“Where did you go while we were gone?”Her sudden tensing and the flush of her cheeks told them they’d struck onto something.“Baby, we know you went somewhere while we were gone because your car wasn’t here when we got back.”Darren reached for her hand and tugged on it until he had her attention.“I promise you that whatever you say, it changes nothing between us.”
“Why would you say that?”Kylie frowned.
“Because I need you to tell me if you went by Sadie’s while we were out.”He squeezed her hand.
She sucked in her bottom lip before she finally said, “Yes.I went to see Sadie.”
“Why?”Darren asked.
“After you came home earlier and told me you’d been to see her and that she wasn’t sure I would like you going to the doctor appointments and stuff, I went to tell her I was cool with it.What?”She leaned back, putting minimal space between them so she could look at him.“I thought maybe hearing it straight from me would help ease her mind.I thought it would help make things easier for you.”
“Okay.That doesn’t sound too bad.”Tuck stood to her side, his hands in his pockets.“What else did you do or say?”
“Well, I, uh,” Kylie hedged.
Where Darren had a soft spot for his woman, Race had no problem putting Kylie on the spot.He had a feeling she knew a lot more than she’d told them.“What is it, Kylie?”
“She didn’t look too happy to see me on her doorstep.”
Race could only imagine Sadie’s reaction to Kylie at her door.He was a little surprised she let her in.
“She let me in, then excused herself to get her nephew out of the bathtub.While she was doing that, I might have done a little snooping around her computer.”
“KylieJo,” Tuck scolded her.
“What?I found a list of places she was looking to rent or buy in towns surrounding Redemption.When she returned, I confronted her about what I’d found, and she said she was leaving because it would be better for me.I wouldn’t have to see her or the baby around town.”
“Why would you do that?”Darren’s hands went to the top of his head in shock and disappointment.“I told you she was thinking of leaving because she was afraid of your reaction to seeing her with the baby.”His mouth turned down, clearly upset with Kylie.
“You talked her out of it, right?”Jed seemed equally upset.Why was that when he was the one who ended things with her?Did he still have feelings for her?He never admitted to feelings for her, but it was obvious to anyone watching them together.Jed cared for her a great deal before everything went to shit.
“Um.Probably not.I think I might have made things worse.”Kylie nibbled her lip and rubbed her belly.
“What?!”Darren’s eyes widened.“How did you make things worse?”
She held her hands up in front of her.“I went there with the best intentions.I swear.As I said, I told her I wanted you to be a part of everything and that I was okay with it.I don’t think she believes me.”
Trust didn’t come easily to Sadie.Hell, he bet she felt a piece of her soul was being ripped from her body just from calling and asking him for help just now.
“And?”Darren used a knuckle under her chin to raise her head so he could see her eyes.
“And as I was leaving, I may have told her that if she made a play for you, I would be her worst enemy.”Kylie’s gaze dropped.She knew she fucked up and might’ve jeopardized Darren’s chances of being a part of his kid’s life.
Race understood where she was coming from.She’d been through a hell of a lot with Darren and Tuck, almost losing each of them in different ways.
“Kylie!”Darren stepped away, his hands clasping on top of his head.“Baby, why would you do that?I already told you, it’s not like that with Sadie.”He took her by the shoulders and bent to her level.“I love you and only you.”
“I know.I really do.I don’t know why I said it.I don’t know if it’s because I’m hormonal and feeling threatened, or…” she shrugged her shoulders, tears pooling in her eyes.“I’m sorry.We’ve been through so much, and I know how you are.If I told you I still had these thoughts from time to time, you’d blame yourself, and it’s not your fault.It’s the fucking Phantoms' fault!”
“Shhhh, baby.Shhhh.Don’t get yourself worked up.It’s okay.We’re okay.”He dropped a kiss on her lips and pulled her close, pushing her head against his chest.
“How did she react to what you said?”Race asked.
Kylie snorted and laughed.“The woman doesn’t take any shit.She said that right there was why she was looking at houses in different towns.She said staying here in Redemption and having to deal with this bullshit every day doesn’t work for her.”
Jed smiled at that.
Again, Race wondered if things between him and Sadie were truly over.
