It hadn’t mattered when Bob mentioned his appearance, but he was embarrassed by it now. Josh
straightened the T-shirt and combed his hair with his fingers.
He became aware of his smell, the odor of stale sweat.
“I suppose I need my two ladies to keep me straight,”
he said and ventured a weak smile.
“Who, me and Bell?” Kate said coldly.
His smile collapsed under the pressure. Josh winced; the backhand remark hurt. His open-ended comment
had left him open to ridicule. “I didn’t mean that.”
Kate sighed. “Neither did I. I’m not here to fight.”
Josh smiled. “Good.”
“What did Bob tell you?”
“Nothing. He just brought me here.”
“He’s been on my case since you came back from
Pinnacle Investments, telling me I should talk to you.”
“I didn’t know.”
“That’s what he said. He also said you didn’t know much about anything these days.”
Ashamed, Josh shifted nervously and studied his
feet. Had his behavior deteriorated so much that everyone could see him going downhill? Only an idiot
wouldn’t have seen it. He was an idiot. He wished he’d tidied himself up before seeing Kate. But it was probably part of Bob’s plan to make him look a wreck in
front of her to stack the odds in his favor.
Tears welled up in her eyes. “You’ve really let yourself go, Josh.”
“I know. I can do something about it. An hour in the bath and a change of clothes, that’s all it takes.” He paused for a moment. “And for you to take me back.”
The welled-up tears, too large and too heavy to remain in place, broke out and rolled down Kate’s face.
She sniffed and wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“Give me one good reason why,” she said. “Just one.”
“Because I still love you and Abby.”
Kate’s brave front couldn’t stand up to the
bombardment any longer. Her facade cracked and broke into a thousand pieces. Wracking sobs shook her body. She buried her face in her hands.
Scared of rejection, Josh hesitated. But seeing Kate’s distress, he went to her, pulled her to him and held her tight.
Kate took her hands away from her face and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder.
He felt the tears soak into his shirt.
He held her tighter. Was this acceptance? He hoped her returned embrace was a sign of forgiveness. He wanted her to lower the drawbridge and allow him entry.
He spoke into her ear.
“Kate, I’m so sorry. I can’t bear to be without you. If we can’t be together, then everything I’ve done was for nothing.” Josh let it all go. He had to let Kate know how he felt; this was his last chance or he might lose her forever.
He felt Kate pull away from him. He let her go. She took a step backward.
She composed herself. “Josh, you betrayed me. You had an affair. You put our family at risk. We could have all been killed because of you. How can I ever forgive you?”
“I was stupid and God knows I wish I could change that. I don’t expect you to forgive me. But give me a chance to make up for it.” He reached out to touch Kate, but wasn’t sure how she would react, so he let his hands drop to his sides.
“Should I give you a second chance?” she asked.
“Abby needs a father.”
“Should I give you a second chance?” she demanded.
“Yes.”
“What makes you think life will be different this time around? You have no job. We have no home. We don’t have anything.”
“I couldn’t ask for more.” He smiled. “We have a
clean slate. We’re free to make life anything we want it to be. We have the chance to start again from the ground up. Nothing to stop us.” His enthusiasm
spilled over.
“We’ll have to take things slow. You have a lot to make up for.”
His mouth fell open for a moment. Did this mean
what he thought it meant? She was taking him back. It was no time to think, just act. Moving toward her, he said, “I know. I have no expectations other than a second chance.”
Kate smiled for the first time. She held out her hand to him and he took it. “Okay.”
He smiled back.
“We have a house to look at.” Kate opened the door and led him inside.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
As odd as it may seem, viatical settlements do exist and there are strict criteria governing who can and can’t enter into them. For the purposes of this book, I’ve changed those criteria to meet my own ends.
Needless to say, Pinnacle Investments is fictitious, as are all the characters mentioned in this book.
I hope you enjoyed Accidents Waiting to Happen and I sincerely hope we meet again on a bookshelf near you.
The End.
