“That set Lance off. He spun around and raised his hand at Cameron, but I grabbed a hold of his arm. I’d tolerated Lance hitting me for almost ten years, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was letting him put his hands on my kids. He’d never touched them. Hell, he hardly ever treated them with anything more than indifference, but after that, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was finished. When he left for work the next morning, I packed our shit and got the hell out of there.”
“And he hasn’t come after y’all?”
I lifted one shoulder slightly and gave Brett a wobbly smile. “He doesn’t know where we are. My dad grew up in Cloverleaf until he left for college in Ohio. He only came back once when his mother died. I was just a little girl. I never talked about this place with Lance. I knew he’d never find us here. Besides, it wouldn’t matter if he could find us anyway. He’s not looking.”
Brett’s dark brows dropped over his eyes in a deep frown. “What makes you think that?”
Sitting back, I took a sip of my now warm beer. “I have stuff on him. Before I left, I hacked his email accounts and found out some things that he’ll never want leaked. I used that against him. Told him if he came after us, I’d send it to the lead partner at his firm. It would destroy him.”
“Christ,” he sighed, flopping back in his chair. “I’m afraid to even ask.”
“Then don’t,” I answered simply. “This isn’t your fight, Brett.”
“Bullshit it’s not my fight,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Didn’t you hear a damn word I said to you earlier?”
My eyes bulged out as I stuttered, “But…what about…I just…Brett, you can’t be serious. What about everything I just told you?”
“What about it?” he asked, infuriating me by how casually he was acting.
“I’m cursed, Brett! I’ve had two men in my life and both of them have turned into monsters. I’m the only common denominator here! I can’t let that happen to you, too. Don’t you see that?”
He instantly shot forward in his chair, grabbing my hands in his. “You aren’t cursed,” he demanded in earnest. “You were dealt a fucked-up hand in life. That’s not your fault. And I’m not like your dad or that piece-of-shit ex. I’d never lay my hands on a woman, and I’d rather lose my goddamn arm before I hurt those kids. So you have nothing to worry about there.”
“Brett—” I pleaded, but he cut me off.
“You know what I see when I look at you? I see a woman tougher than any person I’ve ever met. I see a mother who’d go to the ends of the earth for her children. I see a person who’d do anything for those she cares about. That right there proves you’re a good person. You aren’t cursed, Kenzie. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than you are.”
My head dropped as tears burned my eyes again. “I’m not a good mother, Brett. Look at what I put them through. For years! All because I was too weak.”
“News flash, beauty. You aren’t fucking perfect.”
At that, my head shot up and my eyes narrowed in a glare.
“None of us are. You made mistakes; I’ll give you that. But you came out on the other side of all that shit. And can you honestly tell me that you don’t spend every single day thinking of different ways to make those two kids even happier than they were the day before?”
I couldn’t argue that point.
“They love you something fierce, baby. I’ve never seen a better mom. When you’re with them, they’re faces are lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree the whole time. That’s all you, beauty. That’s what you give to them.”
“I…you…GAH! Stop being so sweet! I can’t argue with you when you’re being sweet!”
His rumbling chuckle did unimaginable things, deep in my belly. “Hey, I told you to prepare, baby. Not my fault you didn’t listen.”
“So, what, this is part of you pulling out all the stops?” I asked, using finger quotes as I rolled my eyes.
“Like I’m gonna give away all my secrets right out of the gate,” he teased with a sexy wink that pulled a laugh from my throat. “Now, come here and gimme a kiss.”
“What?”
He took a step toward me, his eyes narrowing like he was about to pounce on his prey.
“Come on, beauty. Give me those lips. You know you want to. You’ve been craving it just as much as I have. Tell me you haven’t been going crazy thinking about that night.”
I opened my mouth, only to immediately shut it again, unable to push a lie past my lips, but still refusing to admit the truth.