Page 124 of One Little Kiss
“What should I tell Colton?” Worry laces every word.
“Nothing. Tell him nothing. I’ll be in touch with him soon.”
My face is puffy, and my eyes are rimmed red, but I have no more tears to cry. Beth pats my cheek and watches me with concern.
“I’m okay, Beth. But we’ll need to stay here for a while, if that’s okay?”
“You know you’re always welcome here, Winnie. I just hope you’re not making a terrible mistake.”
“It’s too late for that, Beth. I’ll be okay, though. Please, go get Wes.”
She shakes her head sadly, but heads back down the stairs. Soon after, I hear her car pull out of the driveway. Her house is less than a ten-minute drive to Colton’s, so I expect I’ll hear from him soon. I take a shower to gather myself. When I exit, I have a missed text.
Colton: CC? Is everything okay? Beth just picked up Wes, but she didn’t know why? Are you stuck at work?
Colton: Weston would have been fine here with me.
Colton: Talk to me, Winnie.
Colton: I’m running over to Ashton’s house. I’ll be back in an hour.
That’s all the time I need. I dress quickly and head to Colton’s home.
* * *
Before Colton can return, I race around the home I once shared with him, collecting the necessities. I know I’ll have to see him eventually, but today is not that day.
I spin in circles with an armful of clothes because I have no plan.Think, Winnie. You need a bag.Yes, a bag. But not one of his. I can’t take anything I didn’t move in here with. Except maybe a few of Weston’s trains. Surely, Colton would want him to have them. This is already going to wreck the little guy.
Fuck. Why did I ever let Colton Westbrook into our lives? We were fine before. We were just fine.
A sob breaks free because even I don’t believe my lies right now, but I keep moving. Without thinking, I cut through the dining room on my way to grab Weston’s belongings and I’m hit by a wall of emotion.
Our wedding. My wedding is laid out before me like a road map. The Westbrook women did the unthinkable. They pulled together a dream wedding I never even knew I wanted in less than a week. A wedding I’ll never get to have.
More tears have me tripping up the stairs. I’m manic in my movements, propelled forward by adrenaline. I just have to get my shit and get out. I can break down later, but I know I’ll never recover once I do.
CHAPTER39
COLTON
“You’ve never seen her before?”
“No. I’ve never seen her before, Ash. You know what this is.”
“I need more information.”
“Ashton,” I scream, feeling the tension between us thicken. “You know he did this. You know he put her up to it and it’s only a matter of time before it hurts me or someone I love, and I can promise you, if this comes back to hurt Winnie or Weston there will be no coming back for you and me.”
“If Macomb is behind this, I will take care of it,” he rasps.
“Like you’ve taken care of him before? Not good enough, Ash. I have a family now. Coming after me to hurt you in whatever fucked-up game you’ve got going on will not work for me anymore.”
He moves like he’s going to come at me, then backs off. “It’s not a game, Colt. And I never meant for you to get hurt. You don’t understand the damage he did to his own daughter. I need her to have the opportunity to bring him in.”
“She’s had years, Ashton. Years! And she hasn’t done it. She doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to see you either. She made that abundantly clear. You have to let this go and do what is right for our family,” I roar.
“You don’t think that’s what I’ve been doing my entire life, Colton? I’ve given my life for this family. I never had a choice. I’m doing things the way they must be done.”
