The Father of Her Son - By Kathleen Pickering Page 0,90
went so far as to confront Buzz.” She gave Kelly a hard stare. “Of course, the good senator told Chuck that I threw myself at him. What was a man to do? I was divorced in a month.”
“Helen. That’s awful.”
“Does your husband know about Buzz?”
“My husband is Evan McKenna. He knows.”
A strange smile tugged at her lips. “Interesting. I heard he was talking with Jay Doyle this morning. Well, if I can’t convince you to step forward. Maybe he can.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Helen stood. “It doesn’t matter. Thank you for the coffee—and for talking with me.”
She slid her business card onto the table and left the diner.
* * *
KELLY WAS PISSED! Why was it that just as she started to grasp a fragile hold on the possibility that Evan was genuine in his intentions toward her that someone came along and threw a wrench right in the face of her trust?
He’d already contacted Doyle. Okay. He told her he would. Yet, the look on Helen’s face implied that she didn’t have to worry any longer because Evan would talk her into pressing charges against Buzz. Kelly’s suspicions kicked in. Did Evan truly quit his job or was it an arrangement with Steve? Did he step down from his precious throne to go behind the lines to gain her confidence? Dean and Bethany practically said as much on TV this morning.
What did all of this mean?
Bunny didn’t bother to knock after Kelly slammed the door to her office, but let herself in and closed the door quietly. Kelly knew she was there but continued to stare at the sidewalk outside the window.
Bunny moved next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Everything okay?”
Kelly met her friend’s dark eyes, which held nothing but concern for her. “Will I ever be able to trust a man, Bun?”
Bunny gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Are you talking about my heartthrob, Evan McKenna?”
Bless Bunny for answering perfectly with a question that truly described her husband. She rested her head on Bunny’s shoulder. “He is a good man, isn’t he? Am I being a fool?”
“Only you will be able to decide that, Kel. It all depends on what you want from your life—and the people you bring into it.”
Kelly slid from beneath her arm. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “You can either let your past rule you and indulge your suspicions or you can take a man at face value and trust him until he proves himself wrong.”
“Other than my brothers, I don’t think I’ve ever been comfortable around a man.” Except Evan.
Bunny shook her head. “Kelly, don’t you understand? When you are always on your guard it makes folks work awfully hard to prove themselves to you.”
Kelly frowned. “Do I do that to you?”
“No. We seemed to hit it off right away. But you certainly had Jake dancing a jig his first year here.”
Kelly shook her head, a small grin creasing her lips. She’d taken a chance on her burly cook who’d just freshly arrived from New Orleans. “Well, Jake needed to do a little proving. He stank like a bottle of Jameson the morning he interviewed with me.”
“Yet you hired him.”
“Yes. There was something solid about him. I was willing to take the chance. Besides, he cooked an omelet for me that I still dream about today.”
“So, you trusted your instinct.”
She understood the look in her friend’s gaze. “You’re telling me to have faith.”
Bunny pinched her chin like a doting mother. “I’m telling you to have no expectations. Let every encounter be fresh with the man whom I suspect you love. Leave a clear space and see what fills it. Time will be the great prover. Evan won’t have to work so hard to make you believe him and you get to be free to explore your feelings instead of guarding them.”
Kelly sighed. “So many signs point to Evan having ulterior motives for supporting me.”
“Like a groundbreaking story?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, let’s assume that is true. What do you believe Evan’s motive would be for exposing your story? Would he compromise your son or your happiness for his career? For justice? Would he compromise you at all?”
When Kelly opened her mouth to answer, Bunny held up a hand. “Wait. I want you to think about this. Given the Evan you have come to know. Just the man. Not his job. Not the current situation. Simply Evan. What would be his motive for deceiving you?”
She didn’t even have to deliberate. The answer came immediately. “He’d