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“Well...” Violet drew out the word, reveling in the telling of her tale. “It seems that a year ago Casey had bought a big, beautiful love nest for his new amore and hadn’t declared it as part of the divorce settlement. So, I let Brittany know and suggested that she might want to ask for the Stone Property shares and let Casey have the house.”
“And he went for that? The shares had to be worth more or that was one hell of a house.”
“He was in a hurry to remarry, and he stood to lose big because he hadn’t disclosed the house.” Violet shook her head. “Brittany was thrilled to sell me the stock. After all, I’d done her a good turn. And in the end, I think she received more than Casey intended for her to have.”
“You own the four percent?”
“I do.”
“This wasn’t something you managed overnight, was it?” JT didn’t wait for her to answer. “After I told you it wasn’t worth pursuing, you went behind my back, didn’t you?”
“You refused to let me help.”
“And now I see I was wrong.” As much as he hated admitting that, Violet’s delight took the sting away.
“Good. Maybe now you’ll start listening to my advice.”
“Yes, oh wise one.”
JT put his arms around her and softly nuzzled the side of her neck. She smelled like fresh-cut grass and summer sunshine, both favorite scents from his time on the farm in Kentucky. Lulled by the steady beat of her heart against his, JT felt the door to his most guarded secrets crack open.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” he told her, strangely at peace now that he was on the verge of telling her about the worst moment of his life.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m your wife. I’ll always have your back.”
“Then you should know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
“You don’t think I do?” Violet’s breath fell against his skin in a soothing cadence. “I didn’t read your file, but I know that you’re more troubled than the average person by mistakes you’ve made and that you carry childhood hurts that may never heal.”
“I’m more troubled because the mistakes I’ve made aren’t forgivable.”
“That’s impossible for me to believe.”
He never stopped being astonished by her faith in him, but she needed to know everything. “The day my mother died...”
“JT.” She cupped his cheek, offering comfort, and drew her thumb across his lips, silencing him. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“But I do. You were right about my needing to let go of the past. I can’t do that if I continue to let fear hold me captive. I need you to know what happened with my mother.” He pressed a kiss into her palm and closed his eyes. “I was the reason she died.”
Violet’s body jerked in reaction to his words, but instead of pushing him away, she moved even closer as if she wanted to slide under his skin and share the burden with him.
“That morning, she confronted me about using her credit card without asking and charging five hundred dollars’ worth of video games. She didn’t care that I’d bought the games, but the fact that I’d lied about it when she caught me made her angrier than I’d ever seen her. She’d found the games in my room and while I watched she threw them away. Then she told me I wasn’t allowed to go on a weekend trip with my friends to Universal Studios Orlando. We were supposed to leave from school that afternoon. I don’t remember ever being that mad.”
JT sucked in an unsteady breath as memories of that morning washed over him. They were crystal-clear and razor-sharp as if the fight had happened yesterday, not eighteen years earlier.
“I can see why she grounded you and I understand why you were upset, but I don’t see how it’s your fault that she died. She overdosed. You had nothing to do with that.”
“I upset her. I told her I hated her and that I understood why Dad couldn’t stand to be around her.”
