July nodded. For a second the familiar panic rose inside her but she took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “I owe you an explanation.”
“And I owed you the courtesy of listening.” He offered her an encouraging smile. “I’m sorry about yesterday. There was no excuse for my behavior.”
July’s heart began to pound and her mouth turned dry. She shoved her hands into her pockets, inhaled another deep breath and took a leap of faith. “My mother hit me and locked me in a closet for two days when I was nine for being clumsy and saying I was sorry and I haven’t been able to apologize to anyone since.”
Her chin quivered, and she pressed a hand to her mouth.
David had been so focused on the green eyes that had gone dark and empty it took a few moments for her words to register. When they finally did, it was like being punched in the gut. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. What kind of monster would do that to a child? To her own child? To July?#p#分页标题#e#
If there was some way he could wave a stethoscope and make her pain vanish, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t possible. And while he was a doctor, he wasn’t a therapist specially trained in child abuse issues. He was simply her friend. And someone who loved her.
He touched her arm in a comforting gesture but she was lost in the memory and didn’t appear to notice. She kept walking, her gaze focused on the distant mountains. Finally she stopped and turned to face him. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes.
“I told you Adam wasn’t your son because I thought you were married,” she said quietly. “But even if you had been married, you had a right to know. Then I found out you were a widower. I tried to tell you so many times—I wanted to tell you—but I could never seem to get the words out.”
David smiled encouragingly, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms, sensing it was important for her to get this all out.
“I went to a shrink—a counselor—and he’s been helping me face my fears, to realize that no one is going to lock me in a closet for apologizing or admitting to making a mistake.” Though she was shaking hard she straightened her shoulders and looked him right in the eye. “I’m sorry I continued to let you think Adam wasn’t your son. I’m so…so…so…incredibly sorry.”
The trembling morphed into a shudder and several tears slipped down her face.
“Oh, honey.” David finally wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry, too. For so many things. I shouldn’t have walked out of your life last year. And when I found the birth certificate, I should have asked for—not demanded—an explanation. I blew up, and that is never acceptable. Heck, I treated my nephew better than I treated you.”
July wasn’t sure what her situation had to do with his nephew’s but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was there were no more lies between them, no more secrets. Except maybe one…
She drew back far enough to look into his eyes. “I love you, David. But I understand if you don’t feel the same about—”
Suddenly his mouth was on hers, his arms holding her tight as if he’d never let her go, and July didn’t have to think, she only had to feel. By the time his lips finally left hers, she was trembling. Not with fear, but with the realization that for the first time, she could believe it was going to be alright.
“I have something for you,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck.
The long hard length of him was pressed against her belly. She rubbed up against him, cursing the fabric between them. “I bet I know what it is.”
“Um, that’s for later.” He grinned. Releasing his hold on her, he slid a hand into his pocket. When he pulled it out his fingers were in a fist. He slowly turned his left hand over and opened it. Lying in the palm was the Claddagh ring she’d admired at the silent auction. “This is for now. This is for you.”
July gazed at the intricate detail and her throat grew tight. “It’s beautiful.”
He picked up the moonstone in his fingers. “This ring signifies friendship, loyalty and love.”
Love? Did he say love?
“I’m feeling a little dizzy.” July brought a hand to her head. “Do you mind if we step into the shade for a minute?”
His brow furrowed in concern. Without a word, he took her arm and propelled her under the large branches of a nearby cottonwood, his fingers immediately moving to her wrist. After a few seconds he looked up. “Your pulse is rapid and irregular.”
She braced herself against the rough bark of the large tree and gazed up at him through lowered lashes. “It happens all the time when I’m around you.”#p#分页标题#e#