Page 59 of Kyle
He nodded and dipped his spoon in. "Someone has to. Although I do believe that husband of yours has it covered." He smiled. "He loves you."
"Wonders never cease."
"No." He shook his head. "You're indeed a beautiful woman. Your mother knows it and always thought you were in competition with her. You deserve to be happy sweetie. And don't worry about your brother, he'll forgive you." He patted her hand as Kyle came back in. "Now, I must be taking my leave. Thanks for supper. Don't get up, I'll see myself out." Leaning over, he kissed her cheek.
While her husband locked up and cleared the table, she went upstairs and took off her clothes. She was tired. Emotions ran high during supper, and she was now wrung out and perilously close to tears.
Dragging on an old tee, she slid into bed and settled back against the pillows to go over the evening. It had been a disaster. Pure and simple.
He found her turned on her side facing the door, her hands folded under her cheek and looking decidedly miserable. For the entire evening, he had held his peace and tried to garner his anger. He had to remind himself several times while shewas being insulted by her own mother, that he had no right to interfere. But that was BS. No one hurts her, not even the woman who had birthed her.
Stepping into the room, he undressed and put on a robe over his nakedness. Crossing to the bed, he lifted the covers and slid in next to her.
"Say it."
"Say what?" Shifting her, he settled her head on his shoulder.
"You told me."
"Hmm." He set about rubbing the small of her back.
"You warned me that it would not work, and I did not listen." Her fingers curled into his chest. "I had this brilliant idea that I could bring the family together. What the hell was I thinking. My mother hates me." The tears came then and flooded his skin. "I never understood why she did."
He allowed her the moment, his expression grim as he listened to her heartrending sobs. He wanted to lash out at the source of her misery. And found himself wondering not for the first time,why a parent could do that to her own flesh and blood. The woman had been hateful without a cause.
"Better?" he asked gently.
"I got your chest wet." She whispered.
"That you did." Tucking his fingers under her chin, he kissed her cheeks absorbing the moisture.
He didn't mind, not one bit. If anything, it made him fiercely protective all over again. "I'd rather you cry on me than keep it to yourself," he murmured, brushing tangled strands of hair away from her face. The silence that settled between them was heavy, but not uncomfortable, just a shared ache, lingering in the dim glow of the bedside lamp.
"Want to talk?"
"I heard what you said to her."
"When?"
"When she was leaving." She smiled through her tears. "You told her in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to hurt me."
"No one is, including me."
She blinked at him and shook her head. "Aside from dad and Matthew, I had no one defending me before."
He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Well, you have me now and I will always defend you."
She let out a shaky breath, the tension slowly leaving her body as his words settled over her. For the first time in a long while, she felt what it was like to be truly seen, to know she was not alone in the fight. The comfort of his presence offered a fragile hope, a promise that, just maybe, the past didn't have to define her future.
"I never told you what it was like growing up with them, especially with her."
"And you don't have to."
She shook her head. "I want to. Can we sit up?"
"Of course." He drew her up with him, pushing the pillows behind his back and wrapping his arms around her. She felt comforted and loved and so secure that it was like having her favorite blanket wrapped around her.
It made her settle.
