Page 53 of SEAL of Valor

Reese comes around the counter, keeping a hand on the edge to steady herself as she moves, stopping with only a few feet of distance between us. “I was weak, and instead of facing you directly, I ran. So, I’m sorry, Weston. You needed me, and I wasn’t there.”

You needed me, too. It just took you leaving for me to figure it out. “It’s in the past.”

“For me, it’s not.” She takes a deep breath. “Every year, I’m reminded of what we lost.” She presses a hand to her stomach, and I have to take a step back. I’d been so excited to be a dad. Which surprised me because I had such a terrible one growing up.

But I truly believed I’d be better.

That I’d be the father Violet and I should have had.

And then that was taken from me, too.

“Reese, I can’t do this. You need to move on? Then fine. I’m sorry, too. I was so wrapped up in losing my sister that I wasn’t there when you needed me. It was another hit, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get back up. By the time I surfaced, you were gone.” Saying it out loud somehow feels like another blow.

Reese nods, then wipes tears from her cheeks. “I realized that what I did was wrong. No matter what, I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t. You were my husband.”

“Yeah, well, it all turned out fine,” I snap. “I need sleep, and so do you. I’ll take the couch; you can have my room.”

“I wasn’t fine,” she says.

I close my eyes, fighting with everything left in me to keep from completely losing my head. My jaw locks so hard it aches, but I can’t let her see. She can’t know how bad it was. How lost I felt. How badly I wanted to join Violet in that dirt. Because giving her that power to wield over me again is a mistake I don’t intend to make.

No matter how badly I want to.

“You’re fine now, and you’ve said what you wanted to say, so let’s move on and put it behind us.”

“Weston—”

“I’m tired, Reese. You’re injured. It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep.”

She wraps an arm around herself and nods, silent tears slipping down her cheeks.

“I can help you⁠—”

“No, thanks. I can do it. Goodnight.” She starts down the hall, keeping one hand on the wall to brace herself. All while our two mugs sit on the countertop, the steam curling into the silence.

Chapter 15

Reese

The sun is shining brightly overhead, a light breeze toying with the ends of my hair. Looking outside now, you’d never know a nasty storm blew through this place two days ago.

My mom is in town, having lunch with a friend, while I continue searching job listings on my laptop. A trip to urgent care—at my mother’s request—confirmed that my hip wasn’t fractured, but it still aches whenever I move around too much. Taking it easy has been torture, though, because it has given Weston the chance to completely avoid me and removed my ability to accidentally-on-purpose run into him.

Reaching over, I brush a hand over Aragorn, who is lying on the patio couch beside me. All while I wait for a slight glimpse of Weston. It’s pathetic, really, remnants of being a teenage girl desperate for his attention. But I genuinely can’t help it.

That stormy night has been playing on repeat in my mind ever since.

We haven’t spoken since he dropped me off at the house yesterday morning. I heard my mom on the phone with him yesterday afternoon, but aside from that, we’ve had no contact.

And I hate it.

I close my eyes, tipping my face up to bask in the sunshine as I run through the conversation for what is probably the millionth time.

“What happened to all of your mirrors? I noticed the one over the fireplace is gone, too.”

“I didn’t see the point in keeping them.”

“In keeping mirrors?”