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Got to be better than what I had.
Daisy spoke to someone in her office, her words slightly muffled, then moved the phone to her mouth again. “I’m sorry, Kit. I’ve got to get back to work. Call me when you get settled in. Promise?”
“Promise.” Kit’s throat and eyes ached. She was going to miss Daisy and her life in L.A. Had she made the right decision? Or had she been too reactive?
She gritted her teeth. She’d made the decision and she was going through with it. If things didn’t go well, she could always give notice and return to L.A. Except for the fact that she was stubborn and hated to admit she was wrong.
“Call me,” Daisy said again. “Soon.”
“Count on it.” Kit pressed the disconnect button on the steering wheel and ended the call.
She sighed and pulled her full focus back to the road. Not that there was much to pay attention to. Light traffic would be an overstatement. One car now shared the road with her.
The view outside the SUV’s windows gave way to greener brush, grass, and wildflowers crowding the sides of the road. The majestic Superstition Mountains soared toward the sky to her right, its peaks and valleys green with new growth, while the bluff was a stark white contrast against the green. A collection of wildflowers sprouted alongside the road, vivid against the more muted greens.
It was the first week of April and spring was in full swing in what locals referred to as the Valley—the Phoenix metro area. Even though Kit hadn’t been raised in the desert, she felt a certain affinity for the wildness of the land.
The dry ground and sturdy trees meant to withstand the harsh conditions managed to survive when there wasn’t much water to go around. Like her—she’d survived, and she would continue to.
The difference in the scenery made her think of how different it was at home.
Home.
She didn’t have a home anymore thanks to Derrick. She had no place to come home to at night to cuddle up with someone she loved, someone who was there for her in her life and in her heart and soul. Just like when her father died, she had no home.
All she had after she left Derrick was a cold barren apartment. An apartment that had lost everything that made it home.
She knew that everyone thought she was crazy for this.
It doesn’t matter.
What mattered was that she had left it all behind to get a fresh start. That she had made the move to change her life for the better and leave behind the pain that she had been feeling. A lot of people would tell her that she was running away, but it didn’t feel that way. She was freer than ever.
Still that little inkling of doubt stuck in the back of her mind. What if this was a mistake?
You can always go back if it doesn’t work.
It brought her some comfort knowing she could drag herself back from this if it turned out to be a bad decision.
She really hoped that it wouldn’t end up being a mistake.
Kit clenched her teeth as her thoughts jumped back to Derrick and how he had left her. The pain of his betrayal had triggered memories and feelings of the past all the way back to her father’s death. She had never been able to forgive her father for leaving her mother, sister, and herself withnothingwhen he died.
They’d lost everything. Every damned penny, the house, and the cars, too.
She probably shouldn’t feel the way she did, but she couldn’t get herself to forgive him. Of course, her father hadn’t planned on dying in the printing-press accident. But he should have been prepared. Should have known they would be left with nothing if he died.
Nothing.
The hypocrisy of her own abandonment slapped Kit. After what she had done, who was she to judge about abandoning someone?
Still, her entire body tensed. She’d had relationships over the years, and they’d all gone bad. She’d thought Derrick was different, that she could trust him and believe in him.
Kit slammed the heel of her palm on the steering wheel and an ache shot through her hand.How could I have trusted him?She had shared everything with Derrick, every single secret she’d kept before meeting him.
When she caught him having an affair, he had blamedher, saying that he wouldn’t have strayed if she could have children. It was bull, but the pain had been sharp and searing, all the way to her gut. A part of her couldn’t help but feel inadequate.
The biggest blow came soon after—the woman he’d been screwing was pregnant with his child.
