When she was gone, I hurried over to Talon and lifted her in my arms. How could she not be my world?
She was mine, and I was hers.
I was hers, and she was mine.
She’d saved me.
She’d given me something worth living for, and now Jane had come back to try to rip that away from me.
“Can you watch her?” I asked Lucy, feeling the world crashing against me. She walked over and took her from my hold. Lucy’s hand landed on my arm and I pulled away slightly.
“Talk to me,” she said.
I shook my head and walked away, not speaking a word. I went to my office, closed the door behind me, and sat staring at the blinking cursor on my computer screen.
I hated him. I hated how he controlled me. I hated that even after death, he had still somehow destroyed my life.
Thanksgiving
“You must be the woman who’s inspiring my son’s writing,” Kent said, walking into Graham’s home seconds before he was about to leave with Jane to go introduce her to Professor Oliver for the first time.
“What are you doing here?” Graham asked his father, coldness in his voice, harshness in his stare.
“It’s Thanksgiving, son. I was hoping we could catch up. I saw your last book hit number one, and we haven’t celebrated the success of it yet.” Kent smiled over at Jane, who was staring his way with wide eyes, as if it were a legend standing before her instead of a monster. “He takes after his father.”
“I’m nothing like you,” Graham barked.
Kent snickered. “No, you’re a bit grumpier.”
Jane giggled, and the sound drove Graham insane. He despised how everyone laughed when they were around Kent.
“We’re leaving for a dinner,” Graham told Kent, wanting nothing more than for him to leave.
“Then I’ll be quick. Listen, my publicist was wondering if you’d do an interview for ABC News with me. He thinks it will be great for both of our careers.”
“I don’t do interviews, especially with you.”
Kent bit his lip and his mouth slightly twitched. It was a warning sign that he was growing upset, but over the years, he’d learned how to control it around strangers. Graham, however, knew the look well, and he knew the anger that simmered under his father’s surface.
“Just think about it,” he said, a bit of bark in his tone that Jane missed. Kent turned to her and gave her the smile that made all people fall for him. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Jane, and I have to say I am your biggest fan,” she gushed.
Kent smiled wider. “Bigger fan than you are of my son?”
Graham grimaced. “We’re leaving.”
“Okay, okay. Just email me if you change your mind, and, Jane,” Kent said, taking her hand and kissing it. “It was a pleasure to meet such a beauty. My son is a lucky man.”
Jane’s cheeks reddened and she thanked him for his kind words.
As he turned to leave, he allowed his eyes to dance across Jane’s figure one last time before he spoke to Graham. “I know we’ve had some tough times, Graham. I know things haven’t always been easy for us, but I want to fix that. I think this interview is a step in that direction. Hopefully soon you’ll let me back into your life. Happy Thanksgiving, son.”
Kent drove off, leaving Graham and Jane standing on the porch. Jane shifted her feet around. “He seems lovely,” she commented.
Graham lowered his brows and stuffed his hands into his slacks, walking toward his car. “You do not know anything about the monster you speak of. You’re merely falling into his trap.”
She hurried behind him, trying to keep up in her high heels. “But still,” she argued. “He was kind.”