Chapter 43

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I gritted my teeth, wondering why Kaitlin had to pick tonight of all nights to show up in June Lake. The best night I’d had so far.

But her timing had always been terrible. The decade we’d spent apart didn’t seem to have changed that. Kaitlin Crew knew exactly when to pick a time for whatever she was doing to have the most negative effect it could have on my life. It was just the way it was.

As soon as she spotted me, her eyes darted to my side and she zeroed in on Colten, confidently striding over to us and speaking only to him. She put on her best baby voice, treating him like he was five years old.

“Colten? Oh, look how big you are, my boy. Mommy’s little man. Come here and give your mama a hug.”

Instead of complying, he gave me a panicked look and immediately retreated, side-stepping until he was half hidden behind me. I glanced down to check on him. He slipped his hand into Jewel’s and my heart gave a weird squeeze.

Without even realizing it, she’d become a safe space for him. Just like June Lake had. The instinct to protect them both reared up in me and I shifted to stand even more in front of them, stopping Kaitlin from getting to Colten or being able to look into his eyes at all.

She’d lost that right when she’d walked away.

Colten’s deadbeat mother planted her hands on her slim hips, a scowl on her features as her gaze came up to meet mine. Somehow, her expression was flirty and pouty at the same time.

Those cornflower blue eyes that had ensnared me one lonely night under the strobe lights of a club in LA focused on me now. They brought back so many memories I’d have been happy to forget, but unfortunately, they were burned into my brain like a brand.

Kaitlin was beautiful. More so than I remembered. In my mind’s eye, I’d been picturing her with devil’s horns and flames in her eyes for so long that it was weird to see her without them, but I still knew that her beauty was a trap.

As I looked at her, she did the same to me, slowly raking her gaze up and down before she brought it back to my eyes. “You look good, Landon.”

I didn’t return the compliment, giving her a stony stare instead. I had nothing to say to her and I certainly wasn’t in the mood to exchange pleasantries. Whatever she’d come here to say, I’d rather she just got it over with.

Giving Jewel a dismissive look, she turned back to me, her Snow White looks as deceiving as ever. This wasn’t the woman who bit a poison apple—she was the poison—but when she smiled, even I might’ve been fooled if I hadn’t had a taste of it before.

If I hadn’t been reminded of that taste every damn time I looked at our son. The boy she’d abandoned just a few months after giving birth to him.

“You’ve really grown into yourself,” she purred, cocking the hip with her hand on it. “I expected a bit more than blue jeans and a T-shirt, though. What with your family’s wealth behind you now, I’m sure you can do better, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”

My jaw clenched tighter. “What are you doing here, Kaitlin?”

Those long, jet-black lashes fluttered for a moment, like she was confused or taken aback by the question. Then she gave me a surprised smile. “I’m here to reconnect, Landon. Talk. Meet and get to know my son and get some fresh air. What else would I be doing here?”

I scoffed, but before I could tell her what I thought, she took a tiny step forward. It was more of an adjustment of her position than an actual step, but it put her in wafting distance of me. On my next inhale, I caught a whiff of her sophisticated, slightly peppery scent.

It made me want to hurl, but I managed not to. Although when the look in her eyes became more flirty, it became more difficult to hold it back.

She breathed in deeply and gestured down at the lake. “Will you take a walk with me? We have a lot to discuss.”

I begged to differ, but when I glanced at Jewel, she nodded for me to go ahead. “I’ll hang back with Colten. We’ll go find Brody and the others.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Okay. I’ll come find you in a few.”

Kaitlin remained silent during the exchange, but she did finally spare Jewel more than a quick, dismissive look. Her nose turned up a little though, letting me know what she thought of the small-town girl she was looking at.

Focusing on me again, she started walking and didn’t wait to check that I would follow. She already knew that I would. As much as I hated leaving Jewel and Colten, I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop where Kaitlin was concerned.

To be fair, I hadn’t expected it to drop tonight—or while we were in June Lake at all—but I’d suspected it was coming. The lawyer in me knew it was best to just get this over with. I considered this talk as my opportunity to find out what her true motives were and to try to figure out how to make her go away before it got ugly.

We walked in silence to the beach, which somehow felt less magnificent with Kaitlin than it had looking out at it from the Ferris Wheel with Jewel. Especially when she started talking nonsense at first.

“Thanks for asking how I’ve been,” she said lightly. “I suppose I can’t blame you after the way we ended things, but you should know that I’m doing well.”

I snorted. The way we ended things?

Oblivious, she kept rambling. “I finally started my own business working as an aesthetician and masseuse.”

Who gives a fuck?I slid my hands into my pockets, pausing when she did and walking with her when she started forward again. I still didn’t have anything to say, but Kaitlin never had cared much about the sound of anyone’s voice but her own.

“I’ve done well for myself,” she said, looking up at me as if searching for my approval, but she was going to be waiting a long time because she wasn’t going to get it. Sighing softly, she nodded and stared straight ahead again. “I run the business out of my home and I have an established and loyal client base. It was slow going at first, but I can’t complain too much. I’ve made quite a name for myself.”

An exasperated huff came out of her when I still didn’t respond, but then she shook her head and tried a different tactic. Glancing up at me as she walked, she smiled softly. “How’s work going for you?”

I shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“That’s good. I’m not surprised. You were always going to be an excellent lawyer. Although part of me thought you’d have moved on by now. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you were still working in criminal defense.”

I grunted and a slight smile spread on her face. “Walter looked well when I saw him. Healthy as a horse. You must be pleased that he’s doing so well.”

I nodded and her smile widened slightly. Midstride, she glanced up at me again without stopping, her features now relaxed. As if she thought she was getting somewhere with me.

“Is Walt still obsessed with sports cars and things that go fast?” She suddenly giggled. “Are you still obsessed with that too? Living fast and hard with all the pretty things in life by your side?”

I shook my head, but my lack of verbal responses didn’t slow her down.

“I’m glad you’re doing well, Landon. I’ve missed you. When did you put Walt in a home? I never thought you would, but I suppose it’s been a long time. A long time during which you definitely haven’t achieved your fullest potential as a lawyer, but just like your look, that’s nothing we can’t work on together.”

It didn’t escape my notice that in all of this, not once had she asked about Colten. Finally, tired of waiting for her to land the damn plane, I stopped walking and turned to face her. “Why are you really here, Kaitlin?”

She blinked at me innocently. “For a chance to put my family back together.”

“That ship has sailed,” I said in no uncertain terms, my jaw hard as I stared down into her eyes. “You walked out. Never checked in. Never cared enough to call, even just to find out if your son was okay.”

“I—”

“No, Kaitlin,” I said firmly. “There is no excuse. Even tonight, Colten’s well-being seems like it’s the furthest thing from your mind. We’re not your fucking family and we never were.”

For once in her miserable life, she didn’t leap to her own defense.

Picking up speed, I shook my head at her, my eyes narrowing. “You made the right decision when you left. You weren’t fit to be a mother and that’s okay. I made my peace with it and so did Colten. Things have worked out just fine, so if you’re here to clear your conscience, you don’t need to. Our slate is clean in my books. I’m even grateful you left, but if you’re here for something else, I’ll see you in court.”

She folded her arms. “Something else?”

“My money, Kaitlin,” I said flatly. “If that’s what you’re after, then you’re shit out of luck, so save your breath for your lawyer. I’m not giving you a cent, and I’m not buying into this crap that you’re selling about reconnecting or putting our family back together. Just level with me. What are you really doing here?”