The plate in her hand fell to the floor with a resounding crash.

April, her mother, turned off the water and scolded her. “Dammit. That’s the third dish you broke this month.”

“Sorry.”

“You should be more careful.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

April squatted to the floor and started to clean up the mess.

Karen stood there and watched her mother.

“Well, aren’t you going to help me?” April yelled.

Karen removed the trash from under the sink, picked up the big pieces, and tossed them inside. The last bit caught her finger and gashed the end. She sat there on the floor watching her finger bleed. So much pain for such a small cut.

“What’s wrong with you? Get that in the water. Stupid girl.”

Karen stood and turned on the faucet and let the water run over her finger for several minutes.

“What is your problem?”

Tears started to fall before Karen opened her mouth. “Mom…”

“What?”

“Dad…he…”

April stood perfectly still. Waiting. As if she knew what was coming. “What?” Her voice was gruff, making it even harder for Karen to force the words from her lips.

“He…” Tears were flowing now. Each syllable harder than the last to produce. “He…”

“Spit it out.”

Part of Karen told her to shut her mouth. Keep it inside. The other part, the one that told her it was wrong that her own father had touched her in the ways that her sexual education class in fifth grade had taught her, kept her lips moving. “He touched me.”

April waited. The water ran in the sink and neither of them gave it any attention.

“On my privates.”

April shut the water off, nearly taking the faucet with her. “You’re a liar. Always embellishing the truth. Last Saturday you said I came home at three…I was home by two thirty.”

Karen’s lip trembled. It was three. And her mom was drunk.

“I’m not lying.”

Karen’s head spun with the slap her mother delivered. Her mom hadn’t struck her since she was a toddler.

“Go to bed. Think about what you’re saying.”

Karen turned, left her mom…and never saw her again.

She wrapped her arms around Zach and pushed back her rising emotions. “I told my mom but she called me a liar. Then they both just left.”

He cradled her head in his hands and pulled away enough to look into her eyes.

“What do you mean they left?”

This story didn’t get any easier. “They packed their bags and left. I sat in the house for a week before I realized they weren’t coming back. I was scared, alone. Worried about how I was going to live, eat. My aunt lived on the other side of the country and there wasn’t any other family. Eventually my school notified the authorities and my aunt stepped in.”

“How old were you?” he asked with a hoarse whisper.

“Th-thirteen.”

He pulled her close again, held her tighter.

She rested her cheek on his chest and inhaled his scent and the protection his arms created around her. “So you see…I can’t walk away. I can’t.”

“We won’t. We’ll figure this out.”

When he looked her in the eye again, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was caring, soft, and brought on a different kind of want inside of her. Sharing herself with someone intimately had always been separate from sharing herself with someone emotionally. Never did the two actually happen with the same man.

Until now.

For a brief moment, Karen didn’t think about Michael or about the fact they were married or that Zach was Michael’s brother. She simply fell into Zach’s touch, his kiss and let herself enjoy the tender moment.

Zach nibbled on her lower lip before ending their kiss. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

“I’ll call if something changes.”

He kissed her once more before pulling way.

Chapter Twenty-One

Karen ended her night texting Michael.

We found them.

Is everything OK?

No. Everything sucks. But I have it handled. Let me know when you’re in Canada.

I will.

She thought about Zach…the kissing.

We really need to talk.

I know. Maybe you can meet me up north?

Maybe.

Be safe.

Michael’s last message as it always was. Thoughtful, friendly…Michael.

Karen glanced at the young couple as they settled beside each other in the bed next to hers and listened as the night sounds invaded the room. Sometime around one, she felt her eyes drift asleep.

The first door that slammed outside the motel at five woke her.

Nolan and Becky still slept soundly.

Karen twisted around, found the cool spot on her pillow, and drifted off again.

Then a knock sounded on the door. “Karen?”

Zach!

“Yeah. Hold on.”

Becky was stirring next to Nolan as Karen opened the motel door.

Zach lifted a small tray with steaming cups of what smelled like coffee.

“Oh, God…thank you!”

Zach smiled. The stubble of his chin lifted with his lips and gave him the sexy edge she couldn’t help but love.

He stepped in the room and noted the sleeping lot of them. “Taking the day off, Nolan?”

“Sorry.” Nolan swiped a hand over his eyes and slid from beneath the covers. “Just need a quick shower.”

The teen walked to the shower in a pair of sweatpants, and before anyone could grab a cup of java, the sound of the pipes rattling filled the room of the cheap motel.

Karen held the door open as Zach moved inside. “I wasn’t sure what to get. I managed doughnuts and bagels, figured that would please someone.”

Becky scooted up in her bed, a timid smile on her lips.

“And milk for you.”

When he handed Becky a paper container with milk Karen felt tears in her eyes.

Her eyes weren’t even open and Zach was already working the room.

“Thanks, Mr. Gardner.”

Zach winked at the teen and focused his attention on Karen. “How did you sleep?”

Karen shrugged. She could only guess how she looked. Like a woman who’d managed only a few hours of sleep, much of it filled with unwanted memories and dreams. “I’m OK.”

He didn’t buy it, she could see by the worry etching his face.

She accepted his offering of coffee and adorned it with cream and sugar before sampling its flavor. Perfect.