Broken(51)

“Oh my God is right. After the attack, Jocelyn was beside herself. She quit her internship and stayed with her friend until her funds ran low. After that she took a job as a waitress to make ends meet. It was only by chance she ran into someone from her old job who put her in contact with a designer who was looking for an assistant. Everything she told you was a lie, because she knew you’d probably stand by her side.”

“Of course I would have. Something this terrible happens and she decides to keep it from me!”

“Cade, there’s more.”

“What could be worse than that?”

“Those guys…they hurt her pretty bad, so badly in fact, her womb was damaged. She may not be able to have children. So you see, in her mind, if you would have accepted her no matter what, Jocelyn felt you would eventually come to hate her for not being able to provide you with what you wanted. A family. You guys used to talk about it, she told me.”

“Yeah, but hell, kids don’t matter to me if I can’t have her. How could she have thought something so insignificant would be more important than she and I being together?”

“She thought she was doing the right thing by letting you go and Jocelyn believed the best way to do that was to make you hate her. At least then you’d be able to move on and find someone else.”

Cade snorted. “As if that tactic worked. As much as I tried to fight it these past couple weeks I’m still crazy about her. I was kidding myself all these years when I told myself I wasn’t.” He wanted to hit something. Kill someone, anything to release this rage boiling through his veins.

“Cade, it’s not about you. Imagine what Jocelyn was going through. Whether she made the right decision by not telling you isn’t up for debate. This is her story to tell, but I thought you should know.”

“Why did you tell me?”

“Jocelyn told me the significance of the song last night. You wouldn’t dance with your date when it came on. It showed me you still cared, or at least, I hoped it did.”

“Thank you for telling me. Where is she now?”

“She’s at her dad’s house working on Miss Lavern’s wedding dress.”

“Thanks again, Kyla.” He started to walk away and then stopped. “Umm.” He scratched his head, turning to face Kyla. “I’m sorry for the things I’ve said about you. I have the tendency of jumping to conclusions sometimes.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. Go to her, and tell her I’m really sorry.”

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

“I sure hope so.”

How was he going to put right all the pain he must have caused her over the past several days? And how could he convince her she was the only woman he’d ever love and nothing else mattered. Cade knew it would be an uphill battle but he was a determined man who wouldn’t rest until Jocelyn was his again.







“Sweetie, you have a visitor.” Lavern walked into the spare bedroom where Jocelyn had set up a makeshift workstation.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Cade. He’s waiting in the living room for you. I’m going to run into town to get a few groceries. Do you need anything, dear?”

Jocelyn could only manage to shake her head, wondering what Cade could want. Why was he here? She shut off her sewing machine and walked over to the full length mirror. What a mess. Her hair hung in loose tendrils around her head, escaping the rubber band she’d used to hold it together. She was wearing her oldest pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a hole in the bottom. Should she change or at least make herself look presentable? No. Why bother? No matter what she wore, he’d probably still hate her. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and walked to the living room.