Page 108 of Keeping Kaitlyn

“About thirty seconds ago,” he tells me with a shrug. “You want to hear it?”

“Okay.” I give him a short half-laugh because I think this is just another one of his distractions. “Sure.”

“Be where she is for the rest of my life,” he says quietly, his hand turning over in mine to lace our fingers together. “That’s it. That’s all there is. Be with you—that’s the only thing I want to do. If you want to run this ranch, that’s okay with me. We’ll run it together.”

“Went…” Looking up at him, I shake my head. “You have a life in Boston. You have?—”

“I have a life with you,” he says, his tone resolute. “And nothing in Boston that can’t be moved here.”

“Your tattoo shop?” I remind him.

“Can be moved and re-opened anywhere,” he tells me. “If people wait a year and will fly to New England for a tattoo by me, they’ll fly to Montana.”

“What about Hawthorne International? You’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. You can’t just?—”

“Actually, I can— I’m not sure it you know this, but this is the only place within a hundred miles that you can catch a good Wi-Fi signal,” he reminds me with a devilish smirk. “That and a private plane are pretty much all I need to play CEO. Luckily, I have both.” He tightens his fingers around mine. “Six years ago, I promised to spend the rest of my life with you and that’s a promise I intend to keep. I want to be with you, Sunshine—that’s not even a question. The real question is, is running this ranch whatyoureally want to do?” Before I can answer him, Went shakes his head. “I’m not asking you what you should do, Sunshine. What’s best for your family or what you think is best for me, or even us. I’m asking you if it’s what youwant.”

“I don’t have a choice.” Throat suddenly tight, I swallow hard against the ache of it. “I can’t let Brock win. I just can’t.”

“What if you did?” he asks, looking down at me with a faint smile. “What if you could beat Brock and still live the life you wanted? Where would it be?”

“In Boston,” I tell him without hesitation. “With you.”

“Okay…” Smiling down at me, Went lowers his mouth to mine, giving me a brief, soft kiss. “Then we should probably get inside—we’ve got some work to do.”

SIXTY-THREE

KAITLYN

This timewhen we get to my parent’s house, brock and Abbey are already there, waiting for us. My mom is sitting on the front porch with Thomas in her lap, a picture book open between them. I can hear the quiet cadence of him sounding out the words while she gently guides him through it through my open truck window.

As soon as Mook sees him, he starts to wiggle and whine, ready to play with his new friend. “You better hope Molly doesn’t find out you’re cheating on her,” I tell him with a floppy ear ruffle. Hopping out of the truck on my own, I open his car door and he shoots out like a bullet to charge up the porch steps. As soon as Thomas sees Mook, he abandons his book and his grandmother’s lap. Jumping down, he looks at Went, cheeks flushed with excitement. “I asked my dad if I could play with your dog and he said he doesn’t care,” he says. “Is it still okay?”

“It still okay with me,” Went says with a wide grin while he slips a thick, tattooed arm around my waist. “But he belongs to your Aunt Kait, so?—”

“Actually,” I say, leaning into him before looking up with a smile of my own. “He’s your Uncle Went’s dog, not mine. I got him for him a long time ago—I just forgot to tell him.”

Gazing down at me, Went’s smile turns wistful. “You did?”

“I did.” Giving him a nod, I push myself up onto my tiptoes and kiss his jaw. “Fuck Astrid—Mook’s a penthouse dog now.”

“God, I fucking love you,” he says with a laugh before leaning down to brush his mouth against mine.

“I fucking love you too.” Still smiling, I look at Thomas. “Mook’s all yours, kid.”

Letting out a whoop, he streaks across the porch, Mook hot on his heels to run across the yard toward the tire swing our father strung up for Luke when he was about Thomas’s age. As soon as they’re gone, I mount the porch steps, Went beside me, a thick packet of legal documents tucked against my chest.

When my mother sees them her face goes a little pale and she shakes her head. “Kaity?—”

“It’s okay, Mom.” Stopping in front of her, I lean in to press a soft kiss against her cheek. “I’m going to do what’s right.”

“This isn’t what’s right. This is…” Still shaking her head, my mom’s mouth falls into a harsh, unforgiving line. “I told your father that if he insists on following through with this, I’m leaving. I stood by and watched a lot—toomuch over the years—but I won’t stand by and watch while he just cuts you out of?—”

“After Luke died, you and Abbey were the only good things I had until Went came along,” I tell her quietly. “You might not believe it, but I don’t blame you. Not for anything.”

“I should’ve done more,” she says with a stubborn headshake. “I should’ve stood up to him when he?—”

Reaching for her hand, I give it a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay, Mom. I promise.” Letting go of her hand, I leave her on the front porch to lead Went into the house. Traveling the same hallway I did yesterday, this time with Went in tow, I push thedoor open on my father’s office. Abbey is sitting in the same chair she occupied yesterday, staring at her hands while Brock looms over her like he’s afraid to let her out of his sight. My father is where I left him, sitting behind his desk, glaring at the doorway I just passed through with the same air of arrogant expectation I remember as a child.

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