Sittingat the kitchen table without Cody felt like Katherine was missing a limb. Okay, more accurately like her arm had been sawed off and someone waited in the wings to slam her upside the head with it.
She’d made him feel like he wasn’t enough.
Agony sizzled inside her like burnt butter. They’d spent the most amazing night together—after a whirlwind few days that left her breathless and happy—only for her to let everyone else get inside her head.
Sheknewher feelings were real.Knewshe wanted a future with Cody. And now instead of clearing things up between them she was staring at photographs in Cody’s kitchen with her brother.
Her skin itched to jump up and find Cody and talk, but that had to wait. He’d taken Ollie outside so her son wouldn’t overhear all the details Tommy needed to share.
“Does he look familiar?” Tommy asked.
She struggled to focus. This was important and deserved all her attention. She picked up the weathered newspaper article and squinted to bring the man in the photo into better focus.“No, I’m sorry.” She tossed the paper back on the table. “Who is it?”
“Eric Rider’s dad.”
She winced at the name of the man Tommy had told her about. She’d never met him, but his wife had left a lasting impression. The battered woman was one of the reasons she’d decided to volunteer at Safe Haven Women’s Shelter. The poor wife had suffered at the hands of her abusive husband for years, feeling trapped and like there was no one there to help. Her story had haunted Katherine, prompting her to give back and help others who found themselves in similar situations.
“You really think that guy’s dad would track me down because his son was arrested for beating his wife?”
Sighing, Tommy shoved a hand through his shaggy hair. “Weirder things have happened. What about his brother?” He flipped open a yearbook to an earmarked page and pointed to a surly teenager with pimply skin and close-cropped hair.
“When is this yearbook from?” she asked.
“Five years ago,” Tommy said.
“Well, this guy doesn’t look familiar, but he could have changed a lot in five years. But again, I think it’s strange he’d be so hellbent on avenging a monster of a brother.”
Tommy shrugged and flipped the book closed. “Families stick together. If the dad or brother thought their blood was wrongly accused, they may want to make things right in their own way.”
She thought of Cody’s family. Of the hell he’d survived with a criminal as a father and brother. “Not all people fall into the same bad habits as the people who raised them.”
Tommy cringed. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I said something similar to Cody on the phone—some crap about bad people from bad families. No wonder he’s in a pissy mood. I should apologize. I really do like the guy, Kat.”
“He’s a good guy.” Tears sprung up and choked off her sentence.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Tommy slid his hand over to cover hers. “I can put all these pictures away if this is too much for you.”
“That’s not it,” she said, waving away his concern. “I messed everything up.”
“With Cody?”
She nodded. “I had a moment of doubt, and he overheard me say some things on the phone. Now he thinks I need to take time to sort through my feelings before we go forward with anything.”
“Okay. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. I mean, you’ve been through a lot. Then you two were thrown together and things happened so quick. Allowing both of you to have some space to really analyze things could be a good thing.”
“I don’t need time to understand my feelings. After Theo died, I thought that part of my life was over. Cody’s reawakened parts of me I’d buried along with my husband. I lo—” Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hand. She widened her eyes and stared at the comically shocked expression on her brother’s face. “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit is right,” Tommy said. “I’m not the one you should be saying this to. We both know that tomorrow isn’t promised. Don’t waste a single second of it. Talk to Cody.”
Nodding, she rubbed at her aching chest. “I will. Maybe tonight when Ollie’s asleep.”
Tommy squeezed the hand he still held. “No. Now. I’ll hang out with Ollie. I’ll clean this up then head outside.”
Fear shot through her, but she pushed it down. She couldn’t be afraid to take hold of the life she wanted—the life she deserved. And that started with being vulnerable with Cody.
