That left her alone with Kane for a good twenty-four hours.
Under normal circumstances she would have thoroughly enjoyed a day and night with her husband all to herself. But it wasn’t as if they were experiencing wedded bliss at the moment, the kind where you couldn’t keep your hands off each other and you spent every waking hour thinking of ways to be with the one you loved. No, their marriage had become one of convenience, and she hated it.
He hadn’t said two words to her since this morning, when he’d told her they were going out that afternoon. She had no idea where out was, and by the look of concentration on Kane’s face and his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel as he drove through town, it wasn’t somewhere fun, exciting or romantic.
“Do you plan on telling me where we’re going?” she asked.
He never took his gaze off the road. “You’ll see when we get there.”
She sat back in her seat, stared out the passenger window and waited until Kane finally braked to a stop in front of the Lindens’ house.
She glanced from the two-story structure to Kane, feeling curious as well as cautious. He turned off the ignition, removed the key and took a deep breath that did nothing to ease the tight lines around his mouth and eyes.
“What are we doing here?” she asked quietly.
He met her gaze, and the vulnerability in the depths touched a tender chord in her. “I think it’s past time we all had a dignified conversation, don’t you?”
Hope swelled in her heart. “You already know how I feel about that.”
A crooked smile claimed his lips. “I guess I’m taking you up on your advice. Ready?”
She glanced at the house, wondering how the Lindens were going to react to this impromptu visit. “Are you sure you want me to go with you?”
Sincerity darkened his eyes. “I can’t do this without you by my side. You give me an incredible amount of courage.” He opened his door, but before he could slide out, she grabbed his arm. He looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She dampened her bottom lip with her tongue. “I think what you’re about to do is important, for so many reasons, but…”
“Yes?” He frowned, emphasizing his sudden apprehension.
“Kane, I need to know, are you doing this for me?”
He reached out and gently brushed his knuckles across her cheek in a feather caress. His eyes glowed with a deep, abiding emotion she’d never seen before. “No, I’m doing it for
The heaviness weighing on her heart the past week lifted. No matter what happened here today, she knew they were going to make it together. Kane’s unselfish gesture was proof that he cared enough to make their marriage work.
She followed him up the walkway. After he rang the doorbell, she slid her hand into his, giving him whatever support she could, even if it was a physical connection of warmth and love. He stared at the door as if it were a portal into his past and he wanted no part of it. His palm was damp against hers, and he shifted anxiously as they waited.
“Are you nervous?” Stupid question, but she wanted to keep him talking so he didn’t freeze up when the door opened.
“A little,” he admitted, then added wryly, “I’m fully expecting Patricia to slam the door in my face.”
Luckily, Harold answered the door, looking at first startled, then concerned. “Is Andrew okay?”
When Kane just stared without answering, Megan said, “Andrew’s fine.”
“Who is it, dear?” Patricia’s voice drifted from behind Harold, then she appeared next to her husband in the entryway. Her eyes widened when she saw who her guests were. The only word she managed to utter was a surprised,
“Oh!”
Kane retreated a small step, and Megan tightened her grip on his hand. She felt him take a deep breath, then he said on a rush of expelled air, “Patricia, can we come in? We…I’d like to talk to you and Harold.”
Patricia fingered the string of pearls around her neck, her mouth pursing. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it from where you are.”
Megan’s gaze shot to Harold, silently imploring his assistance before they lost what little ground they’d gained.
“Give the man a chance, Patty,” Harold said hastily. “Come on in, both of you.” Grabbing his wife firmly by the arm, he led them all into the living room.
They sat opposite each other on the couch and matching love seat. Patricia shifted uncomfortably on the sofa cushion, Kane rubbed his palms down his jeans-clad thighs, and Harold gave Megan a helpless look that said,
Awkward was a generous description for the tension filling the room. She prompted Kane with a gentle nudge to his side.
He cleared his throat and stopped the nervous motion of his hands by clenching his fingers into his thighs. “There’s…” His voice cracked and he cleared it again. “There’s something I need to tell the both of you,” he said in a steady, determined tone. “Something I should have told you a long time ago. I…I’m illiterate.”
There was a moment of silence as Harold and Patricia stared in disbelief.
“Good God!” Harold said, looking more miffed than appalled by Kane’s declaration.
A horrified expression transformed Patricia’s expression. “You can’t read?”
Megan winced at her high-pitched, condescending tone and fought the urge to jump up and defend her husband.
“No, I can’t,” Kane replied calmly.
Patricia’s hand fluttered to her pearls. “You can’t be serious!”
“I’m very serious.” He took a deep breath, as if to build up more fortitude to continue. “It’s the reason I had to refuse the job Harold offered me at the bank.”
Patricia gasped. “But…but Cathy never told us!”
“She led us to believe you flat-out refused the job because you didn’t want to accept any handouts. It was never a handout, Kane.”
“I know.” Kane’s mouth stretched into a grim line. “Cathy didn’t tell you the truth because she was humiliated that I couldn’t read and had to refuse the job. She didn’t want anyone to know I was illiterate, and I was too embarrassed to say anything.”
Harold cocked his head curiously. “So why are you telling us this now?”
Kane looked at Megan, and she gave him an encouraging smile that she hoped conveyed all the love in her heart.
He met his in-laws’ gazes. “Because I was hoping we could bury the hatchet and start over with a clean slate.”
“Don’t you think you’re five years too late?” Patricia stood, tears brimming in her eyes. “This hardly brings Cathy back!”
“I’m sorry about Cathy,” Kane said with quiet compassion. “But I’m not responsible for her death. I loved her while we were married, but she’s gone, and nothing any of us say or do will change what has happened.”
“Cathy was all we had!” The accusation escaped on a watery sob of despair and maternal anguish.
“I know.” Kane hung his head for a moment, hands clasped between spread thighs, then raised his gaze to Patricia’s. “All we have left of Cathy is Andrew, and I know he loves all of us. Can we try and be friends, or at least be civil with one another, for his sake?”
Harold grabbed his wife’s trembling hand and gently tugged her to the sofa beside him. “I think we should try,” he said to his wife.
“I do, too,” Megan echoed.
Patricia broke down, clinging to her husband for comfort. “I love that little boy more than anything!”
“Then let the resentment go, Patricia,” Megan said. “There’s no reason we can’t be a family together.”
“Family?” Patricia’s voice cracked with uncertainty.
