The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2)

“Porter, the kids. We can’t leave.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. After guiding me to the curb, he stepped behind me and then pointed to a cute one-story brick house at the end of the cul-de-sac. “That was the house Catherine and I bought together.”

“What?” I breathed.

He shifted my back closer to his front and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Remember the day at Tanner’s pond when I tried to pick a fight with the water? Well, that was the day the kids and I moved out. I didn’t have this one yet, but I refused to stay in that house anymore. Her deceit was suffocating me, no matter how hard I tried to move on. I’d been doing my best to keep the kids’ lives stable after losing her, but I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing her holding him underwater. We moved into my parents’ house while I debated on what to do. I wanted to keep Travis in the same school district, and back then, he had a few friends in the neighborhood. The minute this house came on the market, I bought it sight unseen.”

He turned me in his arms and dropped his forehead to mine. “Outside of a few things in the kids’ bedrooms, there’s nothing in my house of Catherine’s. For the last three years, I kept a picture on my dresser of her holding Travis as a baby.” He paused before correcting himself. “The real Travis, not your Lucas. I left it there so the kids wouldn’t have to feel like they had to erase her from their lives too. But, last week, when I got home from the police station, I shattered it against the wall.”

My breathing shuddered, and I looped my arms around his neck. “I hate her so much for what she did. She ruined my life, Porter. She took the only thing I would have died to keep.”

“And I will never fault you for that. I hate her too. But there’s still a small part of me that feels guilty for not recognizing that she had some serious psychological problems. Christ, Charlotte. I would have saved us all a lot of heartache if—”

I slapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t do that. That’s the what-if vortex that will swallow you whole if you let it. Don’t go there, Porter. Stay with me.”

He swayed into me as his eyes turned to glass.

I held his stare until he nodded.

Removing my hand from his mouth, I confessed, “I felt like I was slipping into her life tonight.”

“Jesus, Charlotte. That’s some heavy shit. Why didn’t you say anything?”

I shrugged. “Because it wouldn’t have been your fault. I don’t know. I was blamed for a lot of years for something I couldn’t change. I guess I didn’t want to do that to you.”

He hugged me tighter. “I never would have asked you to come over here tonight if there was even a tinge of her anywhere in my house. Hannah is all there is left of Catherine in my life and she’s the only part of that woman I will ever expect you to accept.”

“It’s not Hannah’s fault. She is an innocent little girl, Porter.”

“I’m really fucking glad you feel that way. Because every time she got near you tonight, I worried that she was overwhelming you. I love you, Charlotte. But that’s my daughter.”

“Porter. Hannah doesn’t bother me at all. And if she did…I would have left. I would never put you in a situation where you had to choose. It’s why, back when I was struggling with the fact that you had children, I was trying so hard to figure out a way to be okay with it. I know you love your kids.” I pressed a slow and reverent kiss to his lips. “And, if you want the truth, it might be the biggest reason why I love you. In a world where people told me to move on and let go, with you, I didn’t have to feel guilty for still loving my son as much as I did because, if you were in my shoes, you would have been just as devastated.”

He blew out a heavy groan. “In a way, I was in your shoes for a week and I almost broke. I have no idea how you did it for so long.”

“I don’t know, either. But it’s over now.” I pressed up onto my toes and whispered against his lips, “For both of us.”

“I still have Catherine’s stuff,” he admitted. “It’s in a storage unit across town. Everything from our furniture to her clothes. Picture albums, knickknacks. Whatever. I kept it all for the kids in case they ever want any of it. Especially Hannah. Are you going to be able to live with that if it happens one day?”

My breath caught in my throat. “That’s a long way in the future, Porter.”

“But it’s in the future, Charlotte. And, if this thing with us works out, it’s going to be in your future. And what about Travis?”

My body turned to granite, and my heart stopped at the very idea. “You think he’d want some of her stuff?”

“Now? No. He remembers being in the car with her. But he still loved her at one time. And I think, the older he gets and the closer he gets to you, the more he’ll realize how terrible the things she did really were. But I can’t swear that to you for sure.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “I don’t know how I would ever handle that.”

He kissed my temple and murmured, “It’s not his fault, either. Just start preparing in case it ever happens. Every now and again, he’ll talk about her. It’s rare. But it does happen.”

I nodded and then buried my face in his chest, sending up a dozen prayers that that day would never come. We stood there for several minutes in the darkness, the light of the moon and the stars bearing down on us.

“So, can I talk to you about something serious right now?” he murmured.

I popped my head up. “More serious than your ex who kidnapped my son?”

He grinned. “Yes.”

“This doesn’t sound good.”

He trailed his hands down until they splayed over my ass. “Relax. It’s good. I promise. At least, for me, anyway.”

“Great,” I smarted.

He chuckled and bent low until his lips were at my ear, where he whispered, “You said you love me.”

My stomach dipped. “No. I didn’t.”

His grin became a full-blown smile. “Yeah, you did. You said that you knew I loved my kids and that was the biggest reason you love me.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes. “I meant…the biggest reason why I was falling in love with you.”

“Still?” he complained.

A laugh escaped my throat before I was able to stop it. “It’s only been a night, Porter. Remember, with a man like you, it’s a really long trip.”

He narrowed his eyes and hissed, “Liar.”

And I was. Because there wasn’t a man in the entire world who would ever be able to compare to Porter.

Not his warmth.

Not his understanding.

Not his heart.

And definitely not the way he loved.

So, for that reason alone, I looked up at him and whispered, “I am. Wholly and completely.”

He tipped his head to the side and arched an eyebrow. “Was that a riddle? You are what? A liar or in love with me?”

I shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know.”

Porter’s glare turned murderous, but his mouth split into a smile that stole my breath.

Less than a second later, the ground disappeared from beneath my feet and I found myself slung over his shoulder.