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All of it was bred of her own insecurities. That good guys, men who were honest, trustworthy, and kind, could care about her.
Because you’re a young mother?
Yes, in a way, but not totally. More that she had made so many bad calls, it was hard to trust her gut.
Someone knocked on the door, and Dani went to peek through the hole. Blake Kline stood on her porch.
She pulled open the door and noted he looked like hell. His hazel eyes were bloodshot, and his skin looked a little green.
“Blake, what are you doing here? I didn’t even know you knew where I lived.”
“Your address is listed online,” he croaked.
“Well, I’ll have to change that.” Okay, so she wasn’t being very nice to the guy, but to be fair, he’d started shit by bringing up titty pics in the middle of a Christmas party. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I was in a bad place, and I shouldn’t have said what I did about the text messages. Best did get one while we were at the bar, but he told the girl he was taken. I saw the message myself.”
Confirming what she’d already figured out for herself—that Tyler was telling the truth—she nodded. “I appreciate you coming by and telling me.”
“Yeah, sorry for just showing up, I just . . . Best isn’t talking to me, and I feel like a real asshole, you know?”
Dani softened a little toward him. “We’ve all gone through bad times. It happens. Besides, no matter what you said, I was the one who didn’t believe him. So he’s probably not talking to me, either.”
“He really loves you, Dani. If you call him and tell him that, he’ll forgive you. Believe me, love makes you do stupid shit, but when it’s real, it can overcome a lot.”
“Thank you, Blake.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever you’re doing. Just wanted to come by and say how sorry I was.”
“Thanks again.”
She closed the door on him and leaned against the solid wood. God, she hated apologizing. It always made her feel weak and at the mercy of the receiver, who was usually her mother.
But she wanted Tyler more than anything, and he deserved to know she believed him.
Dani picked up her cell and dialed his cell, but it went straight to voicemail.
“This is Sergeant Tyler Best. Leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you.”
The phone beeped, and she said, “Hi, Tyler, it’s Dani. I need to talk to you, so if you could please call me back, that would be great.”
She hung up without saying I love you, not sure if she had the right anymore. What if he was avoiding her calls? Her eyes stung with tears, and she chided herself for imagining the worst.
She heard Noah calling for her, and she went into his nursery with a smile, wiping at her wet eyes. “Hey, sweetie.”
“Tywer here?”
He must have heard her on the phone. “No, honey, he’s not here right now. Do you wanna go see him?”
Noah nodded emphatically.
“Okay, let’s get you changed, and we’ll go.”
Fifteen minutes later, she set Noah down next to her outside as she shut the door on an excited Shasta and Bella. “Sorry, babies, you can’t come this time.”
She heard an answering whine and scratch as she picked Noah up and carried him to the car. She buckled him into the car seat and pulled out of the backseat.
Blinding pain exploded in the back of her head, and she slammed into the side of the car before sliding to the cement. Her vision blurry, she rolled over and tried to climb to her hands and knees, but something hit her stomach with enough force to knock the breath from her.
