Page 116 of Betrayed

“You have nothing to apologize for. None of this is your fault,” she replied.

“I know, but I still feel bad. Like I should’ve known what my father was doing.” I still found it hard to believe he’d been corrupt under my nose.

“How could you have known?” Meg said.

"I don't know, but I feel like I missed so many signs." I sighed, the weight of everything pulling on my shoulders. "He's not the man I thought he was."

“I know it’s hard to hear right now, but despite everything he’s done, I truly believe he loves you.”

Maybe he did, but that didn’t erase the horrible things he’d done, or caused to be done. Thankfully, they hadn’t hurt her or her baby. I wouldn’t have been as lucky if SSI hadn’t saved me.

“Let’s go get some dessert,” Meg said, hooking my arm through hers. “Beth said Chase insisted we needed ice cream, so Beth, Emily, and Ashley created a sundae bar.”

Ashley was the woman I saw hugging AJ. Did they have a thing? “Who’s Ashley with?”

“No one, at least that I know of. She’s Emily’s best friend.”

“Her and AJ, did they?”

Meg’s hesitation was answer enough.

“They did,” I answered for her. How long were they together? How close were they? Would she steal him from me?

Steal him from me? I wasn’t even sure he was mine, or I was his.

He acted like we were, but we hadn’t talked about it yet.

And I wasn’t sure I wanted someone claiming me like a Neanderthal.

Who am I kidding?That was the old, misinformed Blake talking. I’d be happy if he called me his woman.

If there was one thing I’d learned, the ‘claiming’ wasn’t about possession or control, it was about pride and love. I saw it with Jack and Meg, Jamie and Emily, Doug and Beth, and to some degree, with John and Mary.

“You really should talk to AJ about it,” Meg said.

Jack and AJ came back.

“We’re getting ice cream sundaes,” Meg announced. “Want to come with us?”

“Hell, yeah,” Jack and AJ answered together before following us up the stairs.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for the crowd in the conference room, but I didn’t want to deal with reality yet, either.

Ice cream covered in chocolate and caramel with a mountain of whipped cream sounds like heaven.

The crowded conference room buzzed with comfortable friendship. The relaxed vibe was exactly what I needed. One endof the table was covered in large serving dishes with a few scraps of food left in each. I chuckled quietly at the small, still half-full salad container. I wasn't the only one who preferred meat.

Emily, Ashley, and Beth were at the other end of the table, organizing the ice cream bar.

“When did they have time to organize all this?” I asked, a hint of awe in my voice.

“I’m not sure, but Mary and Beth have a lot of contacts in Weatherford, and they aren’t afraid to use them.” AJ chuckled, leaving me to wonder what other marvels they could pull off on short notice.

Jack added, “One nice thing about living in a small town; when we ask for help, we get it in spades.” He swept his arms wide.

“We were just going to call you up,” Beth said. “Didn’t want you missing out on dessert.” She spread her arms over the colorful display in front of her.

“Thank you.”

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