Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“Dad knew?” Her tone changed ever so slightly.
“Yes. Your dad and I … I will always try to protect you as much as I can from all the crappy stuff in the world. But it’s different with your dad. He needed to know that my last partner wasn’t very good to me for me to feel safe in our relationship.”
Kelly processed that and eventually replied, “Okay. Well, at least you told Dad, I suppose.”
Suspicious of why she was so mad at me for keeping this secret from her, I said, “We couldn’t have known Nick was in Scotland or that he would be so reckless. I would never have put you in that position if I thought we were in danger.”
“I know that.”
I squeezed her hand. “Then why are you so angry with me?”
Her cheeks flushed as her head jerked toward me. “I’m not!”
“Sweetie, it’s okay if you are.”
“I’m not!” She flicked off my hand. “I’m just … I didn’t stop it. I couldn’t stop him from taking you and he used me to get to you! Why do bad things keep happening to us? Is this life? Every time you think it’s going to be okay again, something totally shite happens?!”
I flinched at her cursing, at the pain and guilt in her voice.
“Why does everything have to feel so hard and scary all the time?” Kelly began to cry softly.
Tears of empathy filled my eyes, proving Nee had not emptied out my tear ducts earlier. Sliding an arm around my stepdaughter, I pulled her head down onto my shoulder and let her cry. I soothed and murmured words of reassurance as she released her pain, letting everything horrible and awful leach out of her.
It broke my heart how long Kelly cried, long enough for my body to ache with the position, but I didn’t move a muscle. I stayed right there where I was needed.
Eventually she quieted, running a hand over the back of her dripping nose.
I reached down and picked up a T-shirt from her messy floor and offered it to her.
Kelly let out a small giggle as she lifted her head and wiped the fabric across her nose. Embarrassment shadowed her expression. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We all need to let it out, you know. I just broke down on Nee’s shoulder before I came in here.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I reached for her hand again, clasping it in both of mine as I held her young gaze. “One, what happened in Oban is not your fault. Two, I wish I could promise you that nothing bad or hard or scary will ever happen again. I can’t promise you a smooth life from here on out. But I can guarantee that your dad and I will love you through every second of it.”
Kelly’s lips trembled again as she glanced quickly away. “What if you decide you don’t want to be here with us anymore?”
Realizing what was behind her fear and what it meant about her feelings for me was overwhelming, but in the best way. I pulled her close again and kissed her temple. “I will never leave you by choice. You are stuck with me, kid.”
She giggled tearfully. “I guess I’m all right with that.”
Epilogue
MURRAY
There was a small part of me that was envious watching Taran walk down the aisle toward Quinn. Seeing him surreptitiously wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes at his bride’s approach, I felt a pang of regret that I didn’t experience that moment with London.
My gaze moved to my wife who stood at the edge of the altar with Tierney, Cammie, and Quinn’s daughter Heather. London looked stunning in a pale green dress, her hair pinned up in pretty curls and braids like a princess. She must have felt my stare because our eyes connected as Taran drew to a stop across from Quinn.
I shifted restlessly beside Kelly, wishing London were down here with us. Mum was on Kelly’s other side. The old castle’s ballroom was filled with seats and fairy lights and florals and all that wedding stuff. But thick stone walls and a lack of air-con made it stuffy, especially when you were wearing wool. It wasn’t so much my kilt that bothered me but the wool Argyll jacket and matching waistcoat. I was dying to rip the damn things off.
Trying to ignore my discomfort, I somehow managed to drag my eyes off my sexy wife and concentrate on the ceremony. Taran’s and Quinn’s vows were unsurprisingly emotional, considering the many years they’d spent apart. Only now that I had experienced that kind of love with London did I fully appreciate how fucking awful it must have been for my friend to be without the woman he loved for all that time.
I’d never been happier for him.
A sniffle beside me brought my attention to Kelly and Mum. Kelly was blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears while Mum dabbed at her nose and eyes with a handkerchief. Tender amusement filled me and a quick look around at the guests revealed they were not the only ones succumbing to tears. Even Forde was uncharacteristically misty-eyed as he stood at Quinn’s side as his best man.