Free Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) by Maria K. Alexander Page B

expected her to jump at the sound of his voice, but she didn’t.
    “Why am I not surprised?” she said, rising. “Mama needs to mind her own business.”
    She turned to face him, tears streaking her face. He frowned with concern.
    “What’s wrong?” He removed a glove and ran a finger along her cheek to dry her tears.
    His gaze moved past her to the grave over which they were standing. The name on the headstone read Anthony Joseph DiSilva, beloved son. The dates were June 1, 2007, to September 19, 2009. The name didn’t ring any bells.
    “You wanted to know what’s been bothering me. Well, here it is.” She pointed to the grave, but her eyes never left his face. “Meet my son.”

Chapter Six
    “Your son?” Edward repeated.
    Kate brushed away the remaining tears with the back of her hand. “Yes, my son. Are you sure you want to hear this?”
    He clasped one of her hands. “Tell me.”
    She hated this. Hated explaining and reliving the memories. Hated that Edward may not understand and would judge her like others had or worse, feel sorry for her. But she couldn’t avoid him forever.
    “Come, walk with me,” she said, pulling him away from the grave.
    They strolled a few minutes in silence as she tried to collect her thoughts.
    “I went to school with Mario DiSilva. My family has known his family since we were in kindergarten. He was my very first crush. We dated exclusively the second half of high school. After graduation, we both went off to college at St. Joe’s University. We married the year after graduation.”
    Kate paused a moment and felt Edward squeeze her hand.
    “The first couple years of our marriage were good. We both had decent jobs and were saving for a house. But after about two years, Mario got laid off. He struggled to find a job and spiraled into a major depression that led to him drinking. Then I got pregnant. It wasn’t the best timing, but we were both excited about the baby. Mario sobered up and started attending a culinary institute. Things were better for a while.”
    “But they didn’t stay that way I take it?” Edward asked.
    She shook her head. “No. Shortly after I gave birth to Tony things started going bad again. Tony had very bad colic and confused his days and nights. So while Mario was off learning to be a chef during the day, I tried to calm a fussy baby or slept. I was so grateful when Tony was sleeping that I didn’t even care that it was during the day. Mario would come home and expect a home-cooked meal and quiet. Then Tony would be up half the night screaming, which made it difficult for Mario to get sleep. Then we would fight, which just made Tony scream more.”
    “That sounds frustrating for all of you.”
    “That’s putting it mildly. I was a wreck the first three months of my son’s life. Some nights Mario would stay at his parents’ house just so he could get a full night’s sleep. Often my mother would come over after she finished working at the pizzeria to help me. She would let me sleep or bathe while she took care of Tony. She kept telling me that the colic wouldn’t last forever and I would forget his horrible first months.”
    “And was she right?”
    “Of course. Shortly after the three month mark everything started to click. Tony slept at night, although not through the night until he was almost nine months. It was much better, but by that time Mario had started drinking again. And sometimes he…” She paused.
    “Sometimes he what?” Edward asked.
    She stopped and turned to him. “Sometimes he would…smack me around.”
    She stared at his chest, but not before seeing the horror and outrage that crossed his face.
    “He beat you?” he all but roared.
    “Yes,” she said in a whisper. Both embarrassed and uncomfortable at bearing her soul to him, she yanked her hand out of his and resumed walking at a quick pace.
    “Kate, wait. Did you tell anyone?”
    “Not for a long time. He was smart and never hit me in the face where anyone