The Summer Getaway: A Novel(54)

“You never said,” she whispered. “You never told me.”

“I didn’t know how. I was ashamed. I thought you’d think less of me. After a while, I didn’t know what to say. It didn’t mean anything.”

“You were married. That means something.” She closed her eyes. “You’ve done all these things with someone else. An engagement, a wedding.” The tears ran faster. “None of this is special to you.”

“No! Harlow, don’t. It wasn’t like that. We were both nineteen. We eloped. There was no engagement, no wedding. We got married, and six weeks later, we realized it was a mistake, so we got a divorce. End of story.”

But it wasn’t the end of the story, she thought as he pulled into his parking space. It was just the beginning of a nightmare. Kip had been married before. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around that truth.

“You should have told me.”

“Yes, I should have. I was wrong. I’m more sorry than you can know.”

She thought about how the evening had started, with him admitting to thousands of dollars of debt, and now this. She felt cold and sick and lost. She needed her mom, only her mom was a continent away, in Santa Barbara.

Still crying, she got out of the car and started for their apartment. Kip put his hand on the small of her back. She quickly stepped to the side, away from him.

“Don’t,” she said, her voice thick with pain. “Don’t touch me.”

“I know you’re upset,” he began.

She wiped her face and glared at him. “Upset? I’m not upset. Upset doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. You lied to me. You lied!”

“I didn’t.”

She hurried toward their apartment and fumbled with the key. After letting herself inside, she ran to the bathroom and locked the door. Once she was alone, she pulled out her phone.

She needed to get away from Kip. She needed to figure out what was going on. With her mom gone, the house was empty—appealing under other circumstances, but not these. She didn’t want to be by herself. Enid was living at home for the summer to save money, so that wasn’t an option.

Harlow quickly texted her brother.

Can I sleep on your sofa for a couple of nights?

Three dots appeared right away. Sure. I’ll even loan you a pillow.

Despite her pain, she smiled as she answered. Thanks. See you in a few.

She walked out of the bathroom and found Kip waiting for her in the hall.

“I didn’t lie,” he repeated.

She moved past him. “Don’t go there. You lied by omission.”

That was what got her. He knew how she felt, but he’d done it anyway.

Once in the bedroom, she pulled an overnight bag out from under the bed and opened it.

Kip swore. “You’re leaving?”

“I can’t think around you.”

“We have to talk.”

She looked at him, grateful for the bit of mad welling up inside of her. Anger was strength. Anger was safe. At least if she was pissed, she wouldn’t feel stupid and small and broken.

“You’re right, we do need to talk, but not tonight.” She wiped away her tears and glared at him. “You’ve had nearly a year to talk, Kip. You’ve had months and months to tell me about being married before and your credit card debt and who knows what else. So you know what? I get a break here. I get a little time to find my way through all this crap, and you just have to deal with that.”

Frustration twisted his expression. “You can’t run off at the first sign of trouble.”

“A year,” she repeated. “You said nothing. Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. When it’s been a year for me, then you can judge.”

“Harlow, please.”

She returned to the bathroom and collected her cosmetics. After tossing them in the suitcase, she grabbed a stack of T-shirts from the dresser, then heard the front door open and close.

She dropped the T-shirts and ran into the living room. Kip was gone. He’d left. He’d done this to her, to them, and he’d walked out first. Like he wasn’t wrong.

The shock of his leaving knocked the air from her lungs. She sank down on the floor and gave in to sobs that shook her body. She cried as if her heart was broken—probably because it was. She was still crying when she heard the front door open, footsteps, then strong arms pulled her into a warm hug.

Only it wasn’t Kip. Instead her brother held her tight.

She clung to him, the only solid point in a rapidly spinning world.

“He left,” she managed, her voice shaking. “We had a fight and he walked out.”

“I got worried when you didn’t show up, so I came to check on you. I’m glad I did. What do you want to do?”

She looked at her brother. “I want to come stay with you.”

“Let’s go.”



* * *



“Hello?”

“Robyn. Glad I caught you.”

It took her brain a second to process the familiar voice. Recognition was followed by a sense of dread.

“Jase?” She swore silently, reminding herself to check who was calling before answering.

“I wasn’t sure you’d pick up.”

She wouldn’t have if she’d known it was him. “Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, telling herself it was a question and therefore not a lie.