“It’s really an apology.”
“You haven’t done anything you need to be sorry for.”
“Let me finish, honey.” She let Cain’s hand go so she could spread her palm out on her lap. “I’m truly sorry for ever believing anything Barney Kyle ever told me. I remember that now, and I don’t understand how I could’ve been so stupid. Running away from you, from us and Hayden cost us so much, and dwelling on it makes me insane.”
“Lass, you really have to put that mess in its grave. That’s where it belongs.” Cain placed her fingers under Emma’s chin so their eyes met. “We’ve both made our mistakes, and I mean both of us. What you have to know is my heart has no secrets from you. It knows you are what completes me, and in this lifetime and beyond there’ll be no other who can take your place. Because of that truth, I don’t want to waste my time on things that aren’t important. All that happened, but it taught us what’s important, didn’t it?”
She gazed into Cain’s eyes, trying to get the lump in her throat to dissolve. The tears were so close, and that wasn’t what she wanted to do, considering where they were going. “This isn’t me rehashing old hurts. Really, it’s not,” she said after a few deep breaths. “I’m apologizing because I want it to be the last time I do it. The stupidity I showed was colossal, but you’re right. I want it to be a dead subject. Before we truly put it to rest, though, I want you to know that I’d die before hurting you like that again. What happened isn’t something I take lightly, so don’t think I do if I never talk about it.”
“I’m glad we’ve come full circle, then.” Cain kissed her before she went back to her original spot with her head on her shoulder. “As painful as living through that was, we’re better together because of it. Had we gone along the way we did back then, maybe we wouldn’t be here now.”
“I love being your partner and helping you with the load you carry. I’m so grateful you and Hayden forgave me.”
“We had no choice. You mean too much.”
Lou drove slowly down the street Vincent’s restaurant was on, so Cain kissed her again. “I didn’t mean to be such a downer before dinner, but I had to get that out before it choked me.”
“We’ve got a lot of good stuff to look forward to, so I’m glad you made that decision. If it makes you feel better about it, I accept your apology only if you accept mine for putting those doubts in your head to begin with.”
“I never blamed you—well, not after I thought about it rationally. Unfortunately for me, by then it was too late, and the mistakes got easier after that. Besides, my mother’s harping didn’t help.”
“Has Ross heard from her at all?”
Carol Verde had been vicious in her letters and phone calls when Ross had first moved in with them. She’d threatened everything she could think of when Ross both ignored her and informed her divorce attorney she couldn’t move back to the farm. The property had been in the Verde family for years, and her grandfather had done Ross’s thinking for him before he married a woman he didn’t approve of. Her dad had a prenup even when most of his friends didn’t know what that was. The place would pass first to Emma, then her children once her father died, an eventuality she hoped was years away.
“She’s been strangely quiet, which actually worries me more. The guy Muriel got to represent Daddy said she’d even stopped coming by his office to throw her weekly tantrum. Promise you’ll spank me if I ever get like that?”
“You have my word, but don’t worry, because you’re nothing like your mother.”
“Ready, boss?” Lou asked before he got out.
“That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one,” she said, and Emma laughed. “I’m ready for something, but perhaps not this. Duty calls, though, so open the doors.”
Their people exited the other vehicle that had followed them there
“You haven’t done anything you need to be sorry for.”
“Let me finish, honey.” She let Cain’s hand go so she could spread her palm out on her lap. “I’m truly sorry for ever believing anything Barney Kyle ever told me. I remember that now, and I don’t understand how I could’ve been so stupid. Running away from you, from us and Hayden cost us so much, and dwelling on it makes me insane.”
“Lass, you really have to put that mess in its grave. That’s where it belongs.” Cain placed her fingers under Emma’s chin so their eyes met. “We’ve both made our mistakes, and I mean both of us. What you have to know is my heart has no secrets from you. It knows you are what completes me, and in this lifetime and beyond there’ll be no other who can take your place. Because of that truth, I don’t want to waste my time on things that aren’t important. All that happened, but it taught us what’s important, didn’t it?”
She gazed into Cain’s eyes, trying to get the lump in her throat to dissolve. The tears were so close, and that wasn’t what she wanted to do, considering where they were going. “This isn’t me rehashing old hurts. Really, it’s not,” she said after a few deep breaths. “I’m apologizing because I want it to be the last time I do it. The stupidity I showed was colossal, but you’re right. I want it to be a dead subject. Before we truly put it to rest, though, I want you to know that I’d die before hurting you like that again. What happened isn’t something I take lightly, so don’t think I do if I never talk about it.”
“I’m glad we’ve come full circle, then.” Cain kissed her before she went back to her original spot with her head on her shoulder. “As painful as living through that was, we’re better together because of it. Had we gone along the way we did back then, maybe we wouldn’t be here now.”
“I love being your partner and helping you with the load you carry. I’m so grateful you and Hayden forgave me.”
“We had no choice. You mean too much.”
Lou drove slowly down the street Vincent’s restaurant was on, so Cain kissed her again. “I didn’t mean to be such a downer before dinner, but I had to get that out before it choked me.”
“We’ve got a lot of good stuff to look forward to, so I’m glad you made that decision. If it makes you feel better about it, I accept your apology only if you accept mine for putting those doubts in your head to begin with.”
“I never blamed you—well, not after I thought about it rationally. Unfortunately for me, by then it was too late, and the mistakes got easier after that. Besides, my mother’s harping didn’t help.”
“Has Ross heard from her at all?”
Carol Verde had been vicious in her letters and phone calls when Ross had first moved in with them. She’d threatened everything she could think of when Ross both ignored her and informed her divorce attorney she couldn’t move back to the farm. The property had been in the Verde family for years, and her grandfather had done Ross’s thinking for him before he married a woman he didn’t approve of. Her dad had a prenup even when most of his friends didn’t know what that was. The place would pass first to Emma, then her children once her father died, an eventuality she hoped was years away.
“She’s been strangely quiet, which actually worries me more. The guy Muriel got to represent Daddy said she’d even stopped coming by his office to throw her weekly tantrum. Promise you’ll spank me if I ever get like that?”
“You have my word, but don’t worry, because you’re nothing like your mother.”
“Ready, boss?” Lou asked before he got out.
“That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one,” she said, and Emma laughed. “I’m ready for something, but perhaps not this. Duty calls, though, so open the doors.”
Their people exited the other vehicle that had followed them there
Similar Books
