by Zoe York
He told her the story, as succinctly as possible but with all the details. She must know everything.
Rain fell hard and fast that day. By late afternoon the tender tulips and daffodils in the pots that lined the main street of town were bent and broken. Later, he would think of those flowers as a symbol of his sister. Autumn had started the day as a perfect, newly bloomed flower. By the end of that day, she was as bent and broken as the flowers so carefully planted by the women of their town.
He and Autumn exited the grocery store, each clutching a bag. They ran across the parking lot, damp by the time they reached their car. Kyle unlocked the trunk. He hadn’t noticed their truck until he saw the Miller boys start toward them.
“Get in the car,” he said to his sister.
Too late. They were near them now. The older one, Tim, had a knife in his hand. Jason, younger but bigger than his brother, with an oversized, round head and maniacal grin that reminded Kyle of a jack-o-lantern, held a bottle of whiskey. Kyle dropped the grocery bag inside the trunk and turned to face them.
“Look who it is. Pig and his hot sister.”
“What do you want?” Kyle asked.
“Where’s your moose of a brother, huh?” Tim shoved Kyle and he staggered against the bumper of the car. Jason knocked the grocery bag out of Autumn’s arms and grabbed her. With his free arm, he pulled her against him. “Hey pretty thing. You want to go for a ride?” Autumn looked over at Kyle, obviously paralyzed with fear.
“Let go of her.” Kyle lunged forward, but Tim shoved him against the back of the car and pressed the knife’s blade against his neck. The sharp edge pierced his skin. For a split second, everything went numb, followed by a sharp sting, almost like a burn. Blood trickled down his neck and onto the collar of his shirt. Tim’s hot breath smelled of cheap whiskey.
What would Stone do?
Fight like hell. Fight dirty.
With every ounce of muscle in his scrawny frame, he called upon the ravine of rage that had built up inside him for years and years. He shoved his knee into Tim’s crotch with the force of his anger and fear. The knife flew out of Tim’s hand and tumbled onto the concrete. The boy fell to the ground, screaming and clutching his groin. Jason, perhaps surprised by this sudden turn, let go of Autumn and stumbled toward his brother.
They’re drunk. This had not been obvious at first. Drunk people were unsteady on their feet. He knew this well enough.
“Autumn, get in the car.” Kyle shouted to her, but he needn’t have. She was already half way around the car.
He reached into the bag of groceries he’d put in the trunk and pulled out a can of cleaning spray. Using it like a bat, he swung it hard against the side of Jason’s head.
“What the hell?” Jason touched his hand to the side of his head. Without wasting a second, Kyle sprayed the cleansing agent into Jason’s eyes. He yelped and stumbled backward. Kyle shoved the butt of the can into Jason’s chest, knocking him to his knees, then sprayed again.
Tim continued to writhe on the ground. Kyle kicked him four times in the ribs, then did the same to Jason. “Get out of the way or I’ll run you over.”
Kyle slammed the trunk closed and ran to the driver’s side door and slipped behind the wheel. He started the engine. The Miller boys were on their feet, staggering toward their truck. Kyle backed up and out of the parking space. He would have made it out before the Millers if there hadn’t been an old lady crossing from her car to the front door. By the time she was safely out of his path, the Miller boys were right behind them.
The truck slammed into the back of their car. He and Autumn lurched forward in their seats. “Hold on tight.” Kyle pressed his foot on the gas and sped out of the parking lot and onto the main street of town. The Millers followed.
Kyle increased his speed as he drove through town. The Millers stayed close. They hit the back of Kyle’s car again just as they exited town and onto the highway that would take them home. Would they follow them all the way home? Stone was there. A shotgun hung over the door. Stone would use it if he had to.
He pushed the gas pedal down to the floor. They barreled down the highway at just under a hundred, the Miller boys behind him. The windshield wipers were no match for the falling rain. The road blurred into a soppy impressionist painting. He didn’t see the sharp turn in the road near the Foster’s farm. Too late, he slammed on his brakes. They slid on the slick road and spun in a full circle, then stalled. The Millers’ truck hurled toward them. Autumn screamed.
The Millers’ truck plunged nose first into the passenger side of the car. Blackness.
He woke on a stretcher in the middle of the road. “Autumn. Where’s Autumn?” The car. Where was the car? He thrashed and pushed against the strap that held him down, searching for the car. Oh God. The whole right side had folded in like the tin cans they picked up on the side of the road. How could she have survived? “My sister. Where’s my sister?”
“She’s in the other ambulance. Relax now. We’re going to take good care of her.”
“I’m not hurt. Let me ride with her.” He tried to sit up but couldn’t. Straps kept him flat on his back. “Is she going to live?”
“She’s going to fine, young man. Just rest. We’ll take care of her.”
They took care of her as best they could. But a girl as broken as Autumn couldn’t be perfectly put back together.
He had cuts and lacerations. Nothing serious. Autumn had not fared as well. The right side of her beautiful face had been slashed by a piece of metal. It had missed her eye but would leave a significant scar. Both legs had been crushed and would require surgery and months in the hospital. She would never walk without braces again, they’d told him. Best case scenario.
