Page 20 of Holden’s Resurrection

Saliva pooled in his mouth at the thought.

And with all due haste, he hightailed his ass out of the office.

7

“So,” Kennedy started, and I turned from watching Tank chasing Faith around the backyard to my friend. “Time to spill.”

“What?”

“I’ve given you ample time to get to know me. You trust me with Faith. So, now it’s time you spill the beans.”

She was asking about Holden.

Shit.

The last thing I wanted to do was dig through painful memories—not only because the shame that came with that time in my life was something I’d tried hard not to think about. I glanced back at my daughter and my heart started to throb. My daughter was the best thing that had ever happened to me. But the heartbreak that surrounded her conception still stung.

“You’re hurting and stressed out,” Kennedy went on. “I can see it, we all can. But today it’s worse. Did the Towlers do something new?”

I needed a friend. I had to talk to someone about what was going on or I was going to explode.

With one more glance at Faith to make sure she was happily occupied with Tank, I launched in.

“Holden came over.”

“Today?”

“Twenty minutes after you left. He showed up, said he wanted to talk, and pushed his way inside my house.”

Kennedy gave me big eyes and said, “I kinda thought he was avoiding you. I know, you know, that we all know, you and Holden used to be together, then you…well…you…um…”

“Got pregnant and married Paul. Who happened to be one of Holden’s teammates and friends,” I offered in an effort to put her out of her stammering misery.

“Well…I’m sure it’s way more complicated than that. I’ll be honest with you, I was curious, I mean we all are about what happened. I asked Jameson but he wouldn’t tell me anything. McKenna knows some, but obviously not directly from Holden.”

I was surprised to hear that. I’d actually thought that Holden would’ve happily painted me as the bad guy.

“You’re surprised to hear that,” Kennedy noted.

“Yeah. I figured the way things ended, he’d be all too happy to make me sound like a cheating bitch. Which I’m not. I never cheated on him.”

I fidgeted on the wrought iron chair, pulled my scarf tighter, and wondered if I was doing the right thing. Kennedy was married to Jameson. Holden and Jameson were close, they worked together. It probably wasn’t right unloading my burdens on her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that I know what it’s like to have the weight of the world on your shoulders and no one to talk to. If you don’t want to talk to me, I get it—”

“No,” I rushed out. “You’re Jameson’s wife. I don’t want to put you in a weird place and I don’t want you to think I’m talking trash about Holden because I’m not. He’s your friend.”

“Who’s your friend?”

Kennedy’s question made my eyes sting. I’d lost most of my friends when Holden and I broke up, and the few who had hung around turned their backs on me when I found out I was pregnant. My whole life had revolved around Holden.

I eventually found new friends but they were more work acquaintances. All they’d known was, I was a widowed single mother. And when I moved, they’d dropped off, too.

“Damn, Charleigh, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t,” I sighed. “I don’t know how my life got here. I’m stuck. Some days it feels like the morning I woke up and found Holden packing. Other days it feels like being with him was a lifetime ago. We’ve been apart longer than we were together and I can’t stop loving him. What’s wrong with me?”

Ten minutes with Holden and I was right back to the sad-sack in love with a man who’d kicked me to the curb. No self-respecting woman would allow herself to throw her life away.