“That’s why you went out on your parents’ boat.”
There’s no question in her statement. She knew me better than I knew myself when we were together. Whenever life got too heavy, I’d hit the open water.
It’s a place where I find peace. I can sort my thoughts as I stare at the waves. I tried to do that after Madison told me I was Kristin’s dad. It’s the only time in my life I got back to shore with more questions than answers.
“I thought it would help me, but it just fucked me up more.” I push my coffee cup to the side and rest my hands on the table. “Once I docked the boat I came looking for you.”
The cup in her hand stops in mid-air. She lowers it, keeping her eyes pinned on me. “You came looking for me?”
I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that her family didn’t relay any of the messages I left with them. I tried both her parents first, but that took me nowhere fast.
Her mother hung up as soon as I said my name. Her dad took the time to tell me to fuck the hell off. That came with a threat about b
reaking most of the bones in my body.
Mr. Wesley isn’t a violent man. He wouldn’t have brought an angry hand to me.
His words were grounded in his daughter’s grief.
I got that, so I turned my attention to Eldred, Katie’s brother.
“I stopped at our apartment, but you’d moved out,” I say, shoving a hand through my hair. “I took everything you left behind.”
“That’s why you have those things,” she mutters.
“I talked to your parents and Eldred.”
“You did?” The surprise in her tone confirms that they never mentioned my calls to her.
“Your parents wanted nothing to do with me, “ I stop for a beat before I go on, “understandably so. I hurt you.”
She nods. “What about Eldred?”
“I finally caught up with him four months after we broke up.” I don’t correct myself. I’m the ass who broke up with her. Ending our relationship wasn’t her decision. That was all on me. “I tracked him down at the gym when I took Kristin to California to visit my parents.”
Her index finger traces the rim of the coffee cup in front of her. It’s a motion meant to calm her. The repeated movement of her hand is familiar to me. I’d catch her hand in mine when I’d notice her doing it when we lived together.
I’d quiet her unease with assurances whispered in her ear about how brave she was or how smart she was. There wasn’t an obstacle that stood a chance against her inner strength once it was ignited.
“What did he say to you?”
“He told me you moved to Denver.” I huff out a laugh. “I left Kristin with my parents and I headed straight to the airport.”
“You thought I went to work at the office there?”
Her father branched out just months after I left town. It made sense that Katie had moved to Colorado to oversee the new operations.
“I hoped,” I admit. “I kept pushing but Eldred told me you were happy and I needed to drop it.”
“You believed him?” she quizzes with a hand on her chin. “You believed him when he told you that?”
“No,” I answer succinctly.
“No?”
“You love me, Katie. I knew you couldn’t be happy without me.”
She laughs. “I’m happy without you.”