Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
She was relieved she had kept her head downcast. She didn’t want them to see the tears she was holding back.
“When they told me my child”—her voice cracked, but she continued, hoping they hadn’t noticed—“was gone, I didn’t want to believe it … that I was never going to be able to hold her. I wanted to hold my baby before they took her, but Curt insisted they get it out of the room. Then he went off on me about being a failure, that I couldn’t do anything right, that if I was too stupid to hold down a job, how did I think I was going to be a good mother? He told me he wanted a divorce, that I was a failure as a wife and a mother.”
Curt had said more cruel things to her, which Megan didn’t repeat to the men.
“After he left, I don’t know what happened. I just kind of zoned out. I lost my child and my husband on the same day. I couldn’t lose both of them. I went to go after Curt, and I walked into the nursey. I don’t know why I thought my baby would be in there … Then I saw the incubator … and the baby inside … The last name … it was Mrs. James’ and your child. I was so jealous … She had it all—a job, a husband, and a child.”
Feeling the warm wetness on her hands, she unclenched them in her pockets.
“I don’t know how it got twisted in my head that Mrs. James’ baby was mine … Everyone was there for her. I had no one. When my nurse called my parents to tell them I was in the hospital, they hung up on her … I could have died, and neither Curt nor my parents would have cared enough to claim my body.” Megan bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.
“I’m sickened at myself for my behavior. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t see you trying to get in the door … or see myself taking your baby out of the incubator …” Clearing her throat, Megan forced herself to go on.
“Like I said, I don’t expect forgiveness from either you or your wife. I came here because both of you deserve to hear I’m moving back to Treepoint. I’m going to stay at the hotel until I can find an apartment. I didn’t want to suddenly show up and her seeing me without warning. I called the school to make sure she was there before coming here. I’ll make sure I’ll stay out of both your ways. You also have no need to fear. I will never go near your daughter. I completely understand if your hatred of me makes it untenable that I live here in Treepoint.”
She pulled her hand out of her pocket, holding a slip of paper, and laid it on the desk in front of Viper. “Curt had a life insurance policy, but I don’t want a dime of it. I want you to put it in a trust for your daughter. If you don’t want her to have it, give it to charity or rip up the cheque. It’s your decision.” Megan rose from the chair to meet Viper’s gaze directly for the first time. “When I find a place to rent, I’ll call Shade here at the factory to give him the address and what job I find.”
She steadily walked toward the door and reached for the doorknob.
“I’m aware I treated everyone in this town abysmally, and I’m truly embarrassed. But could you do me a favor and tell Mrs. James I got my GED? She is a good person, and she may hate me, but when I dropped out, she was worried I wouldn’t. Tell her I did it for her. School was a nightmare for me. I only finished because I knew Mrs. James took it as a personal failure that I quit. I can’t rewind how I acted when I lost my child, but that, I could fix. Mrs. James never failed me. I failed myself.”
Two
Neither Viper nor Shade attempted to stop her.
Megan maintained her poise until she was back inside her car. Tears were already sliding down her cheeks as she pulled onto the road leading away from The Last Riders’ compound. Blinking her eyes so she could see the road, she noticed a vehicle sitting off to the side. She thought someone had broken down and had left, but a flash of movement caught her eye.
She slowed the car on the slope of the mountain and saw a man staring up at a tree. Looking in the direction he was, Megan found a huge orange cat clutching the tree trunk. She pulled off the road behind the SUV and got out.