Taken by You by Carlie Sexton Page B

going to work out, it should be for a really good reason. How does he treat you?”
    “He treats me like I am the most precious thing in the world to him. He is kind and tender. He listens when I talk and he shares his life with me. He takes care of me and keeps me safe. He’s an amazing man.”
    “Those are the things that are important. Those are the things to focus on Kate, not what his physical type is.”
    “Do you love him?”
    “Yes, I love him more than I thought possible.”
    “Then, w hat about this is truly bothering you?”
    The waitress brought their food. “Can I get you gals anything else?”
    “No, I think we’re good.”
    “What’s really bothering me is that he didn’t tell me. I just happened to stumble upon the album.”
    “That would bother me, too. At least you have the next couple of days apart to get some perspective. Trust yourself. You’ll know the right thing to do for yourself.”
    “Thanks, that’s good advice.”
    “You had said that there were a couple of things on your mind. What else is going on?”
    Kate had already told her aunt about Roger, but she hadn’t filled her in on the latest developments of him finding her at work and that she had quit her job. She didn’t want to worry her aunt, but she needed to talk to her about it.
    “More has happened with Roger.”
    “What do you mean, more has happened with Roger? Please tell me that they have arrested him.”
    “I wish that I could tell you that he had been arrested. But, no he’s still free. He found me at my new job.”
    “Oh , no. What happened?”
    Aunt Donna took Kat e’s hand as she heard the story about her niece’s close call and said, “You must be terrified. If you need to stay with me for a while, you can. I always have room for you.”
    “ Oh Aunt Donna, I love you. Thank you so much, but Neil has arranged for me to have a body guard to protect me when I leave the house. There’s still the possibility that Roger could find me at school.”
    “Are you thinking of quitting school?”
    “No. I don’t want to quit. Too much time has gone by. I should already have my degree. I don’t want anything else to delay my education if I can help it.”
    “I don’t blame you. It’s important to get your education. At least you go to a big school. Does he know what your major is or any of the classes that you are taking?”
    “I don’t think so. We never talked about that. It’s a pretty slim possibility that he’ll find me there.”
    The waitress appeared to take their plates. “Did you save any room for dessert?”
    Kate and her aunt shook their heads. “Okay, here’s the check. There’s no rush,” she said with a smile.
    ***
    Aunt Donna paid for lunch and then they went back to John’s house. Eric and John were hanging out, talking about dad. John seemed to have the inside track on her dad, his uncle. His knowledge too, was a comfort during this time.
    Kate thought about Neil while she gazed out the living room window. He had been there for her in such a huge way during the last couple of months. She was so confused. The simple truth was that he had not told her the facts. He had kept this a secret. Secrets were dangerous in relationships. Secrets broke trust. Once trust is broken it has to be earned again. Would Neil be able to earn her trust again? She wanted the answer to be yes, but she wasn’t sure. She felt like she had no choice but to take a step back and evaluate their life together. Her aunt had given her good advice, but she still wasn’t sure and was contemplating moving out, living with Charlie and Mitch for a while until she could sort everything out. She knew that Neil wouldn’t like that idea. She wasn’t thrilled about it either, but she needed to guard her heart. It had been broken too severely when she had lost David.
    Taking herself down to her room, s he started up her laptop to check email. There were several waiting for her, but the ones most prominent were from Charlie