look in your eyes scared me.” A few deep breaths counting to ten and she was fine.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, a letter in his hand. “I thought you needed to see this.”

April reached for it, dread filling her stomach when she saw it was from her ex-in-laws. She began to read. The nasty words and lies about her conduct shouldn’t have shocked her. She knew what they were like and had faced the same accusations in court when they tried to prove she was an unfit mother. Before she got to the bottom of the page, tears filled her eyes. Drew stood up, but she stopped him. “Don’t, please.”

“April, I want to say…

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything. I get it. My welcome here has run out. Sooner than I thought, but I won’t make a fuss, I promise.” She dropped the letter on the desk as if it was hot. April closed her eyes willing the tears to stop, but she had no control. All of the pain and frustration her in-laws had caused her came rushing out. Unable to help herself, she dropped her head in her hands and bawled her eyes out.

* * *

Drew watched her face crumble, the tears overflow down her cheeks, and felt as though his world had turned ugly. How anyone could do this to April was beyond his comprehension. He knew her better than most. She was and always had been an honest person more than willing to help anyone who needed her. It was what made her such a good nurse, and he was proud to have her working in his practice.

How was it possible that her in-laws had such a low opinion of her? She said there were things he wouldn’t like in her past, but surely what they were saying couldn’t be true. He refused to believe it.

Despite her words, he couldn’t let her sit and cry like this. He moved around to her and pulled her up against his chest, his arms holding her tight when she tried to protest. “Shh, let it out. I’ve got you, April. They can’t hurt you if you don’t let them.”

He held her until the sobs faded, ignoring the phone ringing on her desk and the tentative knock on the door. Liam could take care of any issues that arose while he looked after April and tried to sort out the disaster the letter had dumped in their laps.

April pushed him away, moving out of his arms. She reached for another tissue and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. I never meant to put you in the middle of this…this awful mess.”

“You haven’t. They have and it has to stop.”

“I’ll leave. It’s the only way to keep you out of this. They won’t stop until they ruin me or take my children. I refuse to let them win.” She opened her drawer and took out her purse and car keys. It looked as though she had every intention of leaving. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

“You’re not going anywhere. We’ll figure this out together.” He took her hand and eased her back into her chair, then knelt down beside her. “You have to take action against them, April. Dad told you that already and I have to agree. They won’t stop and it’s not fair to ruin you like this.”

“Don’t you believe them?” Her red-rimmed eyes held wonder.

“No! As if you’d steal from your employer, or anyone for that matter. You’re one of the most honest people I know. Besides, I can read you like a book. You’ve never been able to keep a secret. Your face always gives you away.”

“But drugs did go missing from my employer. That’s a fact, Drew.”

He shook his head. “Yes it is, but it’s also fact you didn’t do it. Listen to me, when Liam checked your referee—your old boss—he told him what happened, wanting to reassure us in case it came to light. How the police got involved and how you were cleared without blame. They know Rob stole your keys because he was caught on the security vision and if that’s good enough for them, it’s more than good enough for us. You’re not that type of person, April. I know you too well.”

She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes again. “How can you be so sure? I’ve changed a lot since we were kids, Drew.”

“You haven’t changed that much, honey. You’re still the same girl I fell in love with.” He pulled her toward his chest and held her close.

Chapter 17

He loved her. She glanced up into his face. The love in his eyes burned raw and intense. So much so it made her heart leap. At his suggestion they try and rekindle their relationship, she’d balked, not ready to take the chance on something that might never come to fruition. Despite that, here he was, finally telling her what she desperately needed to know. This time she believed him. Drew still loved her. Forget the Trina’s of the world she’d worried herself sick over, he only had eyes for her.

Drew stroked his hand over her head. “Hey, how about I take you out for lunch, get us out in the fresh air? I think you need the break.”

She gazed at him. “Would you mind very much if I ducked home instead? I really want to have some time to think this over, what my next move will be, and I can’t do that with you in my space.”

“I knew I affected you, woman.” He hugged her. “Go, take your time. We can deal with anything here for the next hour or so.”

She collected her purse and keys before heading for home. Determined to stick to her plan, she walked into her bedroom and took the box from the closet. April sat on the edge of her bed and took the lid off the shoe box. Dog eared photographs stared back at her, some

Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату