Marrying the Millionaire Read Free

the granite counter, he gripped
the handle of his luggage, then walked toward the front door.
Keeping his back to her, he grasped the door knob and gazed out the
pane of square glass carved in the door.
    As if he were contemplating his
degrading decision, Carson’s shoulders rose and fell with every
breath he inhaled. Still clenching the brass door knob, he shook
his head hard.
    “ It’s too late for us,
Kayla.”
    Whatever.
    Without looking back at his wife, he
pulled open the door and walked out on her, leaving his son behind
as well.
    At the sound of the door shutting, a
loud sob burst from Kayla’s throat and echoed inside the living
room. Staggering toward the couch, she dropped to her knees,
slapped hard hands to her crying face. Pain riveted her
soul.
    Tilting her head back, she choked on
her moaning sobs.
    He left me. He left me and
my baby. How could he do this to us?
    Her shoulders shook violently as she
sat on the floor crying, slowly dying inside.
    I gave Carson the best
years of my life. My youngest years, and he does this to me. I
can’t afford to keep this house. What am I going to do? I’m
twenty-four and about to get a divorce. Lord, help me. Please help
me.
    Shocked and feeling betrayed, Kayla
pulled her weak body into an upright position. She crawled over to
the couch and remained sitting on the floor. With her back aligned
to the sofa, Kayla grabbed the v of her cotton shirt, then dragged
it over her running nose, then her burning eyes. The telephone rang
again, then stopped. Then it began ringing once more.
    I don’t feel like talking
now.
    Her throbbing head felt as if it would
burst wide open. She leaned the back of her head on the edge of the
cushion, closed her eyes, and reminisced about the love she and
Carson once shared. Early on in their relationship, he’d been so
good to her. Forget that crap, it hurt too bad to think of the day
she’d spotted him walking across the lawn while he was visiting his
sister in college.
    “ Mommy! Mommy!” Kayla’s
two-year-old son, CJ, scuttled inside the living room, clutching
the cordless telephone in his hand. “It Papa!” he shouted, standing
in front of her, out of breath and smiling.
    Oh, CJ, why did you answer
the phone? I’m in no mood to talk. Staring
at her with his piercing, brown, doe-like eyes, her heart
warmed. I have to pull myself together for
you.
    CJ put the tip of his finger in his
mouth. “Here.” He extended the telephone to her. “Ah, uh, Papa want
you, Mommy.”
    Holding the phone to her ear, Kayla
rubbed the frontal lobe of her throbbing forehead.
“Hello?”
    “ Kayla! Thank God you’re
home!” A worrisome tone coated her grandfather’s voice.
    Kayla swallowed. “What’s wrong,
Grandpa?”
    He cleared his throat. “I have
something I need to tell you in person, and it can’t wait. Pack
your things and come home first thing tomorrow morning.”
    This sounds serious. Wiping her nose with her backhand, Kayla sniffed.
“Can’t you just tell me now?”
    “ No!” Her grandfather’s
voice was firm. “Come home. Tomorrow.”
    Oh, God. I hope you’re not
ill, Grandpa.
    CJ plopped down in his mother’s lap.
Sitting in her lap, belly-to-belly, CJ placed his tiny hands on her
cheeks. “What’s wrong, Mommy? Why are you crying?” His bottom lip
curled under.
    Kayla put her index finger to her
mouth to silence CJ. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”
    “ Good. Good.”
    Giving her a worrisome stare, CJ wiped
his mother’s tears with his little fingers, then kissed her lips.
“Luv you, Mommy.”
    Kayla mouthed love you back and smiled. “Where are you, Grandpa?” she
asked.
    “ I’m in the car, driving
home.”
    “ Grandpa, it’s not good to
talk on the cell phone while driving.”
    “ You’re right,
but—”
    Eeeerrr! Kayla heard the sound of loud, screeching brakes,
then she heard a loud boom.
    Anxiety gripped her. “Grandpa!
Grandpa!” A static sound buzzed in her eardrum, then the line
completely silenced.