those of Wyatt in middle school and even those when he first made the football team. In some, there was Beau by his side and in his younger years, I saw more of baby Drew than I did now. I knew without a doubt Anna's son would grow up to look just like his daddy and be as handsome too.
As she flipped the page I was so lost in the dimples of the previous that it took me a moment to register hat I was looking at.
Silence set in over us, me unsure what to say and Mrs. Murphy probably the same.
There on the page before me like, like a neon sign blinking and taunting me was a picture of Wyatt at Karlie. Wyatt in a tux, with a blue vest and tie, Karlie in a silver dress, blue shoes that match him to perfection. His arms wrapped around her waist, her hand upon his chest as she looked up with him with a big smile.
It was my turn to fight emotions. So many thoughts, a flow of memories raised through me.
"I'll take you to prom Sadie, if you promise to give me a little peek of what treasures lie beneath the dress you plan on wearing."
That was just one of so many things I'd heard from the guys in school. That was actually one of the nicer comments that they'd corner me and say. That was a dark time for me, they'd all made me question who I was, they'd made me hate who I was. I never felt adequate, I'd never felt like I'd deserved to go to prom and laugh and dance with my friends. They'd taken a girl that was happy with herself and made her feel like a nothing more than a waste.
"I never liked that girl much," Wyatt's mother whispered and I didn't look away from the picture. I didn't want her to see the ugliness it brought back to the surface. I didn't want it to darken what I have with Wyatt now.
But my chest felt heavy and my stomach tensed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Wyatt
"Things are quiet in there." Will jerked his head toward the living room and I paused, listening for the laughter that had been going on for what felt like hours. I loved the idea of my mother and Sadie bonding even if it was at the expense of my manhood. I knew she'd tease me about the images she'd been shown, but hey, I'd deal with that.
But my brother was right, things had quieted down.
Placing my beer on the counter I moved toward the doorway and when I heard my mother talk, I paused. "She was also so selfish with Wyatt. Didn't like him paying attention to anyone else but her, and the drama."
Peeking around the doorway I had a side view of Sadie and saw her staring down at the album in my mother’s lap. But she wasn't saying anything in return to my mother.
"Even with William and I she hated when we took Wyatt's attention from her. Karlie was a selfish girl. Even on this night, when they went to prom," my heart sank when it then dawned on me what pictured they'd ran across. "She threw a fit when Wyatt stopped her for us to take a picture. I could see the Wyatt was unhappy and I know I should have said something, but I didn't. I'm just glad that it’s over. The man I see now, the one is with you, that's that man I raised."
Sadie nodded, and it was then she looked at my mom. "I didn't really know her, but I knew Wyatt." Fuck I wanted to go to her and hold her, apologize again for the shit I know she had in her life during that time because of me. "Regardless of who he went with, he looked very handsome."
Fuck this, I moved into the room and when I sat down on the couch next to Sadie she looked back and forced a smile. "Memory lane," she mumbled and without a second thought I lifted my hand and touched her cheek. Momentarily her eyes closed but only for a second when she opened them once more and looked at me. "It's okay," she whispered.
"It's not okay," I countered. "What I did back then, what happened after that will never be okay." I kissed her softly, not for a second worrying about the fact that mother was sitting only a few feet away. I knew that