The Second Chance Hero (15 page)

Bunny and Marco left without another word. But Kim stayed in his arms. Her small body trembled and finally, she looked up, her eyes afraid. “I think you and I need to talk, don’t we?”

He pulled her close and pressed his lips against her hair just so she’d know there was nothing to worry about. “Yeah.”

“We should probably go. This is going to get ugly fast. They’ll be at the Albaneses’ house soon.”

“Jenna’s going to have your back.”

“She will, but you don’t understand.” She shook him off and sat down to gather her things. “Let’s go. I need to ask you some questions.”

Questions, no doubt, about what he shot at Bunny and Marco. She was going to want to know how he knew. And the truth was, he had to tell her everything now. No holding back.

Even then it was possible he’d screwed this up too badly to fix.

Bunny and Marco would tell the Albaneses the name of the man she was with and they could make the connection. He’d written a letter to them. Tom’s mother had written back. They’d know and then all hell would break loose.

She sat in her chair and sighed. “People think I’m a horrible person. That I should still be mourning him. I shouldn’t be ready to move on.”

“I don’t.” He signed the check and stood, taking her hand as she rose.

“It’s just, there were things about Tom no one knew but me.” Looking at him, she rolled her eyes. “Or so I thought. Everyone thinks he’s a saint, but he hurt me, and while no one should have suffered like he did, and he did suffer . . . it was awful . . . I’m not grieving.”

Owen took care with her as he guided her out of the restaurant. She wasn’t grieving because, the best he could figure, Kim knew she’d lost Tom Albanese long before that bomb exploded. The two of them had to talk. She had to know the truth about him and his link to her past. He was hoping it would bring them closer, that Kim would see that he understood. That he knew why she hurt so badly.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was the one who wanted to keep the war out of things.”

“I do understand your reasons, but obviously we can’t avoid it anymore.”

“Obviously.” Her lip was trembling and he hated that he’d done this. Upset her to the point she could barely speak. “I’m a little nervous to find out about you. We’ve gotten so close so fast and there’s a lot I don’t know, isn’t there?”

Her hair was falling across her face, dark and rich, and she tucked it behind her ear, allowing him to see her eyes flash, mindful that things between them were about to change. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Nothing. My only concern is you. It always has been.”

“Always? What does that mean, Owen?”

“Let’s go to my house, we’ll get away from all the people and the noise, and I’ll tell you. Just promise me you’ll hear me out to the end before you say or do anything.”

“Is this bad?”

“No, but it’s important.”

***

Kim didn’t know what was going on, but Owen knew way more about her and Tom than he ever let on, and since telling off Bunny and Marco, he was wrapped pretty tight. He said what they had to talk about wasn’t bad, but important. It sure was. How did he know about Tom’s cheating? What was Owen’s connection? She couldn’t imagine. That was a lie. She could imagine plenty. But at the same time, she trusted Owen, and she had to hang onto that trust until she could hear him out. As they walked to the valet, he barely said a word, and she couldn’t for the life of her put her finger on what was happening. Just as they pulled out of the parking lot, her cell phone pinged. It was the sound she assigned to Jenna’s text messages.

Fishing in her bag, Kim really didn’t even have to look. She knew Marco and Bunny were already at work, making her life a living hell.

The text was predictable. “
OMG! Crazy aunt and uncle. I am so sorry you guys had to deal with it.”

“Does your Mom know?”
she asked.
Kim didn’t really want to know this part, but if she was going to find out anyway, she might as well control the conversation.

“Yes, she’s sobbing in her room. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”
Jenna shouldn’t feel bad, but Jenna’s crazy relatives should feel guilty for upsetting her mother.

“Please don’t apologize—it’s not your fault.
I don’t want her upset. Have you told them you already know?”

“Not yet.”

And she probably wouldn’t because Jenna was Jenna. For all her freewheeling, devil-may-care attitude, her family was everything.

Kim turned to look at Owen. “It’s gotten back to the Albaneses.”

“Is that Jenna?”

“Yes.”

