Emotion threatened to burst free. She could see the pain spilling from his every pore. Yet he remained impassive, remained tersely silent, holding in all his hurt.
Not caring that she bared her soul, she knelt before him, took his hands and pulled them to her heart. “I’m sorry, Daniel. So very sorry. All I’ve ever wanted was to love you, and I know I hurt you but, please, try to understand how I felt when I found out I was pregnant. I made a mistake in not telling you, but I was trying to let you live your dream.”
His eyes searched hers and something visibly crumbled inside him. Something fierce and more powerful than a dam bursting and unleashing tumultuous waters.
He leaned forward, resting against her, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, holding him, offering comfort however she could.
Although she wasn’t consciously aware of him sliding out of his chair, he must have done so because he knelt with her, tightly bound in her arms.
His body shook, and she realized he was crying, and that he didn’t want her to know he was crying. Helplessness washed over her.
She’d do anything, give anything, to ease his suffering.
He mumbled something low, but it was muffled against her neck and she only caught “He died.” At least, that’s what she thought he’d said.
Deciding he must be speaking about Mr. Reynolds, rather than Ryan, she snuggled closer. Daniel’s heart had been wrenched too many times tonight.
“Daniel,” she whispered, holding him as near to her heart as she could, dropping kisses of comfort on his neck. “You did all you could.”
“But he died.”
“No, Mr. Reynolds is still in surgery with Gregory. He’s going to be okay.” In her heart, she knew the man had to be. Daniel needed him to be.
“My dad.”
Two words that leveled her.
She pressed more kisses to his neck, pulling back, kissing his cheek. “Daniel, your father died because of a resistant Staphylococcus infection. Not because of anything you did.”
She wasn’t sure he heard her or, if he did, that her words registered.
“I was with him when he died. I tried to save him, but he died anyway.”
She pulled back, cupped Daniel’s face, and held his gaze. “His body was under too much strain from the infection, Daniel. His death wasn’t anyone’s fault, least of all yours.”
“In my head, I know you’re right, but in my heart…” He stopped, closed his eyes and winced.
In his heart he ached, had for years, and Ken Reynolds’s little boy had slapped Daniel in the face with the past when his defenses had already been overwhelmed.
Not knowing what to say to take away his pain, but needing to lighten his burden, Kimberly leaned forward and kissed him. A soft kiss meant to lift his sorrows, to take them on herself, and give him strength.
She tasted his salty tears and kissed him again, licking away all traces of his pain. She kissed him again and again. Each time with more and more passion.
Her hands dropped and gripped his shoulders, curling into the muscles beneath her fingertips. Her heart blossomed beneath Daniel’s tears and touch.
“What are you doing, Kimberly?” he asked hoarsely.
“What I’ve wanted to do for so long. So very, very long.” She kissed him again. On the mouth. Hard. With all her longing unleashed
in the way she kissed him, touched him.
“Let me love you, Daniel.”
His arms around her, Daniel stood, lifting her with him. He carried her to the sofa and together they sank onto the buttery softness.
“You’re playing with fire, Kimberly,” he warned. “I’m not thinking straight, but I know we shouldn’t be doing this. Not here. Not now. Not after what you told me.”
“Yes, Daniel, we should.” Not wanting him to argue with her, she covered his mouth in another kiss. One meant to shut him up.