“Did you? Or was it because you walked right into a multimillion-dollar job and a marriage once she got pregnant? Because you sure jumped into her best friend’s bed quick enough after she died. And then everyone else’s.” Years of repressed anger threatened to explode. I’d been left behind at the ranch with three grieving brothers while Dad had buried his sorrows in work and other women. I wasn’t going to let him weigh in on how I acted with Kate. “Women got you through your grief. Women got you through your midlife crisis. Women get you through the stress of your job. So, Kate is going to help me get what I want, and if you don’t want to see her hurt, then don’t tell her.”

The words were cold, emotionless. If that’d work to get him off my back and keep my secrets from Kate, then I could live with it. That didn’t stop more words from clamoring on my tongue. To tell Dad everything. To ease his fears. To explain that Kate meant more to me than a ton of money, but that the restrictions of the trust made me little better than her dad. But the words went unsaid. I’d learned a long time ago that talking was a waste of time.

Present day…

The doorbell rang through the house while my phone buzzed to alert me that someone was at my front door. On any other day, it’d be just another notification, one of many, that I’d get at the office.

I worked most weekends, but Kate had served me on Friday. I hadn’t been into the office since I’d shattered the monitor. Dad had suggested in a way that sounded more like an order that I go home and process what had happened while he cleaned the mess and kept my private life private.

I filed for divorce.

How convenient I lived in one of the few states that let us divorce quietly. By mail.

Would getting served at my house have been better?

I sighed and hit the button to unlock the front door. I didn’t bother to see who’d come to visit me. I wasn’t up for talking. Besides, Kate wouldn’t ring the doorbell.

Would she?

When I’d gotten home two days ago, the bed had been made, like always. But the laundry basket had contained only my clothing, and her part of the closet had been cleaned out. Her toiletries were gone from the bathroom. Her toothbrush no longer stood in the holder opposite mine. She’d never put her toothbrush in the slot next to mine. Always across. I’d wanted to tease her about being afraid to swap germs. But I never had.

There were a lot of missed opportunities when it came to Kate.