In truth, Kim shouldn’t care. She should be able to do what she wanted with her life when she was ready, but the family had meant something to her, and deep down, Kim had hoped they might be happy for her. But with their own grief, they couldn’t be happy for anyone, and they weren’t ready to let go.

“Oh, shit, Kim . . .”
The text had a tone, which was unusual in itself, that made her take notice—not that texts or e-mails could do much of anything with regard to mood or feeling, but Kim had a funny feeling about this one.

Owen pulled in his driveway, threw the car into gear, and took her phone.

There were times when pure, raw instinct took over and this was one of those times. “Hey! Why did you do that?”

“I need to talk to you before the next text comes in.”

Kim pressed her back into the seat. She didn’t go after the phone. Instead, she mentally prepared herself, because she knew something horrible was about to go down, something that she wasn’t ready for.

“First, I want to tell you something I’ve never said to anyone. I’ve been dancing around it, but before this all comes crashing down, I want you to know that I love you. I love you with everything I have. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but that’s how I feel. I love you, Kim. Please believe that.”

“Owen.” Kim reached for him, but he pulled back. Now she was starting to freak out.

“Honey, this wasn’t the way I planned any of this. I don’t know how to explain what brought us together. Maybe it was fate, the planets aligning, I don’t know. I just know you are in my life and I don’t want you to leave, no matter how you got there.”

“You’re rambling. I don’t understand.” Another ping hit her phone. Then another. “Are you going to give that back to me?”

“No. No, what’s on this phone you need to hear from me.”

“You don’t know what she’s saying. They’re upset. Bunny and Marco could have told them anything.”

“I get that. But I know why.” The iPhone was in his lap, only a bit of it visible under his suit jacket.

“It’s because I’m dating again. And it’s . . . serious.”

“I wish that was it.”

“What are you talking about? How can you possibly know? Like how did you know Tom was cheating? I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“I know a lot. More than you think.”

“What’s this all about, Owen?” Her mind was going in too many directions.

“It’s about Afghanistan.”

“I wish we could just forget about it,” she snapped. “Nothing good came from us being there. Nothing.”

“We can’t just forget.” Owen swallowed hard, and he slid his hand into the hair behind her ear while his thumb softly brushed her cheek. He had to touch her. “There’s no easy way for me to tell you this, but I knew Tom.”

“I—excuse me?” There was nothing subtle about an emotional body slam. He could see her entire being felt knocked off-balance. Tears flooded her eyes. “You knew him?”

“I was his commanding officer.”

“I don’t understand. How is it . . .”

“I was only in command of the unit for two weeks before he was killed, but I took care of contacting his family and I . . .” He stopped because what he was going to say next could possibly kill what had started between them. “I knew about you.”

“Me?”

“I went through his personal effects. I saw letters and pictures you’d sent to him. I knew you were stationed at the hospital. I even drove over there at one point to see you. I knew he was cheating.” He was leaving out a big part of this story, but he couldn’t do it, couldn’t tell her, not the way she was reacting.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered. Grief was consuming her and he all he wanted to do was hold her, try to give some comfort. Without warning, Kim released her seat belt and got out of the car. Owen watched as she made her way down the path to the water and stood at the edge of the dock. He didn’t go after her immediately, giving her the space she needed, but then it was too much to let her handle on her own. So he got out of the car to be with her.

Owen’s mind was racing. He knew that on one hand he should have pushed her requests to avoid all talk of the war aside weeks ago and told her immediately that he knew Tom. On the other hand, there’d been something really good about their getting to know each other without the man’s ghost hovering around. For all he knew, if he’d told Kim the truth, she would have slammed the door shut and he’d have had no chance to get in.

No, not being with her wasn’t an option. He’d take his hits for not telling her, then he would fix it. He loved her, and unless he was reading her all wrong, she loved him. That had to count for something.

He caught up with her. She was still at the end of the dock, her arms folded protectively across her middle. She was hurting. Just like the day he met her in Kandahar. The day he held her. He had no idea if she’d let him hold her again, but Owen stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He bent his head close to her ear. “I love you, please believe that.”

