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Absolutely certain that Daniel Spencer never made a promise he couldn’t keep, she finally gave in to the heat, the need, the desperate longing—and kissed him.
She’d known from their first two delicious kisses that it would be good. But she’d honestly had no idea how amazing good could be.
For the first time in a very long while, Tasha felt wildly free, with the sun on her head, the fish nibbling at her toes, and Daniel’s taste on her lips.
“You’re a naughty man,” she said as he brushed his fingertips lightly over the sensitive skin of her collarbone, even as the family of four sat on the rocks only a hundred feet away.
Putting his free hand to his chest, he teased her with a wide-eyed look. “Who, me?”
When they were like this—laughing together in the sunshine—he almost made her feel like the last bad months had never happened. Like she was the lighthearted woman she’d been before she’d learned the truth about her family.
A woman who couldn’t stop smiling as she said, “My brother and I were always outside as kids. Splashing in ice-cold streams. Climbing any tree we could get into.” She waited for the pain to come from talking about her brother, but felt only the joy of their childhood instead.
Daniel’s kiss—and his promise—were even more powerful than she’d realized.
“What else did the two of you do?” Daniel asked.
“We played lots of games. Our favorite was Stratego, that strategy game where you have military battles. He got used to winning, until one day he didn’t win so easily anymore.” She laughed at the memory of how stunned her brother had been once she became old enough to turn the tables. “One time we had a day out by ourselves with ice cream and hot dogs. It was wonderful. I saw this little china horse in a shop. I wanted it so bad, but I’d spent all my allowance already. Drew bought it for me.” The memory was so poignant, she could remember the exact curve of her brother’s smile. “I had it for years and years.”
“What happened to it?”
It was so nice to finally talk freely about her brother, that when the pain hit, it was a sucker punch she didn’t see coming. “It broke when I was packing up my stuff for storage before I came here.”
Daniel curled his fingers around her hand. “How did it break?”
“I broke it.” Just as the truth about her brother had broken her. Tears ached behind her eyes. But Daniel just kept holding her hand, a soft, soothing stroke of his thumb across the back. “I want so badly to believe in him. But how can I, after what he did? And for how long he did it? How can I forgive myself for being so blind all these years?”
Daniel didn’t answer right away, until he began to speak with a pain she felt inside her own body. “You’ve probably figured out from talking with the guys this weekend that Evan’s ex-wife was in no way worthy of him. None of us liked Whitney. She did a lot of really bad things.” He stopped, staring out over the lake, then finally brought his gaze back to her. “She told unforgivable lies that almost destroyed Evan.”
Tasha tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “And here I thought you were going to tell me she actually turned out to be a nice person when you all got to know her.”
He laughed without a hint of humor. “The more we knew, the more we hated her. But Evan was blind. And you know who else was blind? My mom. She defended Whitney up one side and down the other. She always found reasons for why Whitney did this or why she did that. She was our voice of acceptance. Until one day even Mom couldn’t remain blind anymore.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not. Especially now that Evan’s finally with the woman of his dreams. But my mom doesn’t blame herself for not seeing through Whitney. She hasn’t stopped believing in people. That’s one of the things I love best about my mother—she refuses to let her faith be shaken by one truly rotten person. She still believes you have to look for the best in people until they prove you wrong.” He gave Tasha’s hand a tight squeeze. “Here’s another miracle. Just when Evan was splitting up with his wife, his long-lost mother, who abandoned him when he was a kid, showed up, along with a brother and sister Evan never knew he had.”
The trials Evan’s family had been through were staggering. No wonder he was so intent on protecting Daniel. “How on earth did he deal with all that?”
“Paige. She was a rock for him, even when he stupidly tried to push her away.”
Was Daniel trying to reveal something with that statement—did he think Tasha was foolish for trying to keep her distance after he’d offered her so much support?
“The other guys and I hated his birth mother for walking out on Evan when he was a kid and leaving him with his monster of a father. But Mom gave Evan’s mother a chance to apologize, to make amends, and to love Evan the way she’d always loved him from afar. And I’ve got to say, over the last six months, having his birth mother and siblings around him has been really good for him.”
“You’ve also forgiven his birth mom, haven’t you?” Tasha asked.
Daniel held her with his gorgeous brown eyes. “You know what? I think I have. She made some really big mistakes, but she truly does love Evan.” He caressed Tasha’s cheek so sweetly a pang circled her heart. “Thank you for helping me see that.”
“Maybe one day, I’ll be able to forgive my family too,” she said, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the shrieks of laughter from the children several rocks over.
If she did find her brother and father through the feelers she’d put out, and if she was able to confront them, was there any chance their reckoning could lead to forgiveness?
Or would she only end up feeling more broken inside?
“I know how badly you want that,” Daniel said. “Especially your brother. But if you ask me, the far more important question is—can you forgive yourself?”
She’d been staring at the water, watching the ripples, the sparkles of sunlight across the surface, when she had to bring her gaze back to his. “Like your mother forgave herself for being wrong about Evan’s wife?”
