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“I have to pick up Timmy.”
“Oh, yes.”She shuffled her feet.“I forgot about it.I don’t know when I’ll see him again.”Chase saw a bitter smile flicker on her face.
He stepped in front of her and tilted her chin up.“Look at me.”Her eyes made brief contact, then broke away.“I can explain it to Timmy.You don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”
“You’ve done a wonderful job raising him.As both mother and father.I didn’t even take care of my own parents.”
“It’s not too late.”
“I’m not saying I regret everything I’ve done.Part of me knows my dad was proud of me.He believed in me and supported me going after my dreams.The money he and Momma saved, well, they helped to pay for my college expenses.”She paused, wiping a tear from her damp cheek.“You’ve seen their house and how frugally they lived…”
He felt the urge to hug her tight.Tell her it wasn’t too late.For her dad, yes, but not for her momma.Not for her sister.Not for him.But he didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He’d dreamed of revenge for years, thinking of what he’d do to the woman who’d spurned him.Those feelings were once powerful, first the love and then the bitterness that pushed out the sweetness.Did she pity him?
“That’s why you made love to me?You felt sorry for me?”
Her eyes widened.“Oh, no.It… it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Then why toy with my feelings again?”
She leaned forward, eyes flashing close to his face.“No, I wasn’t playing with you.”Then her voice softened, and tenderness crept in.“Don’t you know, Chase?”
He knew that day when he plucked the bouquet of wildflowers for her.He knew on their first date.He knew later, after their kiss.He knew at Laurie’s wedding.He couldn’t resist her—not now, or ever.He’d kissed other women and dated in the last ten years.But mostly, they were brief encounters.None of them made his heart beat the way Katie did.He knew what they had together, what they talked about, what they once shared.He knew her.He knew she loved him.Once long ago.And maybe still.