“When you met me in Starbucks, you already knew who I was? You read my letters and . . .” She pulled in a great gulp of air, stepped away, and turned. “Has this been fun for you? How much do you know?”

Owen hesitated. “Everything. I knew about Corporal Lynn. I knew you were sent home.”

Kim was crying, quietly now, again, much like the day when Tom died. Owen couldn’t handle watching her stand there, hurting because of him. He needed to hold her, so he gathered her in his arms. She fought him, but barely. “Don’t, shhh. Don’t push me away.”

“I should, though. You lied to me.”

“No. I would have told you sooner, but you wanted to keep the war out of everything. And in some ways, that wasn’t a bad idea.”

“I can’t stay here. I . . . I have to think about this.”

Kim stepped back and again there was distance and a chill settled between them. He couldn’t let her leave without getting her to understand. “Can I tell you what I think?” he said.

She looked at him, her eyes stormy like the ocean. “What?”

“I think your fiancé was one lucky bastard. I don’t think he knew how good he had it and he took you for granted.” Swallowing hard, Owen tugged her hand and she collapsed into him, her face buried in his chest. “And if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not telling you who I was right away, I promise I will never make the same mistakes.”

He cupped her cheek. The softness of her skin was a miracle. When she leaned into his hand, Owen felt like there might be hope. “Don’t end this before it has a chance to begin,” he pleaded. “It’s so good between us, and it could be better.”

“I know. But . . .”

“But nothing.” He slipped two fingers beneath her chin and made her look at him. “I know you’ve been hurt, but promise me you’ll at least think about us before you tell me to get lost.”

She sniffled, then reached out to stroke his cheek. “I don’t want to tell you to get lost.”

“No?”

“No, but I have to get my head around this, so I’m going to need some time.”

“You can have whatever you need.”

She nodded and stepped away, and Owen missed her already. He watched helplessly as she wiped her eyes and pulled herself together.

“Could you take me home?”

“Kim . . .”

“Owen, I need to think. I feel a little manipulated.”

“I’m sorry. That’s never what I wanted. I just wanted to be with you. From the first moment I saw you.”

She nodded and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Take me home, please.”

As bad relationship scenes went, it could have been much worse. She didn’t hate him and that was a big plus, but he died a little when she asked to leave.

“No, stay with me. Let me hold you.”

“I have to go. Please take me home.”

Owen didn’t fight her on it. He’d been such an ass, had done everything wrong. He should have told her when they first met, before there was anything invested in the relationship. Now, he was no better than Tom Albanese. He’d let her down. He’d broken her heart.

***

Owen handed Kim her phone when they got back in the Vanquish. An evening that was supposed to be so romantic, so perfect, had turned into a disaster. He said he loved her, but he hadn’t trusted her with their shared past. He didn’t have any faith in her. And that’s what Owen didn’t seem to get. He thought she was hurt because he’d hidden things from her. But the real problem was he didn’t trust her to know her own mind.

Kim had spent a year fighting against being a victim. Sure, life sucked. She’d been dealt some really bad cards, but she’d taken herself away from everyone who was going to utter “Poor Kim.” That included her family. Part of it was about protecting Tom’s memory. The other part was about protecting her own sanity.

So she took care of a little girl, helped manage a busy household, she read, she kept up on the latest critical care techniques with online courses. She relaxed and traveled, but she was not a victim. With one well-concealed lie, Owen had turned her into a victim. He didn’t even realize it. Sure, he was trying to protect her from the memory, from the hurt, but he didn’t trust her to handle it.

If she couldn’t handle where they’d been, how could she handle where they were going? If there was going to be a future, he had to know she’d be there with him as a partner, not someone who needed to be sheltered. Not someone who needed protecting. Kim knew she loved Owen with all her heart, but right now she couldn’t be with him.

Kim texted Jenna. She texted Joey. She texted Harper. Simple messages. “
Meet me at the cottage. Be there in twenty.”
Each one said she would be there.