“You can tell me if this is none of my business, but how long was she out of Michael’s life?”
Haydyn smirked unhappily. “His whole life, Kenna.”
My lips parted in shock. “Are you kidding?”
“Nope.” He took a sip of wine, and I could see it was to distract himself from the anger still brewing within. “I came home when Michael was six months old to find him alone, screaming the house down, sitting in his own filth. Deena had packed her things and left us. I could maybe get over her leaving us if she hadn’t left my baby alone. She could have called a neighbor and asked them to stay with Michael until I got home, but she just left him. Anything could have happened.”
At the fear in his eyes, I couldn’t help but reach over to cover his hand with mine. “I’m so sorry.”
“She had postpartum depression,” he said. “I didn’t know that until she wrote to me last Christmas, asking for forgiveness and to see Michael. There was a lot of back-and-forth between us for a few months before I asked Michael what he wanted to do.”
“And he wanted to meet his mum.” I lifted my hand off his and my palm still tingled from the touch.
“Aye.” Haydyn dug into his pasta again.
“Did she explain where she’d been? Why it had taken so long?”
He nodded. “She’d started drinking to deal with her depression. She’s been sober for two years.”
“So she got sober, married a solicitor, and now she wants to be in Michael’s life becauseshe’sready to be in his life.” Annoyance cut through me.
“Don’t people deserve second chances?”
“Yes, but she also has to remember that it’s just been you and Michael for ten years, and she can’t waltz in and start making decisions without your consent.”
Haydyn’s gaze gleamed and that familiar spark of tension lit between us. The one we’d both been trying so hard to ignore. “I’m trying to play nice so she doesn’t go after custody.”
I didn’t want to worry him, but he needed to be realistic. “Haydyn … she’s going to go after custody, eventually.”
His expression tightened. “They always favor the mother.”
“No, not true. They’re not going to favor a mother who abandoned her child for ten years. At the most, she’ll get visitation rights. So stop letting her get away with making decisions without your involvement. Christmas is done. But she can’t get away with manipulating you and Michael like that. Michael is the one who’ll end up hurt. The next time she pulls that crap, put your foot down. And if she threatens you with a custody battle, you remind her of the ten years she abandoned her child.”
Haydyn sat back, watching me with an intense expression. “As much as I admire your fierce protection of us … I sense a wee bit of reluctance to forgive.”
“To forgive Deena? I’ve nothing to forgive. I’m just stating my opinion.” My cheeks flushed at the thought of him finding me uncaring.
“No, I mean …” He shrugged. “I don’t know what I mean. I suppose … What’s your story, Kenna? I’ve told you some of mine. You’ve been working here for almost three months, and I have no idea what really brought you here.”
My pulse raced a bit as I prepared to tell Haydyn the truth.
“Kenna?” His brow furrowed in concern.
I licked my lips nervously, fighting back the grief that still threatened to choke me. “My parents died on Boxing Day last year. They’d visited me for Christmas in Inverness and were driving home to Aberdeen. An oncoming car took a hairpin bend on the wrong side of the road. My parents died on impact.”
Emotion brightened Haydyn’s eyes and he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Kenna.”
I knew Haydyn’s mum was still alive and that they visited her in his home village near Aberdeen, and I also knew Haydyn’s dad had died, so he had some understanding of my pain.
My smile almost collapsed into tears as I explained, “Between their life insurance, pensions, the sale of their house … they left me a fair bit of money. That’s why I have the nice car …”
“And is that why you moved to Ardnoch? To be closer to family?”
The thought of my cousin acting like real family made me snort bitterly. “No. My cousin … I don’t think I’ll be staying with Una much longer. She’s not the easiest flat mate, and I’m pretty certain she’s stealing money from me.”
Haydyn sucked in a breath. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I shrugged. “I’m handling it, looking for somewhere to rent until something appropriate comes up for sale.”
