“Okay.” Taran frowned. “I’ll keep it to myself. But I’m here if you need to talk. London, Nick’s only messing with you. There’s nothing he can do to hurt you.”
I didn’t reply because I didn’t want to scare her, but I knew that wasn’t true.
I knew Nick was far more dangerous than anyone realized.
However, Taran did make me feel better. A lot better. Stronger.
I texted Murray back that I’d be at dinner.
As Taran and I locked up the store a little while later, she turned to me before we went our separate ways. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had outside of Quinn, and it hurts to think you feel alone here.”
At the bright shine of tears in her dark eyes, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it in reassurance. “You reminded me that I’m not. I promise. Thank you.”
She gave me a relieved smile. “Let me know how dinner goes. Remember, perseverance. Teens are hard work. Heather gave Quinn a difficult time before she came out.” She referred to Quinn’s eighteen-year-old daughter who came out to Quinn last summer. “The trick is to remember that even when they’re telling you to get the hell away from them, they need to know you’re not actually going anywhere.”
The weight of Kelly’s situation sat heavy on my shoulders, but I’d married her dad and her well-being was now my responsibility, even if Murray’s and my relationship was fake.
Taran waved as she strode to her car and I walked across Main Street and uphill to the B and B to where my SUV was parked.
Usually, I felt butterflies in my tummy when I knew I’d see Murray because of my attraction to him. Now they fluttered wildly for multiple reasons. I didn’t know what to expect from Kelly, and I was about to meet Murray’s mom again but this time as my mother-in-law. We’d met at the mini Christmas market last year and she’d seemed lovely. Gentle and warm.
However, that was before I married her only child behind her back.
20.London
My heart thudded loudly in my ears as I shrugged out of my coat and hung it up in the mudroom. Slipping off my boots, I placed them next to Kelly’s shoes and let out a shaky exhale. As I wandered down the hallway, I saw Kelly’s bedroom door was ajar. A glance inside revealed she wasn’t in there, but there was a book opened downward on her rumpled bed like she’d been interrupted mid-reading.
I wondered how she was feeling today. Understanding that my parents were neglectful wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was a creeping realization, a slow-burn anger in my gut until I grew so resentful that I didn’t always succeed at masking that resentment.
At that age, the pain of knowing my parents didn’t love me was agonizing. There were so many times I could have gone off the rails searching for what they weren’t giving me. Fortunately, I’d had Nana, and I met Tierney and her parents, and their love and support saved me from the more destructive behavior I might have indulged in.
Kelly, thankfully, had Murray, and there wasn’t anyone who could ever argue that he didn’t show his little girl enough loveand support. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t in extreme pain right now.
Taran’s kindness from earlier bolstered me. It wouldn’t be easy, but I wanted to help Kelly get through this. I wanted to be to her what Tierney had been to me, what Taran had been to me.
As I walked into the reception hall, I heard the muffled sound of music filtering down the stairwell. Stopping, I glanced up, the butterflies rioting. Not for Kelly but for Murray’s mom, Fiona. Her car was parked outside.
At the top of the stairs, I heard Murray’s deep chuckle and a warm bloom offeelingspread across my chest. The sound of a woman’s voice made me push myself forward, striding into the kitchen.
Murray was taking a pie dish out of the oven as his mom drained a bowl of veg at the sink. Kelly, seated on a stool at the island, was the first to see me enter.
I gave her a soft smile. She frowned and looked down at the countertop.
Great.
“London.” Murray drew my gaze as he placed the hot pie dish on a wooden stand. “Just in time.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I gave his mom a smile, but I felt the slight strain of it.
I think Fiona noticed because she put the bowl of veg down on the island, wiped her hands on a dish towel, and came over to me with a warm smile. “London,fàilte. It’s nice to see you again.” She drew me into a tentative hug, which I returned, relief suffusing me.
“You too.”
Fiona drew back, her gaze roaming my face. “I forgot what a bonny lassie you are.”
My cheeks heated. “Thank you.”
“Don’t embarrass her, Mum,” Murray admonished, but there was a teasing note in his tone.
