him with the fierceness of a thousand armies. Kacey didn’t play, she loved. And he had hurt her. There was no other option but to fix it. As he watched while Benji sat with a sad smile on his face, it was easy to see that Benji missed his family very much. Jordie felt for him. He was sure that’s how he would be if Kacey didn’t get her head out of her ass and forgive him. He couldn’t imagine living a life without her. Or their child.
It just wouldn’t work.
He loved her.
And he wasn’t going anywhere without her.
“Are you stupid, Kacey?”
Kacey rolled her eyes as she leaned against her hand, Lacey on the line hollering at her. Instead of chasing after Jordie like she knew she should have, she let him leave mad, and it rocked her to the core. She hated fighting with him, but she was hurting and she hated feeling like she was worthless. Like she wasn’t enough to help him.
“First, you hit some random chick when you’re pregnant. And then you send Jordie away for something that, I’m sorry, is dumb. He never cheated on you, never deceived you or even lied. He just didn’t share information about someone who didn’t matter to him.”
Shocked, she yelled, “I mean, shit, Lacey, whose side are you on?”
“His!” she yelled. “You said you let go of his past, but it’s obvious you haven’t.”
“I have!”
“No, you haven’t. If you had, you wouldn’t be holding him to this.”
“No, I’m not doing that. I just don’t like that someone else helped him when I should have been the one.”
“Oh my jeez, you prideful jerk. It doesn’t matter who helped, as long as they did!” she yelled and Kacey bit the inside of her cheek. Jordie had said the same thing. “He needed help, he got it, case closed. It doesn’t matter who held his hand, smacked his ass and called him Sally. All that matters is him getting through this, coming to you, and being the man you need,” she said, and it rocked Kacey’s soul. “You gave him a second chance for a reason, because you believe in him, because you love him. So get your head out of your ass and call him and apologize!”
She dropped her head as the tears leaked out the sides of her eyes. “I mean, I get that, but I wanted to be there for him.”
“And you are! Just at a different stage of his life. The part I’d rather be in because, let’s be honest, you two wouldn’t be together if you were trying to help him through his issues, Kacey. So you didn’t get your way. Who cares? You’re gonna throw away a love you’ve been praying for and begging to come your way because you are being selfish and insane, just because you weren’t the one to push him along in rehab?”
Kacey paused, leaning on her hand as she repeated the words Lacey had just said. In her head, it didn’t sound that bad or selfish, but hearing it from Lacey didn’t sit well. “When you say it like that, it sounds bad.”
“Because it is bad!” she yelled and Kacey rolled her eyes. “You are being dumb and childish and, yeah, I get that he was sort of wrong for not telling you about Natasha. But Kacey, he finally got you back, he was happy, and I believe wholeheartedly that he didn’t think about it. His main focus is you.”
“I just don’t get why he wanted her to help.”
“Because maybe she didn’t matter and it was easy to confide in someone he knew meant nothing to him rather than admit his issues, his problems, and his fears to someone he loved. Like you, he is very prideful and, Kacey, he doesn’t want to show you his weakness. He wants you to see him as this strong, amazing man who could take on the world, or better yet, addiction.”
Lacey was right, but Kacey’s heart still hurt. Or her pride. One of the two. “It just makes me so mad, so hurt. I feel like I did before, when I didn’t feel like I was enough.”
“If you weren’t enough, why would he have gone through hell and back when other people say fuck it and turn back to their addiction? No, he fought and still is fighting just to be the man you want. Kacey, he loves you.”
And she loved him. So why was she letting this rejection, this hurt, just drown her?