The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) (16 page)

“I know.”

“He was going to steal my
girl,” he adds, pressing a soft kiss on my lips.”

“You’re delusional, Air.”

“I don’t worry about that
anymore. If it was some random guy dancing with you or kissing your cheek, I’d
have a problem with it. It doesn’t bother me when it’s Joseph for some reason.”
He frowns, his brow furrowed.

“Joseph has become part of the
family, and we all love each other. That’s why you aren’t jealous. You trust
him.”

“And you.”

“I could be jealous of Joseph,
you know. He could fall for you. It’s not hard to do,” I tease with a grin.

“It’s strictly women for me.”

“Women?”

“One woman,” he corrects.

“I’m head over heels in love
with you,” I confess as I kiss him. “But I’ve got to make breakfast before the
kids starve to death.”

“After lunch.” He swats my ass
and grins.

“You’re insatiable.”

“You know you like it.”

Sara is making pancakes, and
Walker’s at the table, already eating.

“I hope you don’t mind. He was
hungry,” she apologizes.

“Mind? Be careful or I’ll
adopt you.”

She smiles and her pale cheeks
flush. “I love it here. It feels so...normal.”

“We love having you here.” I’m
thinking again there’s no reason she has to live with Mandy when the house is
done.

With the kids occupied, I
sneak off after lunch to meet Airen. It’s threatening to rain. Thunder rolls
across the sky, and I move a little faster so I don’t get caught in the storm.
I can hear voices as I get close to the trailer. Our “summer home” was kind of
a joke when we first started using it, but it’s become a special place. Our
place.

I peek in the window as I’m
approaching, and freeze, watching Mandy, who has her hand on Airen’s bare
shoulder. She pulls off her shirt and exposes her breasts, smiling from ear to
ear. He stares for a moment before noticing me at the window.

“Oh fuck! Abby!” he cries.

I don’t know what to do. How
could he? In our place? With her! My first impulse is to beat the shit out of
her. I know I can. I’m a good fighter, and I can break this skinny bitch in
half, but the pain in my chest is overwhelming. I can’t look at Airen anymore.
I run.

“Abby! Wait!” he calls, the
crunch of his footsteps growing louder. It took him a bit to catch up.
He
had to get dressed
, my inner voice snarks,
can’t run with his pants
around his ankles, can he?
I dart through the door between the porch and
our room and lock it before locking the other door to the hall. I can’t deal
with anyone right now. All I can see is her hand on him, his eyes on her chest.

I’m so stupid! I knew from the
beginning, from the moment he kissed me, this was inevitable. Someone else.
Someone who isn’t ugly, and I’ve promised to let him go. Why am I so shocked,
so caught off guard? I trusted him, that’s why. Deep down, I really didn’t
think he would cheat and especially not with that nasty bitch. Jayla was right
about her.

“Abby, please! I didn’t do
anything with her! You know I wouldn’t! She just showed up! Abby! Open the damn
door!” he yells.

“Just stop it! Leave me the
fuck alone, Airen! I gave you an out. You didn’t have to do it this way. I
should’ve known. I’m so stupid. All those days alone at the house with her, the
first night in Evansville. I’ll bet she gave it right up.”

“Goddamn it, Abby, that’s not
fair!” he rages. “I’ve never given you any reason to believe I’d cheat on you!”

Until now. You were good. You
hid it well. I never let myself believe you could love me, but I still didn’t
expect this.

“Airen, please, just leave me
alone,” I moan and I hear him curse under his breath as he stalks off. I spend
the rest of the day hiding in my room. I can’t face anyone. I’ve cried until I
can’t cry anymore, and I know I have to get a grip. I’ve been through this
before, but not with someone like Airen. I love him. I’m so deeply in love with
him. How am I going to let go? I can’t make him leave when the kids need him,
but I can’t watch him with her. I can’t think about this anymore.

Stripping down to my panties,
I crawl into bed. There is no way I can sleep. Maybe if I do, I won’t wake up,
I think morosely, as exhaustion pulls me down into sweet nothingness.

“Abby, are you okay?” Joseph
asks, tapping on the door.

I slept late, and I wonder who
fed the kids. Well, there are three other adults in this house. I’m sure they
can manage.

“I’m awake.”

“Open up, honey.”

“Please, just take care of the
kids for me, Joseph.”

“Walker and Jayla are outside,
and Airen took Carson and Sara fishing.”

“Did Mandy go with them?” I
ask miserably.

“Of course not, Abby. Airen
wouldn’t let her in the house last night. I believe she’s officially living
next door.”

“Really?” I’d been picturing
them curled up on the couch together.

“Yes, will you let me in and
quit making me talk to you through this door?” he huffs. I sigh and throw on
some clothes before unlocking the door. I know I’m a mess. My hair needs
brushed, my face is streaked with tear tracks, and the circles under my eyes
are darker than usual.

“Oh, honey,” Joseph croons and
pulls me into a warm hug which makes me cry again. Christ, I can’t keep doing
this. I never used to cry. He hands me a glass of juice and sits down beside
me. “Airen told me what happened.”

“How long, Joseph? How long
has he been sleeping with her?” I ask dully.

“Abby! He’s not! He’s never
been with her,” he replies emphatically, shaking his head. “He’s upset that you
believe he would cheat on you.”

“They were in our summer home.
She had her shirt off and her hands on him.” I hate how weak and shaky my voice
sounds.

“He should be the one to
explain what happened, but since you’re both too stubborn to talk to each
other, I’ll tell you what he told me. He was waiting on you, and he got there
early because it was going to rain. She showed up and um...propositioned him.
She knew you were going to be there, Abby, and she wanted you to see. You know
how she is. He told her to leave, and she pulled her shirt off. That’s when you
saw them, isn’t it?”

