Cane gave me the smile that, if he could, he should patent. It was cocky and thoughtful, juvenile, yet wise beyond his years. It was justCane. “It would be selfish for you to keep your love from him. He needs it, Kari. He needs you.”
“I need him, too. That’s the problem. I need him so much that if he ever left me like Blaine...”
“Whoa, back up. Heleft youwhen he found out you were pregnant? You’re joking right?”
I shook my head, a little wary at Cane’s tone.
“And he’s in the Valley?”
“Stop it,” I warned him.
He laughed angrily. “Who the fuck does that? Did he know about your medical issues?”
“Yeah and that’s another problem with Max. He doesn’t get why I told Blaine and I didn’t tell him.”
Cane turned and faced me, his face solemn. “So, why didn’t you?”
I blew out a breath, trying to find the words to explain it. “It’s a lot easier to tell someone when they don’t want kids and you’re both kids yourself. The weight of ‘family’and‘children’isn’t the same.” I played with the tassels on the edge of the blanket. “And I didn’t love him like I love Max,” I said softly. “Max is a man. He means so much to me. I didn’t want him looking at me like I was diseased or flawed or half the woman that other women are.”
“You’re serious right now?”
“Of course I am.”
He stroked his chin. “I guess I see your point. If I couldn’t have kids, I don’t know how that would feel, as a man. But I can tell you how it feels from this side of the coin—it doesn’t fucking matter.”
“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But now that he knows the truth, I want to give him the chance to walk if he’s going to. If you’re wrong and this is a deal breaker for him, I want to give him the opportunity to walk away now before things get messier. That’s why I left tonight. We were having a disagreement anyway. It gives him a chance to walk scot free.”
“He won’t walk. Mark my words.”
TWENTY-FIVE
MAX
“Can you walk?” Sam asked me after opening the passenger side door.
“Yeah,” I said, stumbling out of my truck. I fumbled for my keys in my pocket and handed them to her. “I’m sure you know which one since you came in here once already,” I slurred.
“Oh, hush, Max.” She wrapped one arm around my waist and let me lean onto her. We stumbled to the door. I leaned against the doorway and nodded off while she unlocked it. She elbowed me in the ribs. “Wakey, wakey.”
I pulled my eyelids up and stumbled through the doorway and headed straight for the couch. Sam flipped a light on, the brightness giving me a headache. I half lay, half fell onto the sofa.
I heard a set of keys clamor onto a table and Sam’s heels click across the tile floor. I dozed off again, but woke up to her laugh.
“What are we gonna do with ya, Maxie?”
“What?” I shook my head and sat up, my stomach feeling the weight of the Crown.
Why is Sam here? Where’s my Kari?
My brain was a complete fog. Nothing made sense.
“Where’s Kari?” I asked, trying to focus my eyesight enough to look around the room.
She shrugged. “How would I know? How much Crown did you drink? Your tab was almost $150.”
“Yeah,” I slurred. “I drank a lot.” I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles.
“You smell like a bar,” she laughed. “Want me to help you up to bed?”
