened. “You barely know each other! You think because she’s told you a few secrets, that you know her?”
“I know her better than you think.”
“Oh, please! You’ve known her, what, four, five months?”
A heartbeat passed. “Try sixteen years.”
Eva’s eyes flickered, fierce yet puzzled.
Carter stared right back, waiting for the penny to drop.
Yeah, it was a big ask, but, hell, at this point what did he have to lose? He hadn’t wanted his role in saving Kat to be the deciding factor as to whether or not Eva would accept him with her daughter, but the damn woman had driven him to it with her incapacity to see him without a list of misdemeanors and felonies tacked to his fucking forehead.
Jesus, he’d even brought up the fact that he went to prison for Max. He wouldn’t have mentioned it, if not for having his ass against a wall with no way out. Desperate for Eva to see past his mistakes, he had nothing else to lay on the table.
“How have you known her for sixteen years?” Eva asked slowly. “There’s no possible way. No way.”
Despite her words of conviction, her eyes told Carter the pieces were falling into place. Her stubbornness was the only thing stopping her from seeing what was right in front of her.
“We met . . . in the Bronx,” Carter said quietly. “She was nine. I was eleven.”
Horror washed across Eva’s features, but it changed swiftly to emotions that were as indiscernible as they were fleeting. She was warring with herself now, battling with what she believed—he was a hardened, dangerous criminal—and the actual truth—he’d saved her daughter’s life.
“The news,” Eva stammered. “It was all over the news. Everyone knows where they were that night. Everyone knows what happened.”
Carter carried on, ignoring her accusation that he was a liar. “I heard a scream.”
Eva closed her eyes.
“I was across the street and I saw everything: the punks with the bat, Kat, your husband. Christ—it happened so damned fast. He . . . Your husband was on the ground. They hit him with the bat, kicked him. He tried to fight back, but there were too many of them for one man.”
Eva made a strangled sound and clapped a palm to her mouth.
“Kat was on the ground about two feet away,” Carter continued, lost in the memory. “One of the assholes had hit her.”
“Stop.”
“She was wearing a blue dress. It was dirty from the sidewalk, ripped at the sleeve. Your husband screamed at her to run. He begged her over and over, but she didn’t listen. And I knew that if those fuckers got hold of her, they’d kill her.”
Eva looked up at him finally, tears spilling down her face.
Carter put his hand on his stomach. “Something in here, deep in here, told me to help her. I just couldn’t watch them hurt her. It was so damned wrong.”
“You—you,” Eva hiccoughed, unable to form a full sentence.
“I ran to her,” Carter said. “Grabbed her arm and ran. But I had to drag her most of the way; she was small, but she fought, ya know? She was so strong.”
Eva wrapped her arms around herself, listening to him describe how he’d tackled Kat to the cold, wet ground.
“There was gunfire and she screamed, and all I could do was hold her and make sure that she didn’t run back. I figured I was doing what her old man wanted. I was doing something good.” He ran his hands across his hair. “Saving Kat’s the only good thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
Then they stared at each other for the length of two heartbeats, and he hoped they finally understood each other. They’d found their common ground. They both existed for the same reason, and, with that realization, he found it easier to breathe.
“Where did you take her?” Eva croaked.
“A doorway a couple of blocks down. Once she stopped fighting me, she cried until she fell asleep.”
“Then you left her?”
“No,” he replied. “I held her. Stroked her hair, talked to her until help came.”
“But . . . you disappeared.”
Carter gave a wry smile. “I already had a name with the police because of shit Max and I had done, and I knew if they caught me I’d have to answer questions. So . . .”
“You ran.”
“Yeah.”
“Where did you go?”
“Back to my friend’s place. Max calmed me down, helped me through the shock of what happened.”
Eva cast her eyes toward the doorway. “She knows?”
“Of course. I had to tell her.”
“How did she take it?”
Carter smiled. “In her own way. But I’m here, right?”
“Yes, you are.”
Carter exhaled and rubbed his face with a weary hand. “Look. I know we’re never going to be the best of friends. I know you’ll never see me as good enough for her, because I know that myself. And I didn’t tell you this to win points. I told you because I wanted you to see I would never ever hurt her. She’s everything to me. I want to give her everything she wants or needs. And I want you and Kat to go back to the way you were before I got involved. I hate that I caused this.”
Eva’s face glimmered with hope of the same thing. “It wasn’t just you. We’re all to blame in some part.”
“I need you to know that I’m not here to do anything but love and take care of your daughter.”
A timid smile played across Eva’s mouth. “You know,” she said wistfully, “you sound like Kat’s father when you talk like that. He had to convince my dad he was good enough for me.”
“And did he?”
“I think so.”
“Have I convinced you?”
Eva stood and walked across the room to the large window. The silence and anticipation caused Carter’s heart to race like a fucking V12 engine.
“My daughter is too much like me for her own good,” she began. “You were right about that, and I can see how much she loves you.” Her cheeks washed with an embarrassed pink. “I didn’t want to see it, but it’s clear as day. Still, having said that, I can’t overlook the fact that Kat’s putting a lot at risk by being with you.”
