A Tender Touch: A Donnelley Brother's Novel (Logan Point Book 4) Read Free Page B

smiled, turning away from the road travelled.
    ***
    By the time we brought my suitcases into the house, trudged them to the bedroom and unpacked, the sky had turned a deep, crisp, glittering ebony. Stars shimmered, their light peeking in through the windows of the cabin to grace our skin as we walked through the dark hall into the living area. Kami leaned down to flick on a lamp that was sitting on the glossy surface of the table beside the couch, and amber filled the dark space, igniting the cabin and all it’s shades of brown in the warmth of the soft light. I felt instantly comforted by the familiarity of the cabin.
    “So, what do you think?”
    “I think this is right where I am supposed to be in this moment.”
    “You’ve been feeling a little off, huh?” Kami asked, and I knew she was asking so much more than just her question.
    For so long, Kami and I had been there for each other when we’d had no one else. Yes, we’d spoken on the phone throughout our year of separation, but talking on the phone just wasn’t the same as seeing the person. Especially when that person knew what to say just by a glance. Kami was that to me. She was the person who knew what I was feeling just by a glance, and like I never backed down from her pain, she never backed down from mine. The only thing now was that I could see my friend no longer needed me in the same way. My friend was no longer in pain.
    I was happy for Kami. Don’t get me wrong, I was so impossibly happy for my best friend, but I was also a little frightened of being a weight tied to her ankle and I didn’t want to drag her down with all my never ending problems and insecurities.
    Although I could see Kami was offering me to unload all my problems onto her shoulders, I just couldn’t. She was finally happy. She had finally, in spite of the world’s constant interference, found happiness with a good man. I didn’t want to be the voice of question when I knew in the deepest recesses of my heart that what she had with Kyle Donnelley was beautiful, and right, and so very rare.
    So, for the first time in the entirety of my relationship with Kamilla, I pressed my lips together, forced a smile and shook my head. “I’ve been doing alright.”
    Her eyes narrowed on my face and I knew she could see through my lie. Then she spoke. “Alright,” she sighed. “I’d love to introduce you to the girls tomorrow and since you’re too tired for wine tonight, I’ll text them to meet us for breakfast in the morning. Does that work for you?”
    This is the thing; Kamilla has never once, not in the entirety of our friendship, allowed me to lie to her so blatantly.
    She knew I wasn’t alright. But she knew my problems were the same as they always were. I was damaged. I’d been damaged since the night my father spoke aloud that he’d always wanted me aborted. Even twelve years later, twelve years of watching me grow, hearing me laugh and seeing me walk, he’d continued to believe that I was nothing more than an interruption to his life.
    I was a problem he’d never been able to take care of - and even though it had been years since he’d walked his selfish ass out the door - I still replayed his words in my mind every day. They were a constant reminder that I wasn’t enough. They were a constant reminder that I couldn’t be loved - not the way I longed, so desperately, to be loved.
    I smiled at my friend, knowing she needed me to agree to breakfast. “That sounds great, Kami.”
    “Great!” She beamed. “I’d better get going. I promised Kyle I’d be home before he went to bed unless the wine came out, of course.”
    I laughed. “Of course.”
    She winked as she walked backward to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “See you, Kami.” I called as she closed the door behind her.
    For a moment, I just stood in the center of the living room, feeling utterly lost. And then the door opened and Kami popped her head back into the entry of the cabin. “I forgot