CHAPTER SEVEN
KYLA
Cohen must have the wrong idea about where my story is going because he looks pissed. I stop those thoughts.
“He isn’t physically abusive toward either of us.
He was unfaithful to me on several occasions that I know of, and when we argue—” I stop talking and hurtle a rock across the surface of the pond.
The sun glints off the water as it ripples.
I focus on that and try to calm myself down.
I just need a moment to gather my thoughts.
I was an idiot to have stayed for so long. These strangers in this small town have shown me more kindness and concern than my ex ever did, and that is just sad as hell. It’s even sadder that I kept putting up with it.
I inhale a fortifying breath that is filled with regrets before I continue.
“Our arguments are very unhealthy. We say ugly things, and I don’t want Laney growing up in a house like that. I don’t want her to think it’s okay because it isn’t.”
I fling another rock, feeling Cohen’s eyes on me.
I continue. The flood gate is open now.
“He’s very controlling. Over the last few years, he started to isolate us from everyone, and I just took it. I don’t have any family left to lean on, plus he is Laney’s dad. His family is her only family. Both of my parents are gone.”
My chest actually hurts. I never could imagine being alone, not having my parents there for everything.
But once they passed away, all I had left was Laney and her father, John.
I see now that I stayed because I was afraid to be alone and I didn’t want to take Laney away from family.
My fear has kept us hostage. I still may end up alone since I took Laney and ran.
I don’t know if Cohen can understand where I am coming from. He has so much family around. I hope he appreciates them, but I think he is the kind of man that does.
I wipe a tear from my eyes and continue. “We had a bad fight the night before I left. He said all the things that he usually says to me. I’m used to it, as bad as that is to admit, but this time Laney woke up.”
Just recalling that night makes my heart ache.
“She heard us arguing. I was crying, and she came to protect me. I told John just to leave me alone, but before I could get Laney back to her room, he screamed at her.”
Cohen stands with his arms crossed over his chest, a muscle feathering his jaw and his attention one hundred percent focused on me.
I toss a rock and watch it sink. Fitting.
“He was shouting, telling Laney what a bitch her mom is and how our arguments are my fault. He told our child that if she didn’t watch herself, she’d grow up to be a bitch just like me.”
My fists are balling up before I even realize it. I should have left a long time ago.
“Where is he?”
I swipe more tears, and when I face Cohen, he is practically vibrating with anger.
“He went to work the next day, and I packed up as much of our things as I could haul. I took Laney and left in my grandmother's old truck because I thought he might be able to track the car that he bought me.”
I pick up another rock just to have something to occupy myself as I pour my heart out to a stranger. I gaze at Laney. She’s so happy. What will I ever do if he gets custody of her?
“I’ll never win a custody battle in the small town that we live in.” I correct myself. “Lived in. His family practically owns the town. They have more money and lawyers than I could ever fight. I just kidnapped our daughter. I’m not doing myself any favors.”
I’m unloading it all. I fully expect Cohen to run as far and as fast as he can.
“John and I haven’t even slept in the same bed in over a year. We are roommates, not partners.”
There. I told him most of it. After everything Cohen and his family are doing for us, it's the least I can do.
“I’ve never wanted to hunt down another human being so much in my life.”
I glance over my shoulder at him. “What?” I ask, certain that I didn’t hear him correctly. Before I can clarify, Laney bounds over to me.
“Mommy, can Corbin and Calhoun take me for a ride in the side by side?”
I smooth Laney’s hair down, happy for the distraction. “Did they ask you or did you invite yourself?”
“They asked, honest.”
“I guess that will be all right. Cohen, do you mind giving me a ride back to the house?”
He beams at Laney and then at me, and that smile makes me feel better. At least my crazy situation didn’t run him off just yet.
“I’d be happy to. How about we meet back at Granny’s and get some pizza delivered?”
Laney cheers and talks excitedly to Corbin and Calhoun about taking her to pet cows next, while Cohen and I get her buckled into the front seat of the enclosed four-seater side by side.
Cohen and I wave as they drive off. Then it’s just the two of us and the mess that is my life that I just dropped on his shoulders. We start walking toward where his truck is parked.
“Thank you for listening. I feel a little better, and I realize running away was a foolish idea. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I feel like I need to let him know.
“I’m here any time you need me,” Cohen says as he opens the passenger side door for me. I hesitate just for a moment.
“Cohen, I don’t want to put you in the middle of—” Before I can finish, he reaches out and grasps a strand of my hair and tucks it behind my ear.
“Seriously, Kyla, just ask.” His eyes blaze with sincerity and something else that I can't describe.
I look at his soft lips, not for the first time today, and wonder what it would be like to kiss him. What would it feel like to be wanted by someone?
What would it be like to be wanted by Cohen Roman?
My decision is made. He smiles as if he too has decided, and he leans into my space, slowly enough that I could pull away or tell him to stop.
I do neither.
My lips meet his, my eyes close, and it feels so good to be wanted. My heart pounds in my chest. I’m dizzy. I grab his shirt, anchoring myself to him and this moment. I forgot how good it feels to be touched by a man. Not just any man, though—this man.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs against my lips between kisses.
Never. The thought fades in and out of my mind.
It’s nice that he doesn’t want to take advantage of me. I may not know much about him, but he is polite and honorable. He’s been kinder to me in a handful of days than John ever was.
I don’t tell him to stop. I deepen the kiss and, in that moment, I know I'm not a woman in need of rescue. I’m a woman that wants a life of her choosing, and Cohen may just be the man to give me the time and the space that I need to figure out who I am now.
Who I will become. Because that is what this is. It’s a reclaiming of Kyla Webster, the person.
But for now, I’m sadly not a woman to ravage in a field. I’m a mom that has a daughter that is about to beat us back to the house.