Say It's Not Fake

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “We were together when the call came in. He invited me to the carnival to spend time with Katie. I’m so glad I was there too. It was important that I was here when they brought her in.”

I tried not to frown. Kyle hadn’t mentioned Josie would be joining us at the carnival. But now was not the time to worry about that.

“Can I see her?” I finally asked, unable to help myself. I had to see with my own eyes that she was alive. That I hadn’t ruined her.

Josie pinched her lips together, her brows frowning. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. Kyle and I are with her. You heard the nurse, only immediate family.” She licked her lips. “And Kyle’s pretty upset right now. I’m sure you understand that. I don’t think he wants to see you.”

What?

“I’m his wife, Josie. He needs me—”

“No, what he needs is someone who he can trust to take care of our daughter. You’ve proven that’s not you.” Her face smoothed out, and she affected a gentler expression. “I know you care about him and Katie, Whitney. It makes me happy they’ve had someone in their lives who can fill that gap while I got myself together. But I’m here now. Katie is my daughter. Kyle wanted us to raise her together, but I messed that up. Please, can you give me the chance to make that right?”

What was she asking me? I was confused. My head was a jumbled mess.

Then Josie did the strangest thing. She took my hand and held it against her chest. “You’re a good person, Whitney. I know you understand what it’s like to screw up. To make bad decisions that hurt other people. To live a shell of a life.” She took a pained breath, and I felt something inside me shatter.

Because I did understand. All too well.

“I’m Katie’s mother. You must know how important that is. That relationship. All I want is a chance to be in her life. I’ve missed out on so much. Please give me my family back. Please.” She was crying now, and I didn’t know what to do.

“Then why fight Kyle for custody?” I asked, overwhelmed.

She shook her head. “I’m done with all that. Now that I’m here and with them, this is all that I wanted. I don’t want to hurt Kyle. I want him and Katie to be together. Our baby girl needs both of her parents. You agree, right?”

So where did that leave me?

Nowhere.

But Kyle loved me. Surely that mattered … I remembered the angered betrayal on his face when he asked me what happened. I had let him down. I had almost killed his daughter.

How do we come back from that?

The self-loathing was almost too much to bear.

I tore my hand from Josie, and without saying a word, I turned and walked out of the hospital.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text.

I figured you needed a push, so I bought you a plane ticket to Hungary. See you soon. Rog

I opened my email to find an e-ticket. First-class, of course.

I should talk to Kyle. I needed to see if this was salvable.

Please give me my family back. Please.

It was easy to run when you already knew how.

Chapter 17

Kyle

I woke up with a start. My back was killing me. My neck was stiff. I stretched, forgetting for a moment where I was and why. I automatically looked for Whitney.

That’s when it hit me.

I was at the hospital. I quickly looked over at Katie, who was still asleep, the soft, persistent beep of the monitor a horrible reminder of why we were here. She looked so small with her tiny arm encased in a bright purple cast on top of the scratchy hospital blanket.

“Hey, sleepyhead.”

I frowned at the sight of Josie in the chair opposite me. She had her phone out and had obviously been texting. “What are you still doing here?” I didn’t mean to sound assy, but the last thing I wanted was to deal with Josie’s bullshit when I was coming off less than two hours of sleep and the sickening worry for my daughter.

Josie smiled. “I wasn’t going to leave Katie. What kind of mother would that make me?”

Everything after getting that phone call that Katie and Whitney had been in an accident and were on their way to the hospital was a blur. I barely remembered that Josie had been there. She showed up at the carnival, making it look unplanned, but I knew better.

“Maybe I can have dinner with you guys,” she suggested offhandedly.

“We didn’t agree on visitation for this evening, Jos. I’m meeting Whitney and Katie.” I tried to shake her, but she wouldn’t leave.

“Forget the formal agreement. Can’t we be spontaneous? You always liked that about me.” She took my arm, pressing against me.