"You should have told him, Amber. God, this is horrible."
"I tried; you know I did! I broke us when I freaked and left, but I had to have time to think. I love Brody, but when I saw the ring, I saw my dreams grinding to a halt."
"Love Brody?"
Her sister's question sent her mind through what she'd just said. "Loved. Past tense." Oh, God, their relationship was very much a past tense. Ancient history.
"That other shit was your mother talking. The woman messed with your head."
"I know. I thought I explained it to Brody. No, I know I did! Why did he spring the proposal on me? God, I was such a mess. Then when Gage was born... I couldn't lose him. Family has always been everything to the Kings—and Hannah King’s first grandchild? I couldn't risk Brody would try to take him away. We were so broke. I didn't have a job, and you were still in school. We had so much debt. Hell, if it hadn’t been for your mom's insurance paying off this house and your student loans buying food, we'd have been living on the streets. You know how powerful his father was, even back then. He'd just have to show up in a courtroom, and any judge would have given the Kings custody of Gage. They would have taken him from me. The Kings had money; they had status. They still have all of that, but now I can fight back. I'm a damn good mom. I'm doing well, and he's a great kid. Well adjusted, smart, and so damn much like his dad." She shook her head. "But I do agree. I've made mistakes."
"Yeah, and they're all coming back to bite us in the ass." Dawn dropped back onto the couch. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. I mean, it isn't like we'll be visiting. He won't come here. He doesn't even want to talk to me. Maybe I won't push the issue and not even tell him?" She rolled her eyes. Yeah, like it would be so easy. She was going to have to face this.
Dawn shook her head. "You’re the smartest woman I know, but in this, you are absolutely, one hundred percent, wrong. You owe the man a full-on explanation, and he needs to meet his son. Like you said, you tried to tell him. Gage deserves to know his father and his side of the family." Her sister grabbed her wine and downed the contents. "I love that boy, you know I do, but you're hurting everyone in this situation if you do nothing. It's time to face the music."
"I know! I did try to talk to him today. Several times in fact. He won't even look at me. I think he hates me."
"Then get to him through his family."
Amber crumbled back into the couch cushions. "They'll close ranks."
She’d gone to his childhood home. Brody's mom had met her at the front door.
"Hi Amber." Mrs. King came out onto the porch and pulled the door closed. The fact she hadn't invited her in spoke volumes.
"Hi. Would it be possible to talk to Brody?" Her voice cracked, and she blinked back the tears she had in her eyes.
Hannah wrapped her arms around her waist and smiled sadly. Then came the look. Pity. Sadness. Disapproval. And all wrapped up in a motherly concern that almost gutted her. "Honey, I know you will probably have a hard time understanding this, but I do think it would be better if you waited until he was ready to talk to you. He's just home from his second surgery, and he's in a lot of pain. Now really isn't a good time for him. He'll come around.” She couldn't prevent the tears that brimmed over her lashes. "I'm so sorry for... everything."
"Honey, you didn't cause the accident, but what happened before that? One day when you're a mother, I hope you understand. He didn't deserve that reaction. You hurt him. He can put on a mask of indifference, but his heart is so big. He feels things very deeply. Maybe someday he'll be in a better place and reach out to you."
She was right but hearing it from a dynamic woman she could never hope to impress... God, she'd been devastated. She'd no idea what to say or how to say it. So, in the end, she turned away and left.