guns.”
“I knew there was a reason why I liked you,” I said, kissing her lightly.
You would think I’d just stripped naked and done a dance on the table the way everyone suddenly fell silent. Then Kirkland said, “I had a couple of Barbie dolls. Loved them. Used to strip them naked and play with them in the bath.”
“That explains a lot,” Donovan said.
***
“David said you went to New York yesterday.”
I’d been waiting for Joss to say something. I was in the kitchen, an apron around my waist, cleaning up the last of the dishes that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher. I reached for a pot near her elbow and smiled down at the baby nestled against her breast.
“She looks just like you, you know.”
Joss touched her daughter’s cheek. “She’s got her dad’s nose.”
“That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
“Of course not.” Then she focused on me, and her eyes narrowed. “Don’t change the subject, Ashford Grayson.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Did you see her?”
“I did.”
“What was that like?”
How was I supposed to put that into words? I dunked the pot in the hot water and began to scrub, my thoughts running and turning like a hamster on a wheel.
“She’s a teacher. Married with a six month old baby.”
“How do you know?”
I glanced at her. “David knows his stuff, Joss.”
She nodded, looking down at her own baby. “He tried to show me the file once. He wanted me to show it to you because he thought you would take it better from me.”
“I don’t think I would have taken it well from anyone. She ran away. She left me behind and ran away because she couldn’t handle that life anymore.” I shook my head. “It’s a betrayal. And I can’t do that sort of betrayal.”
“If you hadn’t met Mina before you went, do you think you’d feel the same?”
“Yes.” I glanced at her. “That’s probably why I didn’t go back when he first gave it to me.”
“You loved her.”
“I loved the woman I thought she was. But that woman? That wasn’t my Alexi. Maybe she never was.”
She was quiet for a minute. Then, “Sometimes I think we see what we need to see in the people we care about. And when we don’t need that anymore, we start to see what’s really there.”
“Is that how it was with you and Esteban?”
She looked at me, her eyes a little wide. “I always thought I married him because I loved him. But now? I think Esteban was the family I needed at the time. But, by the time everything happened, I already knew that things had changed. I didn’t want that as much as I thought I did.” She brushed the baby’s forehead with the back of her fingers. “Not that I didn’t love him. I’d probably still be with him if not for the accident. I just would have had to compromise a little more, you know?”
“And Carrington?”
A smile that lit up her entire face spread her lips.
“Carrington would never allow me to settle for anything. He sees me, sees what I need and what I want before I can figure out which is which. He knows when to take care of me and when to back off. He knows…he knows me in a way Esteban never would have.”
It was nice to see Joss so happy. Three and a half years ago, I’d found her dirty and uncommunicative, lying in a bed that hadn’t been made or washed in months, a bottle of pills in the nightstand just waiting until she hit the lowest point, until the moment she realized there was nothing left for her. I gave her something. And Carrington had given her more.
Life was worth living, even after the worst tragedy a person can imagine.
There was such a thing as second chances. Joss had found that in Carrington.
Would I find mine in Mina?
Chapter 20
At Rose’s
Rose ran her thumb over an image of her husband’s face, remembering the day the photo she was wrapping in newspaper had been taken. He’d been a gentle man, her husband. Too shy to allow many photos to be taken of him, but he’d been distracted enough
“I knew there was a reason why I liked you,” I said, kissing her lightly.
You would think I’d just stripped naked and done a dance on the table the way everyone suddenly fell silent. Then Kirkland said, “I had a couple of Barbie dolls. Loved them. Used to strip them naked and play with them in the bath.”
“That explains a lot,” Donovan said.
***
“David said you went to New York yesterday.”
I’d been waiting for Joss to say something. I was in the kitchen, an apron around my waist, cleaning up the last of the dishes that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher. I reached for a pot near her elbow and smiled down at the baby nestled against her breast.
“She looks just like you, you know.”
Joss touched her daughter’s cheek. “She’s got her dad’s nose.”
“That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
“Of course not.” Then she focused on me, and her eyes narrowed. “Don’t change the subject, Ashford Grayson.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Did you see her?”
“I did.”
“What was that like?”
How was I supposed to put that into words? I dunked the pot in the hot water and began to scrub, my thoughts running and turning like a hamster on a wheel.
“She’s a teacher. Married with a six month old baby.”
“How do you know?”
I glanced at her. “David knows his stuff, Joss.”
She nodded, looking down at her own baby. “He tried to show me the file once. He wanted me to show it to you because he thought you would take it better from me.”
“I don’t think I would have taken it well from anyone. She ran away. She left me behind and ran away because she couldn’t handle that life anymore.” I shook my head. “It’s a betrayal. And I can’t do that sort of betrayal.”
“If you hadn’t met Mina before you went, do you think you’d feel the same?”
“Yes.” I glanced at her. “That’s probably why I didn’t go back when he first gave it to me.”
“You loved her.”
“I loved the woman I thought she was. But that woman? That wasn’t my Alexi. Maybe she never was.”
She was quiet for a minute. Then, “Sometimes I think we see what we need to see in the people we care about. And when we don’t need that anymore, we start to see what’s really there.”
“Is that how it was with you and Esteban?”
She looked at me, her eyes a little wide. “I always thought I married him because I loved him. But now? I think Esteban was the family I needed at the time. But, by the time everything happened, I already knew that things had changed. I didn’t want that as much as I thought I did.” She brushed the baby’s forehead with the back of her fingers. “Not that I didn’t love him. I’d probably still be with him if not for the accident. I just would have had to compromise a little more, you know?”
“And Carrington?”
A smile that lit up her entire face spread her lips.
“Carrington would never allow me to settle for anything. He sees me, sees what I need and what I want before I can figure out which is which. He knows when to take care of me and when to back off. He knows…he knows me in a way Esteban never would have.”
It was nice to see Joss so happy. Three and a half years ago, I’d found her dirty and uncommunicative, lying in a bed that hadn’t been made or washed in months, a bottle of pills in the nightstand just waiting until she hit the lowest point, until the moment she realized there was nothing left for her. I gave her something. And Carrington had given her more.
Life was worth living, even after the worst tragedy a person can imagine.
There was such a thing as second chances. Joss had found that in Carrington.
Would I find mine in Mina?
Chapter 20
At Rose’s
Rose ran her thumb over an image of her husband’s face, remembering the day the photo she was wrapping in newspaper had been taken. He’d been a gentle man, her husband. Too shy to allow many photos to be taken of him, but he’d been distracted enough
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