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“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We decided to keep the baby. We had made a mess of things, but it was our mess to clean up. I was going to tell you in hopes that you would understand and stay with me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“We found out the baby carried the down syndrome trait. They urged us to terminate the pregnancy, but it’s not something we wanted to do. Her parents are wealthy and super religious. When they found out she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, they kicked her out and cut off her financial support.”
“So, you stepped in.”
She’s understanding now. It’s all sinking in. “Yeah. As much as I was in love with you, Kai, I had a responsibility. I couldn’t leave Summer and my baby to fend for themselves. I had to do right by her. By them. I promised her that I would take care of them both. She needed my medical benefits. Having a special needs child is challenging. I needed her to be secure. Not worried that I would walk away from them to be with the love of my life…you.”
“So, you…”
“Yeah. I married her.”
“Do you live with her?”
“No. There was an accident.”
“What happened?”
“I hated my new life, and so did she. We didn’t love each other, and what was supposed to be a fun night out turned into a miserable one. We felt trapped with each other. We were heading home from the bar, and it started to storm. Caleb was in the backseat. Summer and I were in the front. We were arguing. I told her that getting married was a mistake, that maybe we could figure this out another way because I realized I couldn’t live without you. I took my eyes off the road for one second and…” I take a second to breathe before I finish. “I only had one beer, but I guess it was enough to affect me. My vision was blurry. I lost control of the wheel. My sister was killed. Our baby didn’t make it, and Summer was left in a coma. The court granted me a divorce afterwards due to her condition, but I still have control over her affairs and the decision making. The judge felt sorry for me. I lost my sister. My baby. And my wife was in a coma. So, he let me off easy. I received six months of probation and was ordered to complete Alcohol Anonymous classes.”
She stands. “Jaxon, I don’t know what to say.”
I rush to her side quickly, fearful that she’s going to ask me to leave. “The easy thing to do would be to take her off life support. To move on with my life. But…I can’t do it. I can’t just let her die, Kai.”
She nods with understanding. “I know.”
I continue to plead my case. “It’s my fault she lost our baby. It’s my fault she’s in a coma.”
I plop back down on the couch as silence fills the room. I don’t know what she’s thinking at this point, but I feel a huge weight lifted now that I’ve come clean about everything. She turns to face the fireplace mantle. I want to wrap my arms around her and tell her how much I love her. That I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right. But I also understand she’ll need time. Time to take this all in. Time to decide where she wants to go from here. “Kai…”
“Jaxon.” She turns around to face me with tear-stained cheeks. “I think you should leave.”
I can feel her slipping away from me, and I can’t let it happen. Not again. I stand slowly. “Kai, let’s talk about this.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. Right now, I need for you to go.”
My instincts tell me to refuse. To sit here all night if I have to. Forever if I have to, until she agrees to talk about this. But I’ve put her through enough. I approach her carefully until we’re face to face. “I don’t want to lose you again, but I’ll give you your space.” There’s so much more that I can say, but I don’t. I leave her standing there, hoping it’s not the last time I’ll ever see her.
CHAPTER 7
KAI
Kenzie brings me the last of the napkins, and I set them in front of the cupcakes placed on the table. I stand back and look at my work. “How does it look?”
She smiles. “Perfect. You’re going to win this, hands down.”
She entered my name in a cooking contest behind my back. At first, I was reluctant. I’m not exactly in the right mental state to cook or be concerned about a contest. But once I found out that the grand prize was a twenty-thousand-dollar grant to help open a restaurant, I was grateful. Besides, the distraction has helped take my mind off Jaxon. He’s been calling me for two weeks now, but I won’t answer. I can’t answer. Because I have no idea what to say to him. I don’t know how to feel about the news he laid on me. I’m angry. Angry at the fact that he hid this from me. Angry that he felt he couldn’t come to me with the truth. We could have figured this out, somehow. I’m also jealous. I’m jealous that he had something with her that I didn’t get the chance to have. Marriage. Kids. He may have lost his baby, but the fact that another woman was carrying the life she and he created together makes me envy her. My emotions are all over the place. I’m reliving the hurt all over again, something I was trying to avoid. My thoughts are interrupted when my name is called. Kenzie squeezes my hand. “You got this.”
I grab the tray of food carrying three tiny plates and walk toward the front of the room. I place the tray in front of the three judges and watch them jot down my contestant number. The one to the left of the table speaks. “Please state your name and what you’ve prepared.”
I nod. “My name is Kai Parker, and today, I’ve made for you a petite filet mignon with a red wine sauce, a twice-baked potato, and sautéed green beans. For dessert, you have a peanut butter and jelly cupcake.”
They dig right in. The sound of forks scraping the plates fills the room as I watch in anticipation. They offer no clue about if they like my food or not. Their faces are like stone as they jot down notes after each bite. They finally finish. “Thank you.”