They were right. After her long stint in the hospital, she came home with braces on her legs, needing canes to help her walk. The scar ran from just under her eye to the middle of her cheek.
His sister never complained. He never even heard her cry. By the time he left for college, she had mastered the braces and was making it around well enough that she would be able to start high school as planned. No more dance team. No more boys drooling over her when she walked by. She was now the girl with the braces and the scar.
“I’ll never forgive himself,” he said to Violet, whose eyes glittered like the brightest star in the sky. “I promised Stone I’d get them out of there. I’ve done that. Once I made money, I set them both up financially through trusts. But the day I left town, I disappeared. I changed my name so there was no way they could ever find me. It’s +like Daniel Hickman never existed.”
“But why? Why would you leave your sister and brother?”
Kyle stared back at her. Adrenaline rushed into his system. He must tell her the truth. Could he? Would it ruin her opinion of him? If she knew what a coward he was, would she run?
He thought back to the day Mollie came to him. Paulina had said it hurt too much to look at Katy’s baby. She was a reminder of her dead friend.
“Here it is.” He placed his hands on the surface of the table. “Seeing Autumn scarred and crippled hurt too much.” His temples throbbed, like pangs of guilt were trying to escape. “I was too weak to face her. All I could see when I looked at her was how I’d failed her and ruined her life. So I left. All these years I’ve tried to forget.”
“But it didn’t work?”
“No. No matter what I do, it haunts me.” He raked his hands through his hair. “You’re the first person I’ve told since I became Kyle Hicks.”
“Why me?”
“I want you to know the truth about who I am.”
“But why?” she asked.
“You need all the information…all the data…so you can decide if I’m worthy of you.”
“Did you think this would change my opinion of you?”
Was she incredulous or disgusted?
“How could it not?” he asked.
“It doesn’t. The accident wasn’t your fault. You were being chased by mon
sters. If anything, it explains so much about you.” He watched as she worked through it all, piecing together the missing pieces to the puzzle of Kyle. “You never had a chance, Kyle. But you made it out anyway. Do you know how much I admire that?”
His eyes filled. He pressed against them with a napkin. Relief tugged and loosened the guilt that throbbed between his ears. Could Lettie love him despite everything he’d done?
Her warm hand circled his wrist. “Please, you must let go of the guilt. It’s going to eat away at you for the rest of your life. You deserve to feel joy.”
He looked into her warm eyes. She cared about him. He’d shown her everything and she still cared.
Go deep. Tell her everything.
“There’s something else. Over the years I’ve had these episodes.” He described them and what he believed triggered the last one he had. “I might have one again. I just don’t know. It’s something I can’t seem to control.”
“Of course not. It’s a delayed reaction to the abuse. You were bullied every day of your childhood. How could you not have lasting effects?”
“I just wanted you to know, in case that changes anything.” He took in a deep breath. “I have feelings for you. I’ve fought against it. But it’s time to come clean. I’ve been happy. Happier than I’ve ever been. I love being Mollie’s dad. I love how Dakota runs to greet me when I come home from work, like I’m a rock star. But it’s not just the kids. You wreck me. I think I’m falling for you.”
“You think?” she whispered.
He tugged at his ear. “No, I said it wrong. There’s no thinking. I have to say it exactly right, so you understand. I’ve fallen for you. I’m in love with you.”
“Oh. In love with me?”
“Yes. I love you.” The second time was easier. He’d try another. “I’m hopelessly in love with you.”
She gazed at him for a long moment. His heart pounded, waiting to hear what she would say next, fully expecting her to reject him. There was no room in her heart for him. Not for Pig.
“I kept telling myself you were everything I should protect myself from. I thought I knew how men like you operate.”
That hurt. Men like you. She was right. He was exactly like she described. That was before. Before you.
“But you’re nothing like I thought. I see now that you’re like Honor. The outer polish hides inner wounds.” She placed her hands over his. “These past few months have been the happiest of my life, other than I felt sure I was headed into heartbreak. Being with the children all day and having the luxury of a life without constant money worries have been great gifts. But it’s you that matters most. If we lived in a shack on the side of the road, my heart would still beat faster when you walked through the door. If I could spend every moment of the day with you, I would. Don’t you see? There’s nothing from your past that would ever change my opinion of you. I adore you. I love you.” She looked down at her hands. Did he imagine that her gaze had skirted to the ring finger of her left hand? “But I want everything.”
“The white picket fence?”
“And backyard barbeques. A father for my son. A husband. I can’t play around. I’m not a pack-and-play kind of girl.”
“Lettie, don’t you see? I want to give it all to you. I love knowing you’ll be there when I get home. I’m like a country song these days. Just itching to get home to my…” He wet his upper lip with the tip of his tongue. Dare he say it?
“To your what?” she whispered. “What are we?”
“I can’t wait to get home to my family.” He caressed her wedding ring finger with his thumb. “We’ve done all this backward and upside down. You deserve dates and wooing. I have every intention of winning your forever heart.”
“I’m scared,” she said. “Please don’t change your mind.”
