“Was it the man she’d had the relationship with?”
Kemp nodded. “Yeah. He wanted her back in his life, but it’s probably not what you’re thinking. He was powerful and had a lot of money and connections. He knew where she was the whole time.”
“Did he threaten her if she didn’t come back?”
“No, he didn’t threaten her, but he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. He was still in love with her, and I seriously doubt that he would’ve harmed her if she refused, but he held us over her head. He threatened to harm us if she didn’t return.”
“How awful of him.”
Kemp shook his head and chuckled wryly. “I thought that, too, until I realized I’d do just about anything to get you back.”
“Oh. Okay.” Maybe there was a reason the man resorted to such dark tactics.
“He sent two men to visit her. They told her what he wanted, and she refused, telling them she was in love with us. This was the first time I ever heard her say that in front of me. Finding that out after all this time was really messing with my head earlier while I was waiting for you on the deck.” She remembered seeing him out there and thinking that he’d had a lot on his mind.
“They told her they had orders to do permanent, bodily harm to us if she refused. They said their employer was terminally ill and that he was not expected to live more than three months. He knew how Kathleen felt about being with him knowing he was married, and he didn’t expect sex. All he wanted was her companionship because he was already sexually incapacitated. His wife had refused to come to him, and he just needed Kathleen’s companionship.”
Summer’s heart went out to Kathleen for the first time, wondering how she’d feel if she’d been put in the same situation.
“So she went to him and spent every day of the last couple of years with him, give or take a few months. She doesn’t regret doing that because they made their peace and he treated her very well. They had been lovers before, but he became her friend, once she got over the anger of having her life disrupted.
“She didn’t find out until he was on his deathbed that he would never have given the order for his men to harm us, he was just desperate for her presence. He very much regretted disrupting her life for his own selfish reasons and begged her forgiveness, which she gave him.
“I admired her for being able to do that because I’m not sure I could have given absolution to someone who disrupted my life for their own gain, but I believe love made him desperate, not malice. He left her a very generous inheritance to make up for disrupting her life, and she returned to the US after tying up all her loose threads in Europe.”
“How long has he been dead?”
“Two weeks. She needed time, which was understandable.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“I worried about her off and on this whole time but had never gotten the impression that she was in any danger. We explained to her that you had come into our lives and we were both in love with you. Kathleen felt pretty bad for upsetting you. She knew when she showed up that there was a chance we had moved on. She broke down and I could tell she needed a few minutes, so I left the two of them alone to come check on you. Judging by the look on your face, I figured you might be a little upset for me letting her know we had a guest. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just didn’t want her to say anything that would distress you. Things are still kind of new for us, but I didn’t want to take a chance on you feeling like we would welcome her if she spoke any further about coming back into our lives.”
Summer chuckled at the irony, realizing she’d thought that anyway.
“I love you, Summer, and I don’t want anyone else in my life. I want to make that perfectly clear. She was seizing an opportunity to find out if there was a chance for us.”
Suddenly Summer felt really sympathetic for Kathleen. She’d given up two men she loved to protect them and to help a dying friend. Regardless of the other man’s motivations, she’d obviously had a lot of love in her heart if she would sacrifice her happiness to protect Ace and Kemp and to care for this man she had loved at one time.
“Now she has no one.”
Kemp smiled and replied, “Kathleen has rented a new place in town, and I think she is going to be just fine. She loves things like what you carry at the shop, and I have a feeling the two of you will become friends once we all get past this bump in the road. Don’t worry too much about Kathleen. She has this…aura that men find very attractive.”
Summer didn’t think they’d ever be BFFs but did hope she found happiness in Divine. “How do you feel about finding out that she loved you, too?”