Feisty Red (Three Chicks Brewery #2) - Stacey Kennedy Page 0,51

to do was protect him, and I’ve failed at that.”

Sullivan breathed past the constricting of his chest. “There is one way to stop them, but you’re not going to like it.”

She froze, a cold worry filling her eyes. “You have to leave.”

Of course, she had already considered this. “It’s the only way to stop this.” He knew the impact his words would have and saw them ricochet off her face. “To stay here would only have the reporters digging deeper. Hell, they will start loitering around Mason’s school. They’re vultures. Writing more stories. Let them write that I left you and Mason again, and this will end it. I’ll return to Boston and let this die down.” He paused to consider, thinking this through from every angle. “I can get a PR company that can help smooth all this out for us.”

Clara’s brows pinched. “But if you leave now, it’s only going to make you look worse.”

The bubbles began popping as he stroked her warm cheek. “I’m used to looking bad, Clara. I can handle the media’s negative attention.” He leaned closer, needing no distance between them. “But what I can’t handle is how this hurt you and Mason. I’m sorry this happened. I never expected the shit that happened in Boston to follow me here.”

“Who could have expected it?” Clara asked, tugging at her damp hair. “I just hate how they twisted our story.”

“It’s part of the deal, and sadly, I’m on their radar right now.” Heady emotion filled her eyes before she shut them and leaned her head back against the tub. He couldn’t take the silence. “Please tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I hate how they portrayed everything.” She opened her red eyes, tears rimming them. “They only took the bad, without any of the important parts…the stuff that makes our story…ours.”

Desperate to take this all away so the pain didn’t touch her, he stroked her cheek again. “That’s what they do. They create a narrative and roll with it. People, sadly, enjoy hearing about the bad.”

“I don’t know why,” she said, a single tear sliding down her cheek. “It’s awful, and it’s our past, and no one has any right telling it.” She shut her eyes again and took in a shuddering breath. “I’m very worried about Mason.”

Sullivan felt the pain ripple through his body. He’d done this. He reached into the bath and took her hand, squeezing tight. “I won’t let them get to Mason again. Clara, look at me.” She opened her eyes again, and he added, “They won’t get to him. I swear it.”

“You can’t stop them, Sullivan. They’ve already twisted the story enough that the kids at school are going to torment him. He was so proud you played baseball. Now, they’re going to tell him you never wanted him.” Her voice broke. “It’s so cruel.”

It occurred to him then that her greatest fear had come true, and so had his. His involvement in her and Mason’s life had fucked everything up. “I’ll make this better,” he said, unsure how at the moment. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to distract them, to get them off your back. And then I’ll come back to Mason…to you, and we’ll put this all behind him.”

She cocked her head, gave him a measured look. “Don’t do anything stupid that will get you another suspension.”

He’d come here to get over his suspension. To get back into the game. To fix his life. He cupped Clara’s face. “The last thing I’m going to do is stir up more trouble. I’m going to get them off your back, nothing more.”

Her chin quivered. “When are you leaving?”

Not wanting to answer, he rose and grabbed a facecloth off the shelves next to the pedestal sink with the vintage mirror above. When he returned to her, he dipped the facecloth in the water then began cleaning the makeup off her face. “Now.”

She visibly swallowed and gave a slow, disbelieving shake of her head. “So, this is all the time we’ve got?”

His chest constricted at the truth in front of him. When could he come back? At what point would it be safe? How could they manage all this and Mason? He and Clara were better, but they needed more time. “I’m sorry, Clara, hurting you and Mason, and leaving you like this, wasn’t what I wanted at all.”

“I know,” she said, rising, bathwater splashing as she climbed onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her warm, sudsy flesh. She smelled