The Texas Soldier's Son. Karen Whiddon
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Название: The Texas Soldier's Son
Автор: Karen Whiddon
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
isbn: 9781474078917
isbn:
Apparently realizing she was babbling, she ceased talking and sighed. Walking toward him, she stopped a few feet away and stared up at him, her expression full of wonder. “Do you have any idea what I would have given to have known you were alive? I grieved your loss deeply.”
Anger blossomed inside him. Despite that, he still had to shove his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “When, Nicole?” he demanded. “Before you got married? How long did you wait after getting word I’d been killed in action? Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t seem very long at all.”
Her mouth worked. Again, tears came. This time, she covered her face with her hands and wept, her shoulders shaking. The old Kyle would have rushed to console her, but she no longer belonged to him. Instead he took a step back.
He shouldn’t have come here, he realized. Nothing would change. Hearing her mouth whatever explanation she came up with would do little to assuage the rawness of his pain, the aching sense of betrayal by the one person he’d believed would always have his back. Still, he couldn’t seem to get his feet to moving, so he stood and watched her cry.
“I’m waiting,” he finally said, the rasp in his voice in keeping with his frustration. “How long, Nicole?”
“It’s not what you think,” she began, her voice thick and trembling. “I really had no choice.”
“Bull.” He snarled the word. “Spare me the crap. I joined the army for us. So we could have a future. Every waking moment, every mission, every return to base, my first thought was of you. If the situation had been reversed, do you honestly think I’d have gotten married a month after you’d died? Do you?” He didn’t shout the words, partly because he didn’t want to disturb her baby, but also because volume wouldn’t make any difference. She had to know he was right, yet the sorrowful look in her eyes didn’t contain remorse or guilt. Just pain. Something he’d grown intimately familiar with.
“I was pregnant, Kyle,” she said, her voice shaking. “My parents were going to throw me out onto the street. I had to do something to protect my baby, so I took the coward’s way out and married Bill as they insisted.”
He hadn’t thought she could hurt him any worse, but somehow she had. “You’re telling me you slept with Bill Mabry after you learned I’d been killed in action?”
If he expected her to hang her head, he was wrong. Instead, she lifted her chin and looked him square in the eyes. “No. I’m telling you I was pregnant with your child when you left me the last time. You’d gone on a mission, so I couldn’t tell you. I’d planned to, the next time you called. Instead, I received word you’d been killed by an IED. Jacob is your son.”
Nicole waited breathlessly for his reaction. If anything, his frown deepened.
“I don’t believe you,” he snarled. “I never would have guessed you’d become such an opportunistic little—”
“Stop.” She cut him off before he could call her whatever name he’d been about to use. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep from doubling over with pain. “I can’t deal with this right now. You need to go.”
“Gladly.” He strode to the front without a backward look. She braced herself for the noise when he slammed it, aware it would probably wake the baby, but he surprised her by closing the door with a quiet click.
Heaven help her, after inhaling so quickly it felt like a hiccup, she found herself at the front window, hand to her aching chest, watching until he drove away. The pain was so great it felt like her heart had truly shattered. She felt almost the same as she had the day she’d learned he’d been killed. Almost.
Once he’d gone, she sank down on the couch and allowed herself to break down. She hadn’t cried over Bill’s passing, or over the way his horrible parents treated her. But she cried over this. The man she’d always loved was still alive. Joy and relief at knowing that Kyle Benning still walked the earth warred with sorrow and regret. Clearly, she’d managed to kill whatever he’d once felt for her. And the fact that he could honestly think she’d lie to him about something as vitally important as his own child told her how low she’d sunk in his estimation.
After crying herself out, a steadfast calm came over her. Her life might have become a crapfest, but she still had Jacob. She went into the office and watched him while he slept, letting the all-encompassing love she felt for him fill her heart, rather than pain or worry or regret.
When the doorbell chimed again an hour later, her heart skipped a beat. Now that he’d had time to think about it, had Kyle returned? Baby Jacob still slept, so she hurried to the door, her heart hammering.
Instead of Kyle, two uninformed sheriff’s deputies stood on her stoop. One of them handed her a paper.
“We have a warrant to search your premises, ma’am,” he said. “Please step aside.”
Numb, she did as he asked. She’d only thought this day couldn’t get any worse. Clearly, she’d been wrong.
Though she stood protectively over her son while one of the men searched the office, Jacob woke when the deputy banged a file cabinet drawer shut. Nicole picked him up and soothed him, realizing he needed a diaper change, which she attended to while trying to ignore the sometimes alarming sounds the deputies were making.
They took Bill’s computer and her laptop, promising they’d return it soon. They also took Bill’s expensive bourbon, the used coffee pod still in the machine and several files.
With Jacob in her arms, she followed them from room to room, hating the way this search made her feel violated. They didn’t speak and she didn’t either, except for admonishing them to be careful when it seemed like they were growing careless with some of her perfume bottles.
They took Bill’s cologne and aftershave. It finally dawned on her that they were looking for whatever poison had killed him. Which meant she’d become more than a person of interest—she’d apparently moved right into the position of primary suspect.
As they prepared to leave, the taller of the two turned to face her. “We searched his office at Mabry Trucking too,” he said. Like that would make her feel better. All she could do was nod.
After they’d finally gone, she went about the business of straightening her house, finding comfort in the busywork.
Then she bathed Jacob. After drying him off and putting him in a fresh diaper and onesie, she breathed deeply, loving the clean, baby powder scent of him. Her breasts tingled, reminding her it was nearly feeding time. Jacob latched on, suckling with gusto. Filled with love and finally, a little peace, she watched him drink his fill. After burping him, she placed him in his bassinette to rest and set about making herself something for dinner.
Bill had been a meat-and-potatoes sort of guy and she’d marinated a couple of ribeye steaks. But the thought of eating that made her stomach turn, so she fixed herself a salad with tuna on top instead.
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