The Valentine: The Wedding Pact #4 (2 page)

G
arrett stared
at the phone in his hand, his heart heavy. He’d known the woman he married. He’d known her fears and insecurities. Hell, if he were honest, he’d added to them when he’d hurt her nearly six years ago. When they had gotten together in law school, he’d walked out on her when she needed him the most. He’d left a scar so deep, some days he wondered if she’d ever recover. He’d let her temper chase him away before and had vowed not to let it happen again. He’d erected an internal buffer to withstand Hurricane Blair, but Hurricane Blair had been making appearances more and more frequently lately. He swore to batten down the hatches and ride out her storms, but damn, some days it was exhausting.

He never should have told her about the job offer like that, so out of the blue and catching her so off guard, but he’d scrambled for something to say when she refused to admit she’d missed him. Too bad he’d chosen a topic that had made things even worse.

Garrett called the restaurant where he’d made the Valentine’s Day dinner reservations for that night and asked if they had anything later in case his flight got into Kansas City too late. He knew she hated Valentine’s Day, but it didn’t feel right not celebrating it with her since it was their first as a married couple. But to help with the surprise, he planned to get her a gift card to Chuck E. Cheese as her gift. If he got home in time to buy it.

“We’re sorry, Mr. Lowry. We’re completely booked. It
is
Valentine’s Day, you know.”

“I know,” he grumbled, releasing an exhausted sigh. Like Blair, he hadn’t slept well the last few nights either. He’d missed Blair. He’d missed lying with her in the middle of the night. He’d missed touching her soft skin. He’d missed kissing her senseless right before he took her, plunging deep as he watched her tilt her head back in satisfaction. He missed talking to her about the little things that no one else gave a shit about, yet
she
did, listening to every word. And he missed waking up with her next to him, her blonde hair spilled around her head, making her look like an angel even though she was a gladiator when she was awake.

But he was becoming more and more convinced that she didn’t miss him. That she didn’t need him the way he needed her.

He’d always been the aggressor in his past relationships, if he could actually call what he’d had with his many women
relationships
. But even with Blair, he’d been the aggressor until he had her. And then he was content. Content to build a life with her. A life she seemed to progressively resist and resent.

He was beginning to feel like a yoke around her neck, not a partner to share her life with, and he was at a loss as to how to deal with it.

He told himself that Valentine’s Day wasn’t the day to address it. Then again, maybe it
was
. Blair hated anything and everything to do with Valentine’s Day. What better day to ask her if she was happy with their marriage?

Because above all else, Garrett wanted her to be happy.

Even if it wasn’t with him.

His phone rang and his heart leapt. Blair. But he felt like a fool when he saw it was his sister’s name on the screen instead.

“Hey, Kelsey.”

“What’s got you so down, little bro?”

“Who says I’m down?” he asked, stretching out his legs in the chair at the airport gate where he was sitting.

“Please, you sound like someone kicked your puppy.”

“I’m fine.”

“Never try to bullshit a bullshitter.”

He laughed as he sat up. “How’s the baby?”

“Nice change of subject.”

“Hey. What’s so wrong with Uncle Garrett asking about his favorite niece?”

“She’s your
only
niece. And Addie is perfect. Of course. She’s finally sleeping through the night.”

“You said you were going to change her daycare. Did you find one?”

“
Damn
,” she said. “You really don’t want to talk about what’s bugging you, huh?”

“I’m sure you had a reason for calling that was about something other than
my
personal issues.”

“And here I thought you were a narcissist.” She teased, but her voice had an edge.

“So what’s up?” Garrett asked. Since he’d gotten married and come back to Missouri, he’d begun talking to his sister more often, but they rarely talked during the day. “Why aren’t you at work? Is Addie sick?”

“No, Addie’s fine.”

“I know it can’t be you. You never call in sick.”

“No one’s sick, Garrett!”

While she could be cranky, something in her tone alerted Garrett that he wasn’t the only one who had issues. He had a feeling she had called about something important. But his sister was notorious for not sharing anything in her life. He would need to warm her up a bit first.

