Love Survives(106)

“Am I allowed to hurt him?”

I laughed while grabbing the top to her two-piece and started putting it on her. “For the sake of my parents, let’s try to be on our best behavior. When they go to leave tomorrow, you can run out and do whatever you want to both of them. I’ll cover you.”

She seemed please with that idea. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. In one week you’ve changed my whole life. How is this even possible?”

“You weren’t the only one who was miserable. If you’d seen the things that I’ve seen, you wouldn’t want to live in the past either. Kat, we have a daughter now. I’m trying not to lose my man-card here, but I want us to work. When we go home, we’re together. We’ll have a lot to deal with, but we’ll do it as a team. People aren’t going to understand. They’re not going to like that you’re kicking your husband out and moving me in, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I’m not letting either of you out of my sight. The moment he laid a hand on you was when I lost respect for him. My daughter will not go anywhere near him and he can thank himself for that.”

“It’s still hard to believe.”

I got down on my knees to assist her in putting on the bottoms. “No, it’s not. Tell me this - when I came back the first time for the wedding, how long did it take you to realize that you were with the wrong brother?”

I could tell she didn’t have to think hard about it. “You know the answer.”

“Humor me, woman.”

“I supposed I knew it even before I saw you. I remember standing there watching for you to get out of a cab in your fatigues. My heart was racing and I couldn’t calm myself down. Then when I saw you for the first time, it was like the whole room disappeared except for me and you. Fighting those feelings was impossible for me. I knew I was making a mistake, but I couldn’t figure a way out of it.”

I stood back up and pulled her against me. “I was on the airplane with this old couple. They kept thanking me for risking my life for my country. About halfway through the elderly lady asked if I was married. I sat there with two strangers, and told them all about the girl I’d loved my whole life, and how she was marrying my twin brother.” I shook my head and chuckled. “I was so messed up in my head that day. I’d thought about what I wanted to say to you a million times. It was shocking when that old woman, who’d been married for more than half her life, told me I had to stop the wedding. She said I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t tell you how I really felt. When I got out of the cab and saw you standing there, I knew I was going after you. Something inside of me snapped. There was no way I could let you go through with it without telling you everything. I didn’t do it to get you into my bed. That part happened on its own. Obviously, in making love to you that night, we made the most beautiful little girl. I could tell you that we’re together because of her, but it would be a lie. I wanted you back the minute I saw you on the army base, I just needed to be mad first. I felt so betrayed and hurt. For my whole life I’d thought Branch was keeping us apart. Then I found out you were married to someone else.”

Kat put her arms around my neck. “Can I be honest about something?”

I nodded. I was prepared for anything she had to say. It wasn’t like I had to worry about her not wanting to be with me. She’d run out of reasons to shut me out. We needed each other.

“I could lie and tell you that I would have been faithful in my marriage, to be honorable. The thing is, the second I knew you were alive was when I knew for certain that I was fighting a losing battle with my heart. If you’d have come on to me in those first five seconds, with my husband standing right there, I don’t think I could have pushed you away. I felt like it was a miracle; like you’d come back from the dead to save me from myself.”

For a few seconds we just sat there staring at each other. It was like we didn’t need to say words to know what the other was thinking. As intense as it felt the doorbell snapped us both back to reality.

Kat put a dress on over her swimsuit.

B was coming at us, running full-force. I picked her up and spun her around. I could tell Kat was a nervous wreck, but at least our little one didn’t have a care in the world. She was so high on life that one couldn’t help from smiling when they got around her.

Kat was pretty comedic as we waited for them to come into the living room. I could hear them talking to my parents, knowing at any second my twin would round the corner. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but she climbed on top of me and started kissing me. I literally had to push her off. “You’re being bad.”