Neither of us wanted to dwell on the family member we’d never know. I didn’t particularly want to talk about my mother anymore, but not as much as I didn’t want to discuss the miscarriage.
“I’ve learned the hard way it isn’t because she’s sorry for leaving us.”
“No.”
“What she did to Holt and Andrew? I’ll never forgive her for that.”
“I’m sorry I blamed you for her showing up at the wedding. It’s no excuse, but my head wasn’t in the right place.”
That felt good to hear.
“How long have you been talking to her?”
“I wouldn’t really call it that. She just showed up again, exactly the way she did to you. The right words came out of her mouth and the part of me that never let her go held on to that with a death grip.”
“That’s not like you.”
“I’m not perfect.”
“Pretty damn close.”
He shook his head. “I spoke with her just once before I came back to my senses. She left the three of you without ever looking back. To hell with what she did to me. I was furious with myself for falling for her lies again.”
“You only talked to her once?”
“That’s it. After that I broke things off with Audrey.” He dropped his chin to Blake’s head. “I didn’t think I could go through the hurt of a relationship again.”
I reached for his hand. “But you came to your senses. You fought for her.”
“I almost lost someone important to me for her.”
“I did the same thing.” I squeezed.
“You’ll never lose me.”
“I’m sorry.” I stood and rounded the table, flinging my arms around his neck.
He choked out a sob. “Me too, sweetheart. I have you because of her. Please don’t let her take you away from me.”
“We won’t. Together, okay?”
“Okay.”
I kissed the side of his head before I sat back down. “It’s like she knows when we’re happy and inserts herself.”
He adjusted Blake on his lap. “Exactly. I don’t understand why she bothers.”
“Some people like to make everyone else miserable when they’re unhappy.” Like me for example.
“You are nothing like her.” His voice was hard as if he could read my mind.
I brushed off his comment. “What happened at Holt’s wedding?”
“None of us paid much attention to her because we were worried about you. Once Patrick had you out of there, Andrew lit into her. That was pretty much it.” Concern etched his features. “What happened?”
“I hadn’t been in a church since—” I couldn’t finish.
Dad looked at me blankly for a moment and then stood up quickly, rushing to my side. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry. None of us even thought about that. We should’ve—”
“Absolutely not. If that’s where they wanted to get married, then that’s where they should’ve. I had no idea I’d react like that.” I was embarrassed I couldn’t handle anything to do with Jack’s death after all these years. But I couldn’t.
“You handle it so well.”
I didn’t. I was struggling for the most part and doing it alone. Well, I had a small reprieve when Patrick stepped into my life. And now that was gone.
“Please. Andrew’s right. I’m a first-class bitch.”
“You’re brutally honest because you love us. There’s a difference.”
“Don’t make excuses for me.”
“Will you come to Dino’s on Sunday?”
I drew in a long breath. “Would you and Mrs. Quinn like to do dinner on Friday night? You cook.” I gave him a crooked smile.
“Anything you want.”
Chapter Forty-One
Patrick
You can’t hide . . .
I threw my phone on the desk and leaned back. I didn’t need this shit.
“Mr. Whitley. There’s a call from the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.”
“Who is it?”
“Heather Buchan”
Ugh. I could hardly think of anyone I wanted to talk to less. Even though she was in prison, it still felt like she held all the cards and I had to play by her rules.
I clicked and unclicked a pen. “Put her through.”
“Mr. Whitley, thank you for taking my call.”
Believe me. I wish I’d been out of the office.
“What do you want?”
“You owe me.”
“I paid that debt.”
“My brother is in prison, so you haven’t.”
Knowing I’d defended Huxley Buchan, the monster Trish had been married to, was a guilt I’d never get over.
“I got him out on bail. You two fucked that up. Not me.” I clicked and unclicked the pen faster.
“The bar association would be highly interested in what you did.”
And there it was. The string that she still held me by. The reason I answered this damn phone.
“I wasn’t formally charged.”
“I could see to it that you are.” Surely she was out of favors with the bureau after everything. But was it a chance I was willing to take?
“Too late. Nobody wants anything to do with you after what you did.” While that was true, she could very well open her mouth and spill what I’d done. I hadn’t wanted to go to jail back then and I sure as hell didn’t want to go now.
“You helped facilitate the whole thing.”
I felt sick. “Enjoy prison life.”
“I’ll save you the cell next to me. Make no mistake, Mr. Whitley, hell is coming for you.”
I slammed the receiver down. Had she been texting me from jail? Was she the one sending me those messages? How? There was no way for me to poke around without drawing attention to matters I didn’t want to bring to light. At least soliciting a prostitute wasn’t as bad as the other stuff from my past.
If she came out with the fact I’d been part of her sting operation, I’d figure my way out of it. At least, I could relax about that.
I grabbed my coat and shrugged it on. What I’d done to help her and her brother, that was unforgivable. I shuddered to think what could’ve happened to Trish. Heather was right. I had helped facilitate the whole thing by getting her bastard brother out on bond.
“You’re already leaving?” Gerard asked as I passed his desk.
“I have somewhere to be.”
“I know it’s Friday,
