Page 40 of Loving You Always

“That he brought Walsh home when no one else could.” Kerris braced herself for the judgment she anticipated in Jo’s eyes.

Jo looked back at her, the easy smile disappearing.

“Have you spoken to Walsh?” Jo toyed with a small pot of glitter, her tone neutral.

“No, not at all.” Kerris rose to straighten her paints and crafts materials, afraid of where this could take them.

“What about Cam?”

Kerris’s movements slowed until she stood completely still. She studied her hands, poised over the craft debris, noting the paler band of skin where her wedding ring had rested.

“No, not at all.” Kerris’s voice pitched low, diving with her heart at the thought of her last conversation with Cam. “Have you?”

“We talk every couple of weeks. He’s doing well. Loves Paris. Loves the Sorbonne.”

“He deserves this shot.” Kerris forced herself to move again, swiping a pile of glitter into her cupped palm and then into the trash. “He’s a brilliant artist.”

“Always has been. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you two.”

Kerris raised frank eyes to Jo’s face. “Are you really?”

“Of course.” Jo sat up straighter in her little chair. “Why would you think differently?”

“It’s no secret you resented me, Jo. I know you felt like I tore up Walsh and Cam’s friendship.”

“You did.” Not a muscle in Jo’s face even twitched when she said it. Her face was as certain as her voice.

“Yeah, I did.” Kerris settled back onto the stool, forcing herself to face Jo like she was facing her mistakes. “You don’t have to condemn me. I feel guilty enough on my own.”

“Cam was crazy about you, Kerris.” Jo chewed a corner of her bottom lip. “Did you ever love him? Or was it always Walsh?”

“Those are two separate issues, Jo, believe it or not.” Kerris pulled out the elastic holding her hair back from her face, dropping her head until the hair hid her expression before looking back up. “Yes, I did love Cam. And, yes, in some ways, it was always Walsh. I loved Cam, just not the way he deserved to be loved. Not as a wife should love her husband, and it was unfair of me to use him the way I did.”

“Use him?” Jo pulled her fine brows together. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story. Maybe once I’ve figured it all out myself, I’ll tell you about it.”

“And Walsh? Are you sorting things out with him, too?”

Kerris stared back at Walsh’s cousin, unsure of how to answer.

“My divorce isn’t even final. I’m not thinking of romance with anyone. And you?” Kerris hoped to divert the conversation away from the sordid little triangle that had been her relationship with Walsh and Cam. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Me? No, I’ve been too busy. Aunt Kris left a huge hole in the foundation leadership, and I’ve had to step in and assume some of her responsibilities.”

“That’s wonderful, Jo. Kristeene would be so proud.”

Jo nodded, glancing down at her lap before looking back up, her face less guarded than Kerris was used to seeing it.

“You know, this is all I’ve ever known. The foundation and what we do. I wasn’t with a lot of kids my age growing up. By seven years old, I was already traveling with Aunt Kris.” A small smile played around Jo’s mouth, half pain, half humor. “One year we traveled the world together. She kept me out of school and tutored me herself. We went to Paris and Milan.”

Jo looked down at her lap, stroking Kristeene’s ring on her finger.

“We went to Uganda and Ethiopia. We held babies living in deplorable conditions in Chinese orphanages. Who cared about whatever I was missing with kids my age. I got a whole year of that. With her.” Jo glanced up at Kerris, and it was like Kristeene was alive in her eyes. “That’s who raised me. That’s who raised Walsh. And in many ways, that’s who raised Cam. She made us a family.”

The words ambushed Kerris. She hadn’t seen this coming and didn’t want to go there with Jo, but insistence firmed itself on the other woman’s face.

“They were all I had. My mother died before I knew her, but I had this incredible woman and this incredible unit. And for a while, I felt like you ruined that.”

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