Always Enough (Meet Me in Montana #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,93

life that day, Kaylee.”

Tears slipped down her face, and I hated that my confession was causing them. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking. Was she scared? Did this make her want to leave? Would she truly stick by my side, knowing how broken I had been—still was, in a sense?

“I’m sorry if this brings back memories of John.”

She wiped them away and shook her head. “It’s not that, Ty. I mean, of course it makes me think of him, but I hurt for you. Knowing that you’ve carried that burden with you all this time. Does your therapist know?”

I shook my head, and she gasped.

“I, um . . . I never told her. I never told anyone. I was too ashamed that I had even entertained it.”

“What made you not do it?” she asked.

I looked down at her hand in mine and smiled. “I don’t know. It wasn’t like I was afraid to do it, but for one brief moment . . . I saw a flicker of light. A feeling of hope sparked somewhere down in my chest. I got out of the truck, walked into the house, and put the gun back in the safe.

“About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was my folks. They confronted me about the pills and alcohol. I can’t even begin to tell you the relief I felt that the truth was out, finally. Then the guilt set in. If I had gone through with that, my parents would have been the ones to find me. I hated myself. Still do, thinking of how close I had come to them walking up and seeing me sitting in my truck with a fucking gun in my hand, or worse.”

Kaylee wiped her tears away, then took in a deep breath. “Ty, I think you need to talk to your therapist about it.”

With a nod, I smiled. “It feels fucking good to just say it out loud, if I’m being honest.” She sniffled, and I reached up and wiped her tear-soaked cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to say you’re sorry, Ty. Not at all.”

“I thought things were going really good for me after that—right before you and Lincoln showed up, that is. Then when you got out of that car, I was almost knocked back flat on my ass. You took my breath away, Kaylee.”

Her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. “I felt the same way, Ty. I hadn’t felt anything for so long, and you sparked something in me as well that day. Even Lincoln noticed. I actually called dibs on you.”

I squeezed her hand, and we both laughed.

“Funny, when I told Brock about the two of you showing up that day, I told him you were off limits.”

She flashed me a huge grin.

“Of course, all I could think about was getting into your pants. Then the more I got to know you, the more something inside of me started to change. I got to the point where I needed to see you every day, and when I did see you, it drove me fucking mad because I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do. Like kiss you. Or tell you how beautiful you looked.”

She smiled again.

“Those feelings scared me, because the last thing I’d let myself need had nearly killed me. I told myself all I needed was one time with you. I’d fuck you and get you out of my system. Then that night, in the bar, when we kissed . . . I knew one time with you would never be enough. You made me want something I’d never wanted before. It was something I had lain in my bed and thought about but wasn’t sure I would ever truly deserve.”

“I knew I kissed well, but I didn’t realize my kisses were that amazing.”

I laughed, and she let out a half chuckle, half sob.

“The only way I know how to explain it to you is to say I got spooked. I wanted you so much, Kaylee, and it wasn’t just for the sex. I wanted to kiss you every morning. Be the last person you saw each night before you went to sleep. I wanted to know what you looked like when you woke up, what you did when you were angry, sad, happy.

“For the first time in my life, I wanted someone so badly, and I knew I could have taken you to bed and tried to get a quick fix,