Colters' Lady (Colters' Legacy #2)(74)

“Charles was so angry. He couldn’t forgive me for what I’d done. I couldn’t forgive myself. I went through the motions of her funeral. I dressed her myself. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else touching her. I put her favorite blanket with her and her little stuffed bear that I’d brought home from the hospital.

“I remember watching, so detached as they lowered her tiny casket into the grave. Charles was so furious. He couldn’t even look at me. When we drove home, he tossed divorce papers at me and told me to sign. He wouldn’t stay married to a woman who took so little care of her child.

“I signed them and I walked out. I kept walking. I didn’t know where. It didn’t matter. Everything that mattered to me in my life was gone.”

“Sweet Mother of God,” Seth swore.

“That son of a bitch,” Dillon bit out. “That goddamn worthless son of a bitch.”

She jumped at the vehemence in his voice and huddled further into the blankets.

Michael was tightlipped. There was so much fury in his eyes that Lily had to look away. Anger vibrated from them in waves.

“Lily,” Seth began. He had to break off and look away for a moment while he visibly collected himself. “Lily, honey, it wasn’t your fault. God almighty, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I was responsible for her,” Lily whispered. “If I hadn’t gone to sleep. If I had been watching her. Crib death, they called it. But if I’d been there, I might have prevented it. I slept while my daughter died.”

The last ended in a keening wail as grief swelled up in her throat and burst outward in an agonizing wave. Tears poured over her cheeks.

Seth yanked her into his arms and rocked her back and forth, holding her so tightly that she couldn’t breathe around her sobs and his grasp.

“It wasn’t your fault, baby. It wasn’t your fault.”

He rocked her until her sobs were spent. She lay limply against him, all her strength gone. Slowly and carefully he leaned her back against the couch and Dillon wrapped his arm around her.

Dillon nudged her chin until she was forced to look at him. There was terrible grief in his eyes—and anger. “Lily, listen to me and listen good. That son of bitch ex-husband of yours is a worthless piece of shit. He should have helped you. He should have been taking care of his daughter just as much if not more than you in those early days when you were so exhausted and beaten down. There is no excuse for him to have abdicated his responsibility. I don’t give a goddamn if he was president of the f**king world. His first and only responsibility was to you and to his child. Full stop. No excuses.

“And furthermore that the son of a bitch actually had the balls to blame you—to blame you—for Rose’s death just proves what a worthless piece of crap he is. Baby, you were at your breaking point. You took a nap. I don’t know of a mom alive who hasn’t slept while their baby naps. I can remember my mother laying down when Callie went down for her naps. She didn’t stand guard over Callie’s crib watching her every breath. You can’t do that. You aren’t a machine. You should have had help. Your husband damn well should have supported you. He’s a f**king coward and it was his guilt that made him lash out at you. He blamed you because he knew what a f**k-up he was.”

“I just wanted to rest. Just for a little while. Oh God, Dillon, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was so tired. Why did she have to die? Why?”

Tears seeped into Dillon’s shirt as he hugged her to him.

“I don’t know, baby. I wish I had the answers. What I do know is that it wasn’t your fault. You weren’t to blame. Sometimes babies die and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Even if you had been standing by her crib, she would have died. Crib death is a silent killer. There’s no explanation. It just happens.”

She closed her eyes against his chest, wanting his comfort even though she felt unworthy of it.

“So you were on the streets? All that time?” Michael asked, his tone tight with anger. “The son of a bitch never looked for you? Never made sure you were provided for?”

“I just wanted to be away from the pain,” she said in a quiet voice. “I’m the coward. It was the only way I could turn it off. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to live. So I existed. Day to day. On the streets where nothing matters. No one cares who you are. They don’t care what your sins are or what your past is. You’re just another nameless, faceless person that nobody ever sees.”

“Oh God no, baby,” Michael whispered as he pulled her from Dillon’s embrace into his own. “You’re not a coward. You’re one of the bravest goddamn people I know. How you survived is a miracle, but I’m so damn grateful because it brought you to me—to us. And we’re not letting go of you, Lily. I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking right now, but we’re not letting you go. We’re going to be right here. With you. Always. We’ll work through this. You’ll always have us to take care of you. You’ll always have us to depend on.”

“Always,” Seth quietly confirmed.

She stirred and raised her head, taking in each of their expressions. Their eyes burned with purpose and intensity.

“You want me?” she asked in a creaky, incredulous voice. “After what I’ve told you, you want me?”