“Lettie, losing you would kill me.”
“I won’t hurt you. I just want to love you. If you’ll let me.”
“I will. I promise.”
He moved to sit beside her, inhaling the scent of her perfume. The smell of his one true love—jasmine and spice and a hint of citrus. “Do you know how beautiful you are to me?”
“I think so.”
He placed his hands on either side of her face. “Are you ready for the kiss we’re going to tell our children about? The kiss that sealed our future?”
She nodded with a slight smile.
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently. His heart pounded and his throat ached. This is what it is to kiss the woman I love.
Chapter 12
Violet
* * *
THEY MOVED INTO the Burnside house the next day. The moment she saw the cathedral ceilings, marble floors, and everything in shades of white, Violet’s immediate concern was Dakota and his sticky fingers. Those fears were waylaid by the four bedrooms and state of the art kitchen. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she missed cooking.
Last night still seemed like a dream. When they had arrived back upstairs to the suite, Mel was asleep on the couch. They had agreed it was too weird to sleep together with Mel in the other room, so they went off to their separate bedrooms. Violet had scarcely slept, thinking of Kyle, wishing she was there with him. All day they’d been busy with the kids and moving. They hadn’t had much time to talk. Or kiss.
Now, she put Dakota down for the night in his new, temporary bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen to finish cleaning up from their pasta dinner. It was already done. The counters gleamed. There wasn’t a dish in sight. On the video baby monitor, she could see Mollie had already been put down. Super dad.
Kyle was on the deck, looking out toward the sea.
She stood near the sofa in the family room and stared at his back. The dark November evening kept the view from being anything more than a black abyss. She wondered what he saw. What did he think about when he stared out to sea on a night like this?
The transitory nature of the hotel had made their living arrangement seem more natural, like they were on a trip away from reality. They were in a cocoon, an escape from real life. Tonight, they were in a house where a real family had lived. Ghosts of that happy family lingered. Children’s heights and ages were written on the inside of the pantry door, documented from the time they could stand to be measured. As if on cue, the ceiling creaked like a background melody in a movie, reminding her that a family belonged in a house like this.
The doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock. Nearing eight. Usually she would think—two hours until Mel arrived and broke up their night. But Kyle had called her earlier and asked if she would come by for a chat. She agreed, sounding defeated. “She knows it’s coming,” Violet said.
But as they sat down with her, she seemed her usual perky self. Wearing skin tight jeans, a plunging sweater, and thick makeup, she was like a poster child for women who take those sexy selfies and post them all over their social media accounts.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Kyle had agreed to take the lead. “So, Mollie’s pretty much sleeping through the night these days. As far as we can tell, she just wakes up at four now. We’re ready to take the helm.”
“You’re letting me go?” Incredulous and wide-eyed, she clasped her hands together on her lap. “Before the holidays?”
“We’ll pay you another three weeks. That should give you time to find another job,” Kyle said.
“Is this because of what happened?” Mel asked. “Our little moment?”
“It wasn’t a moment,” Kyle said.
Big crocodile tears spilled from her coal-lined eyes. “I’ll miss Mollie so much.”
“I’m sure Nora can find you another position,” Violet said.
Mel’s eyes fixed on Violet and for a split second she detected anger and hatred coming out of those cat eyes. Mel disguised it as quickly as it had come. “I’m sure she will.”
They walked her to the door. “Oh, jeez, I have to pee super bad. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?” Mel asked.
/> Violet pointed to the kitchen. “It’s the door next to the built-in desk.”
They stood awkwardly waiting for her to return. After a few minutes, she did.
“It’s been real, guys. Thanks for everything.” She bounced out the door with a brief wave.
They stood against the door after she left. “Why do I feel like we just dodged a bullet?” Kyle asked.
“Because we did.”
“We’re free. The creep nanny has left the building.” He grabbed her into his arms and danced her into the kitchen. “Let’s celebrate.”
Kyle went into the family room to grab a wine opener and some glasses from the hutch. Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was her mother. Really? After all these weeks of silence? Why would she call now?
Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she answered. “Hi Mom.”
“Violet, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“We’re in town.”
“I know.”
A ripe silence greeted her from the other end of the phone before her mother finally spoke. “I’m sorry I haven’t called. Your father made me promise I wouldn’t, and you know how he is—constantly monitoring my every move. But he’s out tonight.”
“So, you called. How nice.”
“There’s no need for sarcasm. We heard you’re living with a man at a hotel.”
“I’m working for Kyle Hicks as a nanny. I look after his baby daughter while he’s at work. I’m not living with him like you think.” Always assuming the worst.
“That’s not the word about town. The bridge ladies said you’re living with him in the penthouse suite. He’s a rich playboy and he’s seduced you. Someone saw you kissing him in a bar.”
Good God, word traveled fast in this town.
“We just moved into a rental house today.” She’d ignore the playboy accusations and the kissing. “What do you want, Mom?” Violet shivered and pulled her sweater tighter.
“I’d like to see my grandson.”
“If you want to be part of our lives, you have to tell Dad. Dakota and I won’t be your dirty secret.”