“Okay…what do you want to talk about?” he asked. “Can you believe that Mom made turkey and dressing casserole and tried to call it Christmas dinner? Thank God Nana Ruby was there to save the day.”

“I’m pregnant.”

He remained silent, unsure of the appropriate response. But she was silent too, making it glaringly obvious that she expected him to say
something
.

“Who’s the father?” he blurted out, then he cringed, waiting for her attack.

“Drake, of course. God, Garrett.” The tears in her voice softened her anger. “I just took a pregnancy test. Happy fucking Valentine’s Day to me.”

“I didn’t think you two were together.”

“It’s complicated.”

She’d been seeing Drake on and off again for three years. As far as Garrett was concerned, the only complication he could see was that she hadn’t cut him loose yet. “What do you want to do? You have options.”

“I don’t know.” She sniffed. “Yesterday I got offered a promotion. My timing sucks.”

“Your pregnancy should have no effect on your promotion, Kelsey, and if it does, we have legal recourse.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. The job’s in Kansas City.”

He grinned. “That’s great. You’ll be closer to me.”

“Drake says he won’t move, and he claims I can’t take Addie from him.” She took a breath. “A new baby will only make everything worse. Why am I such an idiot?”

He wanted to go off about how worthless her boyfriend was, but he knew she’d hang up if he did, so he forced a short chuckle that sounded false to his ears. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“No. And the fact you’re not answering shows me how much of an idiot I really am.”

“You’re not an idiot, Kelsey,” he said quietly.

“Then why do I keep going back to that man?”

“I don’t know. Do you love him?”

“I thought so, but this last year…honestly, I would have dumped his ass if not for Addie, but he kept telling me he wanted to be part of her life, throwing it in my face that I’d be depriving my daughter of a father if we aren’t together. And you and I had Dad…” Her voice trailed off. “I already fucked up getting pregnant as a single mother. I didn’t want to take Addie’s father from her.”

“Last we spoke, you said he was trying to help more.”

“I lied,” she sighed in defeat. “He’s never paid me one dime of child support, not that he had a job to pay it with. He’s been living here at the house. Last week I worked late one night and asked him to put the dishes in the dishwasher.” She paused. “He threw a glass across the room at me.”

He froze, sure he heard her wrong. “Did it hit you?”

“I have five stitches on my forehead,” she said sheepishly. “I told my coworkers I ran into a door.”

Garrett jumped up from his chair and began to pace. “God, Kelsey. You’ve told me all about his chronic unemployment, but you never once told me he was violent. Never.”

She remained silent.

Concerned she’d hang up if he lashed out, he took a deep breath and counted to five, until he was a little calmer. “Before this glass incident, had he ever hurt you? Was this the first time, Kelsey?”

“He’ll try to take Addie. I can’t lose her, Garrett. And now I’m pregnant and he’ll try to take this baby too.”

That was answer enough.

She started to cry, and his stomach twisted. The last time he’d heard her cry was when they were kids.

He slipped into attorney mode. “Is he living with you now?”

“I told him to leave, but he won’t.”

“Is the mortgage in just your name? Or is it in his name too?”

“Just mine.”

“Do you want to work this out with him?” He hoped to God she said no. He understood the complexities of why women stayed with abusive men, but he never imagined his older, stronger sister falling into this trap. Yet his experience as a divorce attorney had demonstrated that no woman could be helped until she was ready to accept that she needed it. And only Kelsey could come to that decision.

“No,” she said quietly. “What if he hits Addie? He already gets short with her if she cries too much.”

Garrett clenched his fist and then unclenched it. “Has he hurt Addie? Kels, has he hurt my baby girl?”

“No.”

“You’re sure? You’re not covering for him?”

“You think I’d let him hurt Addie?” she asked in disbelief.

“I know how this works, Kels. It’s not a reflection on you or your parenting. It’s a slow build until you’re left wondering how you got there. It starts off with yelling—everybody yells, right? There’s nothing wrong with yelling. It’s expected. But then it’s a shove. What’s a shove? Nothing really. Or a tap with a foot. It wasn’t a kick. Then the next thing you know, he’s slapping, then punching. And then you’ve reached the point where you’re wondering how in the hell you got there, and you can’t figure out how to escape.”

