Chapter Seven
King was at his desk when his secretary beeped him. “Sir, there’s a Kelvin Jones here, and he wants to see you. He’s very agitated. Would you like me to call security?”
It took him a second to remember where he’d heard that name. “No, send him in.”
A moment later, the door opened abruptly, and a young man walked in.
“Hello. You’re Cat’s cousin?”
“Yes.” He stood in front of King’s desk, practically vibrating with anger.
“Tell me why you’re here.”
“I want you to stay the hell away from Cat.”
King shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“Just leave them alone. I haven’t seen her this upset since you … since before.”
“I don’t mean to upset her.”
“What do you think is going to happen when you threaten to take away a woman’s child?” Kelvin yelled.
King sat up. “What? I’ve never said that. I never would.”
“Did you not say you were going to take her to court?” Kelvin asked.
“Fuck, yes, but I’d never do it. I just wanted to hold my son.”
“You gave up the right to call him that.”
“It was a mistake. I’ve fucked up so many times, and I’m just trying to make things right.”
“Listen, I saw her right after the breakup, and I’ve never…” His voice cracked. “Never seen anyone that devastated before in my life. I tried to get her to move in with me, but she disappeared.”
He wiped a tear from his face. “I really thought she’d killed herself. I kept calling the police to see if they found a woman’s body. At the same time, a few friends and I searched everywhere we could. It was about a month later there was a knock on my door. I was shocked and thrilled to see her. She looked awful. I got her situated, and she seemed to be coming around enough to eat and didn’t cry all day long. Things changed when we found out about the baby. It was a spark of life I never thought I’d see again. It dimmed a bit when you wouldn’t listen to her and kept sending back her letters, but then she decided it was for the best and sent the lawyer’s letter to you.”
“How did she get to where she is now?”
Kelvin paced. “I helped her get a job at the publisher I work for. We found the house, and she got a loan for it. We’d spend our Saturdays going to garage sales to find things for the house and baby. She wouldn’t let me help a lot. She said she needed to learn to do things for herself and that she had another human depending on her, and she’d never let the baby down like she’d been let down.”
“Was there someone she’s talking about besides me?” Fuck, it hurt King to think he should know all of this already, but when they’d been together, talking was one of the last things he wanted to do.
“Hell yes. First, her father walks out on her, and then her mother shuts down and emotionally checks out. Then she had some friends betray her. The worst was what you did to her. She gave you everything she had.”
“I know. I’ll say it a hundred times. I fucked up. I want to make this better.”
Kelvin snorted. “How are you planning that? By threatening to take away the one thing she’s living for?”
“No. I already said I’d never do that. I want us to be a family.”
Kelvin’s eyes widened, and then his eyes dimmed. “She’s better off without you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’d just treat her like a whore again. Someone to hide away, and she won’t let you do it again. You know, I kept telling her it wasn’t right the way you treated her.”
“Oh, how’s that?” King asked in a hard tone.