Page 66 of Love Me Boldly

She was still so pretty, even with her sad eyes that seemed to get sadder when I asked the question. There had always been something so enthralling about Holly. Maybe some of it had to do with the mysteries she cloaked herself in, but the rest was all her. Beneath the exterior she’d had to grow, there was a softness I’d craved to discover.

It appeared at random times, in the smallest moments, but there were enough flashes of it to keep me hooked.

“Things happened, life changed. I needed Caroline’s help with Jonah, and she needed mine.”

There was a wistful expression on her face, telling me it wasn’t all bad, but she still had dreams.

“Can I ask? About Jonah?”

“I don’t know his father, if that’s what you’re asking.” There was a bite in her tone.

I had the sense I should tread carefully, but that wasn’t really my style, and it never was when it came to Holly. “He’s the same age, Holly…and we never…”

She picked at the napkin and stayed looking at the table where she was peeling the napkin apart. “He’s not mine. At least, I didn’t give birth to him, but he is my son.”

“I don’t understand.”

She lifted her head, and the coldness in her eyes made me lean into the booth’s back behind me.

“You don’t have to. Why are you here, Graham?”

“Because I saw you and knew I’d regret it if I didn’t come and find you. Pretend we were nothing more than friends, if you have to, but I wanted to catch up. See how you were.”

“And figure out if I was with Jonah’s dad when we were together? If I cheated?” She shook her head back with force. “I’m past the days of letting people create their own versions of me. The day Jonah was handed to me was the day I stopped living in fear and irritation of what everyone else thought of me. He became the only one that mattered, and he still is.”

“Easy.” I lifted my hands, palms facing her in surrender. “I’m not here to get the dirt, Holly. Have you considered the fact that maybe I’ve thought of you over the years, wondered about you? Maybe I came here tonight for the closure I should have gotten all those years ago.”

I didn’t even think about her cheating. She wouldn’t do something like that. It took me thirty seconds to clock her character, and she didn’t have that kind of betrayal in her. It was one of the few things I was certain of.

Ire spiked, and that same pain returned, the pain of watching her leave, the horrible truth she’d flung at my feet. I’d been nothing butgood to her. Sure, I told her it was in the past. That I understood. All those things were true, but now she was sitting across from me. Angry. Frankly, I hadn’t done anything to deserve it except start to fall in love with her.

She sucked in a breath and her shoulders fell, the fight left her in a gentle wave. “Tell me about you. The camp. What you’re doing now. Are you teaching?”

“Northwest of Charlotte, in Denver. I had to substitute teach for a while, but I was hired to coach right away. I took a teaching job once one opened.”

“That’s good.” She smiled. It was soft, but there was genuine happiness in it, too. “You’re doing everything you wanted. Is that why you were at the camp?”

“An old teammate puts it on every year, and this was the first year it worked for me to get here and help out. It’s summer break, and my own school’s season is over, so I thought it’d be fun.”

“You always loved the game. Jonah talked my ear off about you all the way home.”

“He seems like a good kid. You’ve done well with him, Holly. I hope you’re proud of that.”

“Raising Jonah is the best thing I’ve ever done. The only thing I care about.”

“Tell me, then, tell me the truth. How is he yours?”

I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the table. I needed to know. Was it a guy before me? A guy right after? But she’d said she didn’t give birth to him…

Her tongue poked at the inside of her cheek. I gave her time. Giving Holly time came as naturally as breathing.

“He’s my half-brother.”

TWENTY-ONE

HOLLY

I couldn’t believe I was here. Couldn’t believe Graham was sitting across from me, prying into my life, telling me about his. I’d wanted more information from him than only if he was working. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who needed to know if the other was dating or seeing someone. Maybehehad kids of his own by now. A cute little wife who wore her baby in a carrier and cheered him on as he coached his games.

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