“I saw her take her shirt
off.”

“This is what she wanted, to
cause trouble between you, and make you think he was sleeping with her.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Did Airen know you were
coming?”

“It was his idea,” I admit.

“Do you think he wanted you to
see him with her?”

“No.” The shock and anger on
his face looked real. I try to squash my inner voice reminding me he’s an actor,
and maybe this is his way of getting rid of me.

“Why would he cheat on you,
knowing you would catch him?” Damn it, he’s sounding reasonable. “Abby, he
wouldn’t,” he insists.

“It just looked...” I trail
off.

“I know. He knows how it
looked. I think he’s more upset that you wouldn’t talk to him, give him a
chance to explain. You just assumed the worst,” he scolds. I bite my lip. “He’s
hurt, Abby, and so are you. I know the world would stop spinning if either of
you admitted it,” he says dryly.

“I love him,” I whisper,
laying my head on Joseph’s shoulder.

He wraps his arm around me and
sighs. “And he loves you. Now grow up and go talk to him.”

“He’s out fishing.”

“Nah, I lied. He’s sitting on
the steps, moping.”

“Joseph!”

“You wouldn’t have let me in.”
He grins at me, displaying his adorable dimples.

“Bastard.”

“Brat.”

“Thank you.” I hug him.

“Anytime, honey.”

I brush my teeth and wash my
face before I go to him. He’s sitting on the front steps, watching me
cautiously as I approach.

“Will you take a walk with
me?” I ask. He nods and we head toward the lake.

“I take it you’re done giving
me the silent treatment,” he mumbles.

“Yes.”

“Good. It’s infuriating.”

“Remember that. I learned it
from you.”

He smirks. “Fair enough.”

“Joseph told me what
happened.”

“Joseph is right about one
thing. We have to learn to communicate with each other. We shouldn’t need him
as a go-between.”

“No time like the present,” I
murmur.

“I never touched her.”

“I know.”

“You wouldn’t listen to me.” His
hands run through his hair in frustration.

“I’m sorry. The sight of her with
you…I was so...hurt,” I confess, staring at my feet.

His face softens, and he
slides his arm around my waist as we walk. “Me too, sweetheart. I’m frustrated.
I don’t know how to make you understand how much I love you.”

I stare at the ground, feeling
guilty. “It’s not anything you do or don’t do, Airen. You’re perfect. You’re so
sweet to me, and no one has ever treated me like you do.” My throat is
threatening to close, and I swallow hard.

He stops and faces me, grips
my face with both hands, and raises my head until I look him in the eye. “Then
tell me what it is. Why can’t you accept that I love you?” he asks.

The desperation in his voice
makes my heart ache. This isn’t about him. My issues are fucking up our
relationship. I have to be honest, or I’m going to lose him.

“Because no one has ever loved
me,” I whisper. “No one except my son, and he never really had a choice. So,
someone as wonderful as you? I have a better chance of being struck by
lightning.”

Sighing, he hugs me tight.
“Let’s sit down.” He motions to a picnic table overlooking the lake. “Have you
ever thought that you could be wrong? You doubt I love you, and I’m sure other
people have as well. You just didn’t believe it.”

I shake my head. “There’s a
lot you don’t know, Air.”

“So tell me.”

His eyes soften, and he runs
his hand down my cheek. I sigh and look out over the lake where the sun is
throwing sparkles on the water. It’s so clear and calm. I don’t know where to
start. He seems to understand.

“Your parents?” he asks. “You
don’t think they loved you?”

“My dad was a drug dealer.
Meth. He and my uncle had a lab, and that’s all he cared about. My brother and
I used to visit on weekends until I was thirteen.”

“Why did you stop?”

“He had a friend, or a
customer, I don’t know which, who kept hitting on me and making nasty comments.
I was still pretty innocent then.”

“Of course you were.” He’s
getting the look in his eyes he gets when he’s angry. They’re like coals
waiting to be lit.

“I tried to tell my father,
but he thought it was funny. He and my uncle joked about the guy ‘breaking me
in’. He told me not to be so dramatic.”

“He didn’t even confront the
man?”

“He gave him a house key.”
Airen sighs hard, blowing air through his lips, and shaking his head. “I didn’t
feel safe there, so I quit going. I saw my dad off and on after that, but
usually just to visit my brother. He ended up living with him when my mom put
us out. I think he loved my brother, maybe because Brandon was always more like
him. He ended up into drugs too and spent some time in prison.”

“What about your mom?”

“She hated us both,” I reply,
my voice flat. “I come from a fucked up family, and I didn’t want you to know
all of this, Airen.” I look away from him, trying to hide my face.

“Abby,” he says softly,
pouring so much love into those two syllables. “No one can help who or what
they’re born into. I’d never think differently about you because of that.” He
pulls me into him, and I press my face against his chest.

“I have their blood,” I
whisper.

“You have your mind and your
heart, my sweet girl. Blood doesn’t matter.”

“She hated us, and I never
understood why.”

“What makes you think she
hated you?”

“She told us.” I laugh
bitterly. “She used to compare me to a neighborhood slut she despised.”

“How old were you?”

“Nine or ten, I suppose. I
don’t know exactly. She never missed a chance to let us know what worthless
little pieces of shit we were. None of this matters now, Airen. What difference
does it make? Everyone is dead.”

“It affects you, Abby. It
matters a lot, especially when it keeps you from recognizing love when you have
it.” My eyes close as he kisses my forehead.

“You sound like my therapist,”
I say, rolling my eyes.

“You went to therapy?” He
stares at me intently.

Shit. Why did I say that? “I’m
not crazy.”