Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 93698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“See my son.”
“Nice save.” She got up and put the kit away, then leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. She needed the distance to keep a clear head and it also helped hide her very alert nipples.
She studied the man who still remained at the table, watching her. The man she foolishly used to love. The father of her only child.
The one managing to pull old feelings up from where they’d been buried deep.
Not smart, Kyra.
“Shoulda become a nurse,” he muttered as he inspected the bandages.
“Dressing a wound does not make one a nurse.” She met his grayish-blue eyes. “Getting a nursing degree does.”
His brow furrowed and a few seconds later, what she alluded to finally sank in. His dark eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Became a nurse?”
She tipped her head. “I did.”
“Thought you went to Pitt for…” He groaned. “Fuck. Don’t remember.”
Of course he didn’t. He was always too busy concentrating on himself more than anyone else. Even her. “I transferred my credits from my bachelor’s degree and decided to become an RN instead.”
While she had originally gone to college for advertising, and had landed a decent job in Pittsburgh before she left town, she’d realized she didn’t love it. Real life experience proved that particular career didn’t suit her personality.
After having a baby, she learned that taking care of others was a much better fit. Once she returned to Pennsylvania, being a per diem nurse gave her a little more flexibility with her schedule. And she needed that being a single mother.
“How the fuck d’you go back to school when you had a kid to take care of?”
“You can do almost anything when you’re determined.”
“Coulda stayed here, Ky, and had a fuckload of people to help.”
Staying in Shadow Valley wouldn’t have healed her broken heart. She needed distance and a change of pace. “And you could’ve kept your dick out of Bunny’s mouth. But you didn’t and I didn’t, so here we are.”
“Gotta move past that shit.”
“I did. You just don’t like how I did it.”
Suddenly, he was out of his chair and standing in her personal space. “Where’d you go, Ky?”
She needed to keep her ridiculous attraction to his man under control. It would do her no good to succumb to it. “Chicago.”
“Why the fuck Chicago?”
“I figured it would be easier to get a job in advertising there.” And it was within a day’s drive of Shadow Valley.
He captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger, making it so she couldn’t avoid his eyes. “Did you?”
“Yes, and that’s when I discovered it wasn’t for me. The industry can be cutthroat.” She jerked her chin free from his grip. “Anyway, it’s time for you to leave. I’ll let you know when we have time to meet up with you.”
His expression turned dark. “Came for answers, Ky. Deserve them. Ain’t leavin’ ’til I get them. You wanna call the goddamn pigs, call ‘em. But that’s gonna put me back inside and only delay me gettin’ to know my son. Ain’t fair to him. Or me. Think ‘bout that.”
“He’s my son. He’s not yours until you prove you can be a good father.” While legally that wasn’t true, Zeke also wasn’t listed as Ledger’s father on his birth certificate. She could make him jump through a million legal hoops to prove he is.
“Can’t prove shit if I don’t get the fuckin’ opportunity.”
“I said we need to handle this carefully. He’s only three. I don’t want to overwhelm or confuse him. I also don’t want him getting attached to you to only have you leave, whether it’s because you find being a parent too difficult, or boring, or you get arrested again. I told you I wanted steady.”
“And you already made it pretty fuckin’ clear that I ain’t steady.”
“Get it correct, Zeke, you did. Nothing showed me you were ready to be a father.”
“Should’ve given me a chance to fuckin’ prove it! Didn’t even give me that shit! Goddamn!”
Trying to keep her cool, she said softly, “I didn’t want you screwing him up.”
His nostrils flared. “You wanted to do that on your own.”
“Do what? Raise him?”
“No. Fuckin’ screw him up.”
All the air fled her lungs. She whispered, “You think he’s screwed up?”
“How the fuck would I know when I haven’t had a goddamn chance to spend time with him?” With a set jaw, he closed his eyes and took a breath.
She wished he’d back off and give her room to breathe. Or think clearly. Him standing so close was messing with her head.
And, if she had to admit it, her heart. It was starting to crack again in the same spot where he’d broken it all those years ago.
He scraped fingers through his hair, messing it up.
Why did that make him look even hotter?
“Shoulda took the time you fuckin’ needed, then came back once you knew you were knocked up.”