Free RISE - Part Two (The RISE Series Book 2) by Deborah Bladon Page A

caused him immeasurable emotion pain.
    "He keeps telling us that he was protecting us." He chuckles softly. "He wants the three of us to believe that he pretended to drown that day to give us a better life."
    "How was he protecting you?" I feel a sense of righteousness wash over me. "You could have died, Landon. What if you had drowned when that boat capsized?"
    He pulls me tighter into his arms. "I was fine. I swallowed some water but other than that, I was fine. I think he trusted in my ability to swim."
    I've watched Lilly cradle Haven in her arms and I've thought endlessly about what it would have been like if I'd carried my pregnancy to term. I can't say for certain if I would have been as caring a mother as Lilly or Ivy is, but I know, without any question, that I'd never throw my child into a situation in which they had to fend for their life.
    "What he did was inexcusable." He looks up at me under heavy eyelids. "I'll never forgive him for what he did to my family."
    I rest my head against his. "There are things that no one can forgive. Sometimes you just have to close off your heart."

Chapter 20
    ––––––––
    "I know it's over, Tess." His voice is empty and shallow. "I'm not going to bother you again."
    I stare at the top of my desk as I cling tightly to my phone. "It is over, Ansel. We can never go back to what we once had."
    "I still want that." I hear a shuffle carry over the phone line. "I mean, I wish you'd give me another chance but I know you're never going to."
    Even though they're words that I've longed to hear, they still carry with them a sense of sadness that is palpable. I loved him for a period of time in my life when I was innocent and relationships seemed uncomplicated. I doubt that it's ever easy to let go of a first love but sometimes we have to in order to truly love with a sense of depth.
    "I loved our baby too." His voice cracks briefly before he pulls in a deep breath. "I would have taken such good care of both of you."
    He would have hidden the two of us away in a part of the world where his fans wouldn’t catch wind of the fact that he was a father. The first words out of his mouth when I joyfully told him I was pregnant were that it would cramp his style. He apologized profusely over and over again as I cried into his shoulder but the damage had been done. I'd never forgotten the brutal pain that came with the words and with the knowledge that his career was more important than a life with me and our child.
    "Talking about what might have been isn't a good idea. We've both moved on."
    "I haven't," he blurts out. "I mean I will, but I've never met another girl like you."
    I could absorb those words as a compliment but there's not truth in that assumption. He means he's never met another girl who put up with his reckless need to be everyone else's hero. He wanted the world to love him and the sacrifice for that was my love.
    "You're going to meet someone one day, Ansel and she'll make you forget about me."
    He laughs deeply. I can picture the smile in his eyes even though I can't see it. "I doubt like hell that I'll meet anyone like that. Does he make you forget about me, Tess?"
    There's no need to hide behind a lie. I don't owe Ansel anything, not even the truth but I want to give it to him because I want this to end with absolutely no regrets or wished words on my part. "It's not like that with him. Landon helps me see that every moment matters. He doesn’t make me forget you. He helps me remember that I'm important."
    ***
    "I 'll be back on Wednesday," Landon says brusquely as he buttons up the jacket of his pilot's uniform. "I thought we could have dinner with my brother."
    I tear my gaze away from his body to look up at his face. "You want me to meet Dane?"
    "I want you to meet his fiancé, Bridget, too, but she has plans with some of her friends." He effortlessly ties a dark blue tie around his neck. "Dane asked me to meet him for a beer and I told him I wanted him to meet