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Kat’s grip tightening on the doorknob, she sucked in a deep, shaky breath. “I was going to make the second bedroom hers. Paint the walls her favorite color. I thought we could turn my apartment into a home. Together.”
He reached out and took her hand, his heart breaking for her. “You can still do that. There are a lot of children out there who need a home.”
“I know.” Kat closed her eyes, tipping her head back. “Logically, it makes sense. But I wanted quiet, sullen Briana. I thought . . . I thought we could help each other.”
One more person ripped out of her life. She’d taken a risk, opening herself to the idea of caring for that little girl. And it had been taken away from her.
Part of him wanted to shout, I want to build a home with you. And heck, I want to love you.
“There’s more,” she said. “When the social worker called, I was on the other line with Dr. Westbury.”
“Josh is out, isn’t he?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We had a family meeting this morning. We’re all so damn grateful his memory is coming back that it doesn’t matter if he’s part of the trial. I’ll make sure he stays on the meds and follows your instructions—”
“I’m leaving, Brody.”
Leaving. That one word cut into him. The thought of her alone and hurting on the other side of the country . . .
His jaw tightened. One more tear and he’d scoop her up, carrying her back to his room.
I want to take care of you. Erase your pain.
“Kat.” But what could he say that would make her stay? He’d told her how he felt about her last night. And the words had pushed her away. She needed proof. He had to show her, dammit.
“I called a cab company in Salem,” she said, stepping back into the room.
“I can drive you,” he said, the words straddling the line between command and straight up begging to spend more time with her.
“The driver is on his way.” Her green eyes locked with his and he saw a flash of wanting so heartbreaking it tore at him. It was as if he was staring into the eyes of the little girl who’d walking into the Falls Hotel and had her hopes crushed.
And now she was leaving again. Alone. He’d never felt so powerless to help someone he cared about.
“Stay. One more day, Kat. Don’t leave like this,” he said. “Let me help you.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine, Brody.” She drew the door closed, disappearing behind the wooden barrier.
Brody rested one hand on the wood. “Yes, I do need to worry about you. I love you, Kat,” he murmured. “And I’m going to do whatever it takes to prove it to you.”
KAT
STARED OUT the window, watching the familiar sights of Independence Falls slip away. The driver stopped at a red light in front of A Slice of Independence, and a pang of regret joined her in the cab’s backseat. There were so many new places along Main Street that she hadn’t explored yet. She’d walked into town determined to hold the past against this place. She’d opened up to the people—more than she’d planned. But she stopped short of looking around this quaint small town set against breathtaking mountains and acknowledging that Independence Falls had changed.
The light turned green and the cab sped down the two-lane road, leaving the downtown in the background. It might be beautiful and new in many ways, but she still couldn’t escape the feeling that this place hated her. And today it felt as if Independence Falls was determined to prove it, saddling her with one rejection after another.
Well screw you Oregon, she thought. This time I’m not coming back.
Kat closed her eyes, and a mental image of Brody holding the cab door open, leaning down and looking her in the eyes, appeared. His last words—I meant what I said last night, Kat. I’m in love with you and I want you in my life—echoed in her mind. The regret snuggled in, wrapping around her like an old friend.
Opening her eyes, she stared out at wide-open spaces sprinkled with farmhouses. After all these years, she should feel at home with loneliness. But knowing that she was moving farther and farther away from Brody, that Brianna wasn’t part of her future in New York . . . For the first time since she’d left for college, her vision of her future appeared bleak.
I wonder what Brody’s looks like?
Filled with family and work he loved. Her bottom lip trembled. It was like driving away from every home she’d ever lived in growing up. The people who stayed still had each other. And she was alone.
Except this time the choice was hers.
