Love Survives (Love's Suicide #2)(100)

B peered down at her pants, rubbing her hands on them while smiling. “Where’s mom-mom?”

“She’s downstairs, princess. Let’s find a shirt that matches and we’ll go find her.”

I turned when I heard someone coming in to the room. All of a sudden Kat’s happy demeanor had changed. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

When I turned back to look at our daughter she was attempting to put a bikini top over her head. “Hey, you going swimming already?” Kat asked.

I laughed. “She woke me up asking to jump in the pool. You know me, I give her anything she wants.” Kat knew I was kidding. We’d both agreed that B had to eat before swimming.

“I need to talk to you about something. I’m kind of freaking out, right now.” That was obvious.

I reached over and touched her arm. “What is it?”

Kat sat on the bed explaining how Melissa had left her messages and she’d went on to check them, finding her voicemail completely emptied. She told me that only one other person knew her password, and that’s why she was freaking out. He knew she wasn’t at home, and possibly where we’d gone.

I didn’t want to alarm her anymore than she already was. We’d been in D.C. for almost a week with no calls. After going to jail I assumed he’d learned his lesson. It wasn’t like I’d let him anywhere near my girls.

“What are we going to do if we go home and he’s trashed the inside of the house? I won’t be able to prove it’s him. His fingerprints are all over the place.” Kat began to cry and all I could do was hold her. I didn’t know what to say. If she didn’t calm down, my parents were going to wonder what was going on. Kat didn’t want anyone to know about Bobby, or the fact that she was married to him, and neither did I. We were finally in a good place. I couldn’t have him destroy that for us.

“Kat, he can’t hurt us. He’s there and we’re here. When we leave tomorrow night, we’ll worry about it. If he’s done something, we can figure out what to do when we’re there. Please don’t let him ruin our last day together. Mom and Dad want to see us smiling today, like we don’t have a care in the world. Focus on Branch and Melissa. Talk about their wedding like you’re excited for them. Do whatever it takes to keep your mind off of that *, okay?”

“Asshole.” B giggled, like she knew it was a bad word.

“Daddy’s sorry. Don’t say that. It’s bad!” Oh shit. I should have known. Kat didn’t seem amused.

“Asshole.”

Kat covered her face with both hands. “Oh my God. What else?”

“Asshole.” B giggled.

I couldn’t help but smile at the situation. It was funny hearing a cute little girl saying bad words. Kat scolded me. “Don’t laugh at her. If we make a big deal about it, she’ll keep saying it. Let’s just go downstairs and ignore her.”

I picked her up. “Let’s go eat breakfast. Are you hungry, bug?”

“Asshole, Daddy.”

“For what it’s worth, she learned it from you.” Kat noted while leading us down the steps.

“Yeah. Live and learn.”



As soon as bug saw food she was done using her new potty mouth. My mom greeted her and she all but jumped out of my arms to get to her. I noticed Kat saying something to Melissa, but was too busy making sure B was managed first.



Just like the day before, my family planned to cook out on the grill. Branch and I rode to the grocery store while the girls were cleaning up breakfast, and my dad vacuumed the pool. We got about a block from the house before my brother said anything. “Are you planning on having a birthday party for B? Melissa was talking about maybe traveling to South Carolina.”

Kat and I hadn’t discussed that far. “Her birthday is September 11th. I’m sure Kat’s planning something. It’s the first one I’ll be able to celebrate with them.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t get to see her when she was first born. I feel like an *. Katy really ripped me a new ass last night. I deserved it too. Brooks, I didn’t know this is how our lives would turn out. I would have been a good husband to her. I hope you know that. It wasn’t all a game to me. I loved her too.”

“Kat and I have made a pact that we weren’t going to let the past dictate our future. We’re happy and together. B has her mom and dad in her life. At the end of the day it’s all I care about. Besides, you didn’t make me join the military. I did that on my own. My tour in Afghanistan was part of the job. Even if we were together, I wouldn’t have been there for B’s birth. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, but I know it’s the only time she’ll ever have to be without me. I don’t plan on missing anything else.”

“How come you’re not engaged yet? I’m sure Kat’s itching.”

“She’s fine. Trust me.”

“Whatever. It’s your business anyway. I’ve got my own woman to worry about.”

“So, about the whole sterile thing.” I had to bring it up. It had been bothering me since I found out. “How does Melissa feel about it?”

“We have options. We talked about her being inseminated, or adopting. Right now we’re content I think. Mel’s planning the wedding, so she’s happy she gets to keep her figure. We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”