Page 121 of Kylie

“The cat. Kate feeds her, so she comes around.”

“And what did Travis say when he found you having a panic attack?”

“He reassured me that Kate was safe and that I was safe.”

“How did that make you feel?”

I stared at her, processing the question, then replied with the first thing that came to mind. “Safe.”

“You sound surprised by that.”

“I was. Not so much now, but in that moment, I was. It was right then that I realized Travis was still the same man I trusted with my whole heart. And I realized that he hadn’t changed in the time I was gone. He is still Travis and I am safe with him.”

“That’s a profound revelation. Considering what we’ve discussed up to this point.”

“It is,” I admitted. I sat up straighter. “I decided right then that it was time for me to start movin’ forward and not lookin’ back.”

She smiled, the move crinkling the skin around her eyes. “And how is that going?”

“I know I’ve got a long way to go before I feel like I belong, but I can trust myself again.”

“You didn’t trust yourself before?”

I shook my head. “Not completely.”

“In what way?”

“I think…” I wasn’t sure how to phrase what I was trying to say. “Comin’ home is all I wanted from the moment I woke up in that hospital bed. I wanted to get back to my family. It wasn’t until the end, right before Kieran saved me, that I even considered that things would’ve been different. In my mind, I had imagined a big homecoming, my kids racing to hug me.”

“But that didn’t happen.”

“No. And I’m glad. The homecomin’ part, I mean. I do wish my kids had raced to hug me, but I can look at them now and understand their trepidation. I left them. In their eyes, I mean. They said goodbye and they probably realized everyone was sad at the time. But for me to come back, I’m sure that was very confusin’ for them. Especially since”—I gestured toward my body—“I don’t look anything like I did before.”

“And you’ve accepted this?”

I nodded. “I have. It wasn’t my fault that I was taken. And it wasn’t my fault that Martin kept me chained up away from my family. But it’s my responsibility as much as theirs to put forth the effort to make a home for myself again. I can’t sit back and expect them to upend their lives because suddenly I’m there. I have to find my place in their world again.”

“And you want to do that?”

“More than anything,” I admitted, and realized as I said it how true it was.

Rather than go home after my appointment with Dr. Briggs, I chose to walk over to the park. I wasn’t eager to be alone inside the walls of the house. Then again, these days, being inside wasn’t easy. I hadn’t yet discussed that particular topic with Dr. Briggs because I didn’t need her to psychoanalyze my reasons for wanting fresh air and wide open spaces. The reason was more than obvious.

Speaking of obvious…

Thanks to my chats with Archer, I was now aware of the two people—one man, one woman—who were tasked with keeping an eye on me. They worked for Sniper 1 Security, and their sole responsibility was to keep an eye on me. More specifically, to ensure Martin Calloway or his goons weren’t nearby, waiting to snatch me up. Or worse. While I didn’t like that it was necessary, I felt better knowing they were there. More so because Archer and I had become friends and I trusted his judgment. He’d given me no reason not to. And since he had vouched for them, I was willing to let them keep an eye out. After all, what could it hurt?

I found an empty bench along the path and eased down onto it. As I expected, the park wasn’t busy on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of November. The kids were in school, likely anticipating the upcoming Thanksgiving break. Their parents were probably working. And when they weren’t, they were jotting down all the things that were necessary to ensure the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday went off without a hitch.

Despite my recent revelation and my new outlook, I wasn’t looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. Although I had plenty to be thankful for. And I did mean plenty. I was home, and at the moment, that was more than enough.

“Kylie!”

I turned at the sound of my name, fear trickling into my bloodstream. It was an automatic response, not something I could control. For at least two seconds, my world began to crash in on me, but then it went back to normal, resuming as though nothing had happened. At some later time, I would likely find it amusing that one of the Sniper 1 Security people moved to intercept, quashing my fight-or-flight instinct instantly. But the best part was when they were intercepted by Archer, who was waving them off, his attention darting between them and me. Evidently, he didn’t think my mother was out to hurt me.

I didn’t think so either, but that didn’t mean I was happy to see her.

Shifting my attention, my gaze followed Meredith as she moved toward me at a fast clip, her hair blowing in the cool breeze.