A Cry in the Dark (Carly Moore #1) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,110

contrast between what we had and what our friends had was startling.”

I hadn’t thought about that. “I suspect that was even harder, realizing everything you had while your friends struggled.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is. Go on.”

“I’m fairly certain my mother was happy. That’s how I remember it anyway. She and my father were trying to get pregnant. They kept talking about my future baby brother or sister. My father loved me. Doted on me. He couldn’t wait to have another baby. And then, suddenly, they started fighting. I was too young to truly understand what was happening, but now that I’m older, and after I heard my father talking to Jake…” I paused. “My father found out that I’m not his biological child. My mother had an affair.”

“How did he find out?” Wyatt asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. The logical guess is that they did fertility testing and my father found out he was sterile. It would explain why he never remarried and tried to have more kids. In any case, they both took it as gospel, so it must be true.”

“So what happened?”

“My mother was upset, and I didn’t understand what was going on. I only knew my father quit coming home most nights. Then my mother got in that accident, and I was left alone.” I shifted in my seat to look at him. “Only it turns out it wasn’t an accident. My father had her killed.”

He squeezed my hand. “God, Carly. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t see the point. “Hired help raised me until my father thought I was too old for a nanny. After that, I was alone in our mansion until I left for college, but through it all, I had Jake.”

“Your former fiancé?” he asked in surprise.

“One and the same. He was my best friend growing up, but now I’m pretty sure my father used him to keep tabs on me. He couldn’t be bothered to watch me himself.” I released a short laugh. “I didn’t understand why my father didn’t love me anymore, so I decided I must be unlovable.”

“Carly.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “When I left for school, I swore I was never going back. That I was leaving forever. I went out east and got a college degree and a master’s in elementary education. But my father had left his mark on me, and I never really let myself get close to anyone. So when Jake called me and begged me to come back to Dallas, I went. Mostly because I was lonely, and I’d never really put down roots anywhere else.”

“You started datin’ him?” he asked, his voice tight.

“No,” I said, then took a second to gather my thoughts. “No, I got a job at my old private school and fell in love with a new batch of students every year. It felt safe. I knew they were leaving me, so it made it easier to get close to them.” I shook my head. “That sounds pathetic.”

“No. Believe it or not, I can relate. My father manipulated everyone in this town, including my friends. I never trusted anyone.”

“What about Max?” I asked, glancing at him. “Did you trust him?”

“Max was the only one I could trust. Until I broke away from my father.” He sat up straighter. “You said men wanted you for your inheritance, so there must have been men in your life.”

“I dated,” I admitted. “I had a few semiserious relationships, but they all ended the same way. With the guy falling all over himself to meet my father. I’d just ended the last one—a guy I was sure was different—until I found out he wasn’t. So I did what I always did and cried on Jake’s shoulder. He was between his many girlfriends, and we went out and got drunk, and the next thing I knew he proposed.”

“You weren’t even datin’?”

“We hadn’t even kissed at that point.”

“But you said yes?”

I sighed, feeling like a fool. “We were friends and I really wanted to have a family someday. I figured I knew what I was getting with Jake. I could trust him.” Releasing a bitter laugh, I said, “Boy was I wrong.” When he didn’t respond, I added, “Jake convinced me that the best component of a relationship was friendship. That we would eventually fall in love and we’d grow old together as best friends. That we’d raise our kids in a stable environment, and not the way we’d been