way, some criminal avoiding capture slammed into the driver’s side of her car, and she died immediately.”
“How terrible. Were you with her?”
“No. I stayed back at her house.”
A strong ache coursed through her. “I can’t imagine what you went through. What did you do when she didn’t show up?”
“It was all a blur. I called Dad, and eventually, he came and picked me up. I can’t imagine what he went through though, having to tell me my mother was dead.” He looked up to the ceiling and pressed his lips together. It looked as if the guilt was still eating at him. “All because I wanted a bag of cookies.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known she’d be in a accident.”
He returned his gaze to her and tapped his skull. “I know that up here, but in my heart, I regret it every day.”
Trent needed to give himself a break. “How did Harmon take the news?”
“He was at school at the time. He came home for a week after she died, but then threw himself into his studies. It was his way of coping.” Trent leaned forward on his elbows. “Cops put their life on the line every single day. We chose our profession knowing full well we could be snuffed out at any moment, but my mother didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Charlotte reached out and cupped his hand. “No one deserves to die that way, but bad stuff happens.” His pain seemed to radiate from deep within. “You were just a kid, but even as an adult, you couldn’t have prevented it.”
“I guess.” He huffed out a breath. “I never understood what really happened between her and my father to make her leave in the first place. Dad never would talk about it. When I asked my mom, she just said she couldn’t take the long hours and never knowing if dad would come home at night. At the time, I didn’t really believe her. I always thought that if I had been a better kid, she might have stayed.”
The agony streaming across his face tore at her heart. Charlotte shook her head. “I felt the same way. Only it was with my dad.”
He looked hard at her. “How? You told me a few things about the situation in the cabin, but I thought Vic left your mom because his job was too dangerous.”
“That’s what he told us, but after he left, I wondered if I hadn’t complained to my dad so much about missing my birthday parties and him not spending Christmas with us, he might have stayed. Like you, I thought if I’d been better, he wouldn’t have walked out of our lives. I was older than you, but I still thought the world revolved around me. At the time, I had no idea that my father was willing to give his life for this country, and that his leaving had nothing to do with me.
Since the incident with the stalker, Dad and I have talked a lot. His biggest regret was not seeing me grow up. I’m just thrilled we were given a second chance.”
She sipped her wine to clear the clogging in her throat. When she looked up, Trent had a small smile on his face that she could best describe as passion.
“Harmon was right,” he said. “We do have a lot in common.”
Chapter Eight
T rent had never connected with someone as much as he had with Charlotte. She really seemed to get him, in part because they both had a parent who had issues dealing with his job. Somehow in telling his story, Trent could see that he, too, had been quite full of himself by thinking his mom’s death had been his fault. That guilt, along with being a cop, made him keep his distance from women. In hindsight, that might have been a cover up for some deeper issue. Charlotte was right in another way, too. People died for all sorts of reasons, yet he thought it ironic that his father was still alive despite having been in many shootouts.
After dinner, Trent told Charlotte that he wanted to follow her home because he needed to make sure she made it safely, and that while she’d only had two drinks over a two-hour period, her reflexes could be impaired. The truth was
“How terrible. Were you with her?”
“No. I stayed back at her house.”
A strong ache coursed through her. “I can’t imagine what you went through. What did you do when she didn’t show up?”
“It was all a blur. I called Dad, and eventually, he came and picked me up. I can’t imagine what he went through though, having to tell me my mother was dead.” He looked up to the ceiling and pressed his lips together. It looked as if the guilt was still eating at him. “All because I wanted a bag of cookies.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known she’d be in a accident.”
He returned his gaze to her and tapped his skull. “I know that up here, but in my heart, I regret it every day.”
Trent needed to give himself a break. “How did Harmon take the news?”
“He was at school at the time. He came home for a week after she died, but then threw himself into his studies. It was his way of coping.” Trent leaned forward on his elbows. “Cops put their life on the line every single day. We chose our profession knowing full well we could be snuffed out at any moment, but my mother didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Charlotte reached out and cupped his hand. “No one deserves to die that way, but bad stuff happens.” His pain seemed to radiate from deep within. “You were just a kid, but even as an adult, you couldn’t have prevented it.”
“I guess.” He huffed out a breath. “I never understood what really happened between her and my father to make her leave in the first place. Dad never would talk about it. When I asked my mom, she just said she couldn’t take the long hours and never knowing if dad would come home at night. At the time, I didn’t really believe her. I always thought that if I had been a better kid, she might have stayed.”
The agony streaming across his face tore at her heart. Charlotte shook her head. “I felt the same way. Only it was with my dad.”
He looked hard at her. “How? You told me a few things about the situation in the cabin, but I thought Vic left your mom because his job was too dangerous.”
“That’s what he told us, but after he left, I wondered if I hadn’t complained to my dad so much about missing my birthday parties and him not spending Christmas with us, he might have stayed. Like you, I thought if I’d been better, he wouldn’t have walked out of our lives. I was older than you, but I still thought the world revolved around me. At the time, I had no idea that my father was willing to give his life for this country, and that his leaving had nothing to do with me.
Since the incident with the stalker, Dad and I have talked a lot. His biggest regret was not seeing me grow up. I’m just thrilled we were given a second chance.”
She sipped her wine to clear the clogging in her throat. When she looked up, Trent had a small smile on his face that she could best describe as passion.
“Harmon was right,” he said. “We do have a lot in common.”
Chapter Eight
T rent had never connected with someone as much as he had with Charlotte. She really seemed to get him, in