Read Online Branded for You by Cheyenne McCray - Free Book Online Page B

person you have always been. Every member of the family is angry with Bart for what he did and we feel nothing but love and sadness for you.”
    “Thank you,” Megan said.
    Grace continued, “We understand that you need your space, but we want you to know you’re a part of this family and always will be. And that goes for any man you might meet and marry someday. This family knows what happened to you. You are deserving of the best and we want the best for you. The rest of the family has given you space because you’ve said you needed that. They just want you to be happy.”
    Megan was so choked up she could barely speak. “What you just said means more to me than you know, Grace.”
    “I meant every word,” Grace said. “If you change your mind, we would love to see you. It’s been too long.”
    Megan took a deep breath as she tried to gather herself. “I miss our lunches.” In the past, Megan and Grace would join each other for lunch once a month. Once Bart had left her, it was just too awkward for Megan.
    “I miss them, too, honey,” Grace said. “If you decide to come to the wedding you could stay longer, and we could do breakfast or lunch once the kids are off on their honeymoon.”
    “I’d like that, and I’ll think about it,” Megan said. “Are you ready to take down my parents’ address?”
    “Just a second…” Grace trailed off. “Now I am.”
    Megan spelled out the street name as she gave Grace the address.
    “If it works out that you can come, feel free to bring a guest with you,” Grace said.
    Despite the fact that she barely knew him, Megan thought about how much fun it would be if Ryan went with her. All the way to Albuquerque? She shook her head at her thought. But it was a really nice thought.
    “Thanks, Grace,” Megan said. “Please give Montgomery a hug for me.”
    “I will do that,” Grace said. “I hope we can get together soon.”
    Tears pricked at the back of Megan’s eyes. “Someday we will.” One of the hardest parts of the divorce was the fact that she wouldn’t get to see Bart’s family regularly like she used to. It had just been too difficult emotionally.
    When they disconnected the call, Megan took a deep breath.
    And then it hit her again. All of it. The pain of Bart’s betrayal, his verbal abuse, the way he’d left her—it slammed into her with such force that tears started rolling down her cheeks. She held her hand to her mouth, holding back a sob.
    When she was first married, she’d imagined a perfect little life. A nice house, two or three children, and a husband who loved her.
    Now she was divorced with no children. She missed her ex’s family terribly. It was like all of her dreams had been smashed into bits.
    A tissue box sat on the corner of her desk and she grabbed a tissue and pressed it to her face as she cried.
    Before they were married, she should have seen the signs, but she’d either missed them or overlooked them. A few months after they were married, he began acting domineering, stayed out late, spent time with his friends instead of her, and then the verbal abuse started.
    She thought that maybe his work was too stressful, that he was just blowing off steam. But his words grew more and more hurtful, cutting her deeply. She’d lost weight before they were married, but eventually gained it back. He ripped on her because of her size. Toward the end he’d said to her that all of his friends had a hundred and twenty-five pound wives and all he had was a wife he considered to be too big.
    Toward the end she hadn’t known what to do. She’d considered leaving him, but she’d never lived on her own and didn’t know if she could support herself with her home-based business.
    And then it didn’t matter. Bart had come home one night, told her he was leaving her for another woman, said a few more cruel things, packed his things and left.
    Barb’s not fat like you. The words still rang in her ears.
    Even though she wanted children so badly