Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
“And he wanted to meet his mum.” I lifted my hand off his and my palm still tingled from the touch.
“Aye.” Haydyn dug into his pasta again.
“Did she explain where she’d been? Why it had taken so long?”
He nodded. “She’d started drinking to deal with her depression. She’s been sober for two years.”
“So she got sober, married a solicitor, and now she wants to be in Michael’s life because she’s ready to be in his life.” Annoyance cut through me.
“Don’t people deserve second chances?”
“Yes, but she also has to remember that it’s just been you and Michael for ten years, and she can’t waltz in and start making decisions without your consent.”
Haydyn’s gaze gleamed and that familiar spark of tension lit between us. The one we’d both been trying so hard to ignore. “I’m trying to play nice so she doesn’t go after custody.”
I didn’t want to worry him, but he needed to be realistic. “Haydyn … she’s going to go after custody, eventually.”
His expression tightened. “They always favor the mother.”
“No, not true. They’re not going to favor a mother who abandoned her child for ten years. At the most, she’ll get visitation rights. So stop letting her get away with making decisions without your involvement. Christmas is done. But she can’t get away with manipulating you and Michael like that. Michael is the one who’ll end up hurt. The next time she pulls that crap, put your foot down. And if she threatens you with a custody battle, you remind her of the ten years she abandoned her child.”
Haydyn sat back, watching me with an intense expression. “As much as I admire your fierce protection of us … I sense a wee bit of reluctance to forgive.”
“To forgive Deena? I’ve nothing to forgive. I’m just stating my opinion.” My cheeks flushed at the thought of him finding me uncaring.
“No, I mean …” He shrugged. “I don’t know what I mean. I suppose … What’s your story, Kenna? I’ve told you some of mine. You’ve been working here for almost three months, and I have no idea what really brought you here.”
My pulse raced a bit as I prepared to tell Haydyn the truth.
“Kenna?” His brow furrowed in concern.
I licked my lips nervously, fighting back the grief that still threatened to choke me. “My parents died on Boxing Day last year. They’d visited me for Christmas in Inverness and were driving home to Aberdeen. An oncoming car took a hairpin bend on the wrong side of the road. My parents died on impact.”
Emotion brightened Haydyn’s eyes and he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Kenna.”
I knew Haydyn’s mum was still alive and that they visited her in his home village near Aberdeen, and I also knew Haydyn’s dad had died, so he had some understanding of my pain.
My smile almost collapsed into tears as I explained, “Between their life insurance, pensions, the sale of their house … they left me a fair bit of money. That’s why I have the nice car …”
“And is that why you moved to Ardnoch? To be closer to family?”
The thought of my cousin acting like real family made me snort bitterly. “No. My cousin … I don’t think I’ll be staying with Una much longer. She’s not the easiest flat mate, and I’m pretty certain she’s stealing money from me.”
Haydyn sucked in a breath. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I shrugged. “I’m handling it, looking for somewhere to rent until something appropriate comes up for sale.”
His brows drew together. “I don’t understand, then … why move here?”
My pulse raced harder, my cheeks flushing. “Because … because the mum at my last job … she and I got friendly. As you do when you’re looking after someone’s child. Her husband worked a lot, and she’s a full-time teacher. And her daughter could be hard work sometimes. I tried to be as supportive as possible. Plus, she was so kind to me when my mum and dad passed. She gave me time off and was always checking in to see how I was doing.”
“Okay …”
“One night, about five months after my parents passed, she asked me to stay later for a girls’ night. Her husband was away for work. After we watched movies and had pizza, she put her daughter to bed … I made to leave … and she kissed me and grew arms and legs when I tried to push her off. I had to shove her off me.”
Haydyn’s eyebrows rose.
I laughed, embarrassed. “Everyone always expects it to be the dad.” I got up and began clearing our now empty plates. Haydyn stood, too, and followed me into the kitchen.
“So what happened?” he asked, taking over the rinsing of the plates.
“She apologized. And I told her I didn’t feel that way about her but that we could just forget about it. I assumed it was just a slip-up because of the wine.”