She was sobbing now.

“Kelsey, I’m your escape plan. Let me help you.”

“I’m so ashamed, Garrett. I’m a professional. I make six figures. How the hell did I get here?”

He walked over to the windows, lowering his voice. “No, Kels. No judgment from me or anyone who cares about you. It happens to all sorts of women—income has nothing to do with it. I just want to make sure you and the babies are safe.”

“But Addie…he’ll try to take her.”

“I’m damn good at what I do, and don’t forget Blair. We’ll both take your case, and by the time we’re done with him, he’ll be sliced to ribbons.”

“But we’re not married.”

“And thank God for that. But if what you say is true, you’ll have a custody case on your hands. We’ll fight the bastard for all we’re worth. Blair loves Addie. She’d sooner fight Drake in hand-to-hand combat than let him have custody of her.”

“Blair could probably take him,” Kelsey said, laughing through her tears.

“Damn right she could.” He paused and turned his gaze to an overhead TV showing a nationwide weather map. “Listen, I’m in San Diego right now, but I should be home tonight as long as the snow storm in the east doesn’t keep delaying planes. You need to get out of the house until we can get the locks changed and notify the sheriff.”

“I can’t do that, Garrett. It’s embarrassing.”

“Would you rather he hurt Addie?” It was a low blow, but he knew she’d protect her daughter before she protected herself.

“No, of course not! I just want to be reasonable about this.”

“Kelsey, take a step back and look at it from my perspective. You’re living with a man who hasn’t held a full-time job for longer than six months in the last five years. He completely lives off you, except for when he’s out screwing someone else. He offers absolutely no help with the household responsibilities, and he hurts you both emotionally and physically. Do
you
think you should let him live in your house with your baby?”

“Where will he go?”

“Not your problem.”

“But—”

“You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.” He paused. “When does the new job start?”

“In a month.”

“Did you turn it down?”

“Not yet, but—”

“If Drake weren’t in the picture, would you take it?”

“Yes. In a heartbeat.”

“Then take it and see how soon you can get here.”

“But I have to pack and—”

“I’ll help. We’ll help. We’ll find you a place and we won’t tell Drake where it is. You’ll get through this, Kelsey. We’ll help you. You deserve better.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

He forced a laugh. “I’m going to bask in this moment.”

“Thank you, Garrett.”

“For tonight, either stay in a hotel or go stay with Nana Ruby.”

“I can’t stay with Nana Ruby.”

“I think she’ll be more understanding than you think. She loves you too, Kelsey. She’s likely to kick Drake’s ass before I can get to him.”

“You wouldn’t kick his ass.”

“I most certainly would. But while I’d love nothing more than to punch his pretty face, I think my legal maneuvers will be much more effective and longer lasting.”

“I didn’t expect you to solve this, Garrett,” she said quietly. “I only called for advice.”

“You’re the only one who can do this, Kelsey, but I’ll be there to support you every step of the way.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You never said what was bothering
you
.”

He released a short laugh. “Trust me, my issues pale in comparison to yours.”

“Great,” she said. “Now I’m a poster child for issues. Come on, Gar, make me feel better about my problems. I don’t want to be alone.”

He groaned. “Fine, it’s Blair.”

“What about her?”

“I think she regrets marrying me.”

Kelsey gasped. “How can you say that? She’s crazy about you.”

“She loves me but on her own terms. She doesn’t mind when I leave town, and she doesn’t act like she misses me at all. I jokingly told her that my boss offered me my old job back, but instead of laughing, she suggested I take it.”

“She was probably joking.”

“I can assure you she wasn’t.”

Kelsey sighed. “We both know Blair’s not like other women.”

“I know, and trust me, I love that about her. But would it kill her to admit she needs me?”

“She just needs time.”

“What if that’s not it?” he asked. “What if she’s decided she’s made a mistake and doesn’t want to be married anymore?”

“I don’t think she’s thinking anything along those lines, Garrett. I know she loves you. It’s so obvious she does.”