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He was so surprised he stammered at first. “I... I thought you’d be going to your mom’s tonight.”
“If you want me to... I mean—”
“I don’t,” he said quickly. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. There was a bruise on her jaw and she still had twigs in her hair, but aside from those and a few scratches, there was little sign of the horror she’d been through. Much less the heroics she had displayed tonight. “The chief’s going to need you to give a statement but I convinced him to hold off until tomorrow.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You call us if you need anything,” Vidalia said.
“I could take Tyler for the night if you want,” Maya offered.
Jimmy glanced at Kara, but before he could say a word, she shook her head. “We want to keep him close to us tonight. After what happened—you understand.”
“Sure I do.” Maya gently hugged Kara again. “Have a good night honey. Feel better.”
“I will.”
Kara started for the door, and then Tyler stepped into her path, handed his crutches to his father and wrapped his arms around her legs. She held him to her, and her eyes welled up with tears. “I didn’t know he was a bad man, Kara. I’m sorry I went with him.”
She shot Jim a look, clearly unsure how much he’d told the boy. “It’s all right Ty. Everything’s all right now.”
“I know.”
“Come on, son. Let’s get home, huh?”
Tyler nodded, and Jim scooped him up and carried him to the door, across the parking lot to where he’d left the pickup. The whole clan walked them out and then waved as they drove away.
* * *
Two hours later Tyler was finally asleep. Kara has taken a soothing hot shower and sat wrapped up in her most comfy robe. She sat in the living room nursing a glass of wine and staring at the twinkling lights of their Christmas tree.
Jimmy came from Tyler’s bedroom, filled his own wineglass and sat on the sofa beside her. The Christmas tree’s lights were the only lights still on and the whole room smelled like pine.
Time to get things said, Kara thought. She sat up a little straighter, set her glass aside. “We need to talk.”
“I know we do.” Jim licked his lips. He seemed nervous for some reason. Then he said, “I heard what you said to Vinnie out there in the woods.”
She lifted her brows, not meeting his eyes. “I said a lot of things out there. You’re gonna have to be more specific.”
“Okay, I will.” He set his glass down. “You told him you knew I didn’t love you. That I only wanted a mother for Tyler.”
“Oh.” She said it softly. Then she took a deep breath. “Well, I told you pretty much the same thing in the hospital. And... it’s okay, Jimmy.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“It really is. I... I can live with that. I can be his mother. I can give you both everything you need. If... if you still want me to,” she said, warily meeting his gaze.
He searched her eyes, his own intense and probing. “I still want you to, Kara. But not because Tyler needs a mother.”
“I don’t under—”
“Shh.” He pressed a gentle finger to her lips. “Let me talk, okay? You’ve been through enough today. I don’t want you to worry or think or try to be selfless. You do far too much of those things anyway. Just relax and listen, okay?”
Kara blinked and nodded. “Okay.”
He took a deep breath. “Angela burned me. I stayed with her way longer than I should have because I loved her. It nearly cost me Tyler. And it cost Tyler more than any kid should have to pay for his father’s mistakes.”
“You couldn’t have known—”
