I’d taken the day off work. My coworkers thought I had planned a long weekend. No one but the lawyer and Mom knew about the divorce. I’d have to tell my coworkers eventually. At least taking off my ring wasn’t an issue. I’d quit wearing my ring a year after I was married. It’d been distracting at work, garnering comments from patrons. I’d told Aiden I was afraid I’d lose it, when the truth was, I just hadn’t wanted to force another grin and laugh when someone commented on how heavy such a large diamond must be. Aiden wasn’t the only one guilty of lying; he’d just done it first. So today, I’d lie in my old bedroom and wonder why all the fairy tales I’d read growing up couldn’t be real.

CHAPTER 3

Aiden

Four years ago…

I was in Dad’s office to update him on development expenditures and plan for the board meeting we’d usually prep for over the weekend. But I was getting married this weekend.

Nerves spread through my stomach. I never got nervous. I was always prepared. But this wedding was out of my comfort zone. A lot depended on Kate saying “I do,” and it wasn’t just money. As worked up as Grams had been, I couldn’t let her down. She’d called me more in the last six months than all the previous years of my life combined.

Then there were my brothers. How would they react to me failing to secure the trust that Mama had left for us? Word would get out and then we’d have to deal with rampant gossip in King’s Creek. Hell, in all of Montana. Which would pale to the hell storm Danny would create if he got the money.

And Dad. Me getting married was supposed to help his stress, but the furrow in his brow was back now that I’d mentioned I’d be driving to King’s Creek tonight with Kate to help Dawson prepare the house for the ceremony. The disapproving looks Dad had been giving me since I’d told him I’d proposed to Kate and she’d said yes were pushing the limits of my patience.

“Say it, Dad.”

He didn’t act surprised, or abashed that I was onto his not-so-subtle scowls. “It’s just money, Aiden. Don’t start your marriage with a lie.”

He assumed that I hadn’t told Kate about the trust. I hated that he was right. I refused to get into how I felt about Kate with anyone. I couldn’t talk to my dad or my grams or my brothers about it. I couldn’t talk with them about anything, really. Not since Mama’s death. I hadn’t been allowed to then, and the words just wouldn’t come now.