Carter opened his mouth to protest, but Eva held up her palm, halting his words.
“I need you to know that Kat is the most precious thing in my life. She always has been. If anything happened to her, I don’t know how I’d survive.”
He knew exactly what she meant. If Kat ever ceased to be, so would he.
“But you saved her, didn’t you?”
Carter swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You saved her when her father couldn’t. And if you hadn’t been there, then I’d have lost them both.”
“Yeah.”
“So where does that leave us?”
Carter shrugged. “I don’t know. But it’s a start, right?”
Eva’s face gave nothing away.
Carter peered toward the doorway again before slowly getting to his feet. He pushed his hands into his pockets and gestured with his head in Kat’s direction.
“I’m—I’ll go and see if she’s okay.”
Eva didn’t reply, but kept her eyes on him as he walked across the room.
“Wes.”
Carter stopped and clenched his eyes shut for a brief moment, then turned back to her, a rock in his gut and a desert in his throat. “Yeah?”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “From the bottom of my heart, Wes, thank you for saving Katherine’s life.”
33
Once Wes left the sitting room, Eva was lost in thought, staring out of her mother’s front window, watching the snow falling to the ground, crisp, clean, and beautiful.
She blinked slowly, picturing the face of the man who had been her everything. She loved Harrison with all of her heart, save for the one piece that would forever belong to Daniel Lane.
Eva wiped away tears and glanced over her shoulder when she heard the faint sound of laught
er and the closing of a door. She had to give Wes his due. He’d stood his ground, never wavering. He’d spoken articulately—save for a few curses—and showed unquestionable love and protective loyalty for Katherine. Eva wasn’t lying when she told Wes she hadn’t wanted to see the love between them. It’s what scared her most.
Her daughter was head over heels in love with Wes Carter. It was a love that many never found and no one could ever extinguish. It was a love that was far-reaching, powerful, and all-consuming. Eva could see it in Kat’s eyes when she looked at him and when she glared at Eva in his defense. It was the same look Eva had given her father innumerable times when she’d first introduced Danny to the family.
Eva wanted nothing more than for Katherine to be loved in passionate, breathtaking ways. She wanted her consumed by love, desperate with it, unafraid to be made fragile by it, and filled with its strength. She wanted her to soar and spin and lose herself in a man who would love her just as much. She wanted it all for Katherine, and Katherine had it. But Wesley Carter couldn’t be further from the man Eva had imagined.
After hearing his confession, her anxiety about the relationship had dropped considerably. The man had saved her baby, for God’s sake. When he’d been only eleven years old. She was grateful beyond description, but the momma bear within her refused to back down.
She wandered into the kitchen to find her mother and partner seated at the table. Two bottles of wine sat opened, as well as a bottle of Jameson. Her mother’s face was softer now.
“Hey,” Eva said softly. “Where is—?”
“She’s outside with Wes while he has a much-needed cigarette and a drink.” Her mother sighed. “Come. Sit down.”
Eva approached Harrison with a heavy stomach. It was love. It was guilt. It was embarrassment. It was apology. She sat down slowly and stared at his profile. Dark stubble flecked his jaw, and his dark brown eyes were troubled as they stared down at the glass of malt whiskey in his hands. They had so many things that needed to be said, but Katherine was her priority. She needed to make things right.
Eva glanced hesitantly at the back door.
“Tell her how you feel,” Harrison said, his eyes still fixed on the table.
“I don’t know how,” she confessed.
“Yes, you do.”
“We’re so far apart.”
“You’ll find each other again. Be honest.” He pulled off his hoodie and handed it to her. “It’s cold out there.”
Eva took it from him with a grateful smile. “I’m sorry, Harrison. And I love you. Very much.”
“I know,” he answered, looking at her for the first time.
She leaned forward and placed a tender kiss at the corner of his mouth. He turned in to it with a sigh. “Go,” he urged softly.
Reggie’s nails tapped happily against the floor as he followed Eva to the door. She dragged on Harrison’s hoodie—loving the smell and how it drowned her small frame—and slowly pulled the door open. Her eyes immediately found two closely huddled bodies sitting on the porch step.
Wes had his arm around her daughter while his lips murmured soft, inaudible words against her temple. The air smelled of smoke and cold. The door clicked shut behind her, causing Wes to turn.
Eva dipped her chin in acknowledgment before Wes did the same. Katherine looked over her shoulder, her expression indecipherable.
Wes kissed Katherine’s cheek and smiled. “I’ll give you two a moment,” he said before he stood, moving around Eva to the door.
“Thank you, Wes,” she said.
The door shut behind him, and Eva swallowed before she tentatively stepped toward her daughter. “May I sit?”
“If you want.”
Gathering her courage, Eva took the spot at Katherine’s side. For a few minutes, the two women sat in silence. How could she verbalize the love she had for her daughter? No mother ever could. It was vast, immeasurable, and impossible to label with inadequate words.
“Katherine,” Eva started quietly, petrified of saying the wrong thing. “I’m thankful you’re both here.”
Katherine remained quiet. Eva couldn’t read the profile of her face except for the small twitch of her lip. Danny would get the same thing when he was nervous. To think she made her own daughter feel that way ripped her heart in two.
“I wanted to apologize to you.” A heavy breath escaped her, and she closed her eyes. “I love you very much, sweetheart, and I want us to go back to the way things were. I hate fighting with you.”
“We’re never going to be the way we were, Mom. Too much has happened.”
Eva fought down the alarm rising at the back of her throat. “I . . . I understand if you don’t want to try.”
Blazing green eyes met hers. “It’s not that I don’t want to try, Mom. It’s the fact you can’t bear to be in the same room as the man I love. Carter and I come as a package now. If you can’t deal with that, then there’s no hope for us to ever go back to how we used to be.”
Eva fisted her hands together, willing her misgivings and distrust down into her stomach. “I understand.”
“No,” Katherine countered. “You don’t.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just because he told you about saving me doesn’t mean you understand what Carter and I are to one another.”
“Then explain it to me,” Eva urged. She wanted to understand. Needed to.
Katherine answered without hesitation. “I love him more than I could ever explain.” Her voice never wavered in its fervency. “He understands me, he keeps me safe, and he loves me, too.”
“I know he does.” Love like that was undeniable.
“He’s honest, sensitive, and one of the bravest men I’ve ever known. And I want to be with him for the rest of my life.”
Although Eva’s heart gave a panicked thump, Katherine’s words really didn’t surprise her. Of course she wanted to be with him forever. He was her other half, just as Danny had been Eva’s. How could she deny her daughter the one thing she’d wanted for her since the day she was born?
“How does that make you feel, Mom? How does it make you feel that someday that man in there, whom you regard so hatefully, will be my husband, the father of your grandchildren?”
Eva pushed her hands under her arms and stared out at the gardens, picturing her grandchildren running about the trees and flowers. She saw Katherine in a simple white gown with wildflowers in her hair, walking with Harrison down a path of white magnolias toward Wes, who would no doubt look devastatingly handsome in a black suit and white shirt unbuttoned at the neck.
It seemed so simple, so natural. And, in that moment, Eva knew it was inevitable. “It makes me feel terrified.” The confession slipped from her lips in a whisper.
“Why?” Katherine demanded. “Why does the thought of my being happy scare you so damned much?”
Eva stared at her daughter, beautiful, strong, and determined. “It terrifies me because you’re not my little girl anymore.” She moved closer and moved Katherine’s hair from her shoulder so that it spilled gloriously down her back.
“I’ve made some very bad choices during my life, not least the ones regarding how to handle your career and man choice, and for that I’m truly sorry. But please believe that when you have children of your own, you’ll know exactly what that means. I would walk into hell and take on Satan with my bare hands if anyone threatened to hurt you. A mother protects her children no matter the consequences, whether they’re five or twenty-five.”
She cupped Katherine’s face. “After your father died, knowing that my only connection to him was you scared the life out of me. I wanted to keep you even more protected, away from anything or anyone who could take you from me.” Her eyes filled with tears when Katherine’s face nestled into her palm.
“It’s not an excuse for my behavior. And I never meant to hurt you, or smother you. You’re so much stronger than I am, and I don’t give you enough credit for that. I’m sorry. I know it’ll take time for you to trust me agai
n. I just hope you can. It’s hard for me to let go for so many reasons, but I want you to be safe and happy, Katherine. That’s all your father and I ever wanted.”
“I know, Mom,” she croaked. “I am. I’m happy with Carter.”
Eva kissed her daughter’s forehead softly. “I know, sweetheart. I know.” Leaving all of her hope in Katherine’s hands, Eva stood up. “I’ll send Carter back out so you’re not alone.”
“Mom?”
She turned slowly, her hand on the door. “Yes, love?”
“I’m sorry—and I love you, too.”
34
Two weeks later, Austin Ford was summoned to the offices of WCS. The board wanted a word.
After Ben Thomas’s visit, he’d spent days and nights contacting every asshole with an outstanding debt to him. But it seemed nothing could dig his ass out of the cavernous pit Carter and his lawyer had found for him.
Austin approached the boardroom now with poise, ignoring the wary look from Helen, his office secretary, when he stopped at her desk.
“The board should be arriving at—”
“They’re already in,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
Austin cocked an eyebrow. “They are?”
“Yes, sir.”
Well, that was . . . odd.
He took a breath, pushed the large mahogany door open, and immediately wished that he hadn’t.
Fuck. Me. Sideways.
He stared incredulously at his cousin, who was standing at the head of the board table in a four-thousand-dollar tailored Dior suit. Standing straight and smiling as if he knew the meaning to life itself, he looked infinitely different than the bedraggled ex-con Austin had seen only months before. Austin instantly wanted to wipe the smirk off his face with a swift right hook.
“Morning.” Carter gestured to the empty seat to his left. “Won’t you take a seat?”
“I’d rather stand,” Austin replied, eyeing the fifteen people around the table, including Adam. “Isn’t this fucking cozy?” Austin dipped his chin in an effort to keep his temper. “I guess this is what they mean when they use the phrase ‘hostile takeover.’ ”
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