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“How would she get hurt? She’s a grown ass woman. You have zero say anyway, Charlie.” I chuckled. “You know Ma don’t listen to anyone.”

“Yeah,” he huffed. “I suppose she would be better with ma. I still need her statement though.”

“Well then, you need to talk to Ma about that then.” I said with a smirk.

He blew out a big breath, yeah, we both knew how that would go. Trying to tell Ma what needed to happen was like talking to a brick wall. If she didn’t want to do something, you could bet your bottom dollar that she wouldn’t. At least, not until she was good and ready.

“How’s the case going?”

“Busy,” he said, pushing up out of the chair and pulling his cell out of his pocket. “I better go and pay Ma a visit.”

“She’s at the house with Ava,” I called to his back. He waved in acknowledgment and I waited for the warehouse door to shut behind him before leaning back in my seat.

I almost wished I didn’t have to finish this paperwork so I could go and see him get told off like a three-year-old boy. Looking down at all the paperwork I still had to do, I blew out a deep breath and pushed up out of my chair.

It would still be there when I came back, seeing Charlie get his ass handed to him was a far better way to spend my morning.

No matter how old you got, your ma could always put you in your place.

At least, ours could.

The last time I had been up here, I’d swore that Kay would be with me. I’d stuck to that, not even being able to look out at the woods. It was crazy how much these last six months had changed. I’d known from the moment she walked into the office that she was mine, but I’d never knew how much I would fall for her.

How much my life would revolve around her, and a certain four-year-old boy, and how much I loved living my life that way.

Just looking at her now, laying down in the grass and looking up at the sky; I couldn’t believe how much I truly loved her. I had a feeling she felt the same, but telling her while I still had secrets wasn’t what I wanted to do.

We’d had the perfect afternoon, coming up here and having a picnic, just the two of us and not needing to worry a

bout anything and just spending quality time together.

I could go back and forth in my head all day. It was the perfect time to tell her, we were on our own and I could explain it all to her, but at the same time, we were on our own and having such a nice day. I didn’t want to ruin it.

“Just spit it out,” she said, opening her eye a crack and looking up at me.

Lifting up, I sat down and bent my knee, resting my arm on it. Plucking a few blades of grass out of the ground, I fiddled about with them, keeping my hands occupied.

“I know Serena must have said something to you.” My breath came out raggedly and I closed my eyes briefly at the anger that coursed through me at the mention of her name.

She lifted up from her position, sat up crossed legged, and pulled her long skirt over her legs.

“She said something, but I didn’t want to say anything to you about it.” Bringing her eyes to mine, the sadness that she felt, shined through. “I wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me.”

Nodding my head, I took a deep breath, deciding to start from the beginning. The prospect of revealing everything to her, filled me with dread. Would she look at me differently?

“I’ve told you that we were married and that I split with her because she did something unforgivable.”

“Yeah,” I looked away, not able to look at her when I told her. I couldn’t bare for her to see the pain in my eyes, to see how much it broke me to even think about it let alone talk about it.

“She came home one day, the same as she did every other day of the week. Bags of shopping hanging from her newly manicured finger nails.” I felt Kay shuffle forward, her hand slipping into mine. I gripped it, needing something to hold onto, to ground me.

“She thought I didn’t know, she thought she’d be able to get away with it.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “She’d done it without a care in the world, not one drop of emotion.”

“It’s okay, Ty,” she said softly, her hand coming up to cup my face. “Look at me.”

Turning my head slowly, I looked into her beautiful, kind eyes. Eyes that called to me in a way that nothing had ever called to me before.

“She didn’t even say sorry. She took the choice away from me.” I took a deep breath, trying to get my emotions under control. “I should have had a say. It wasn’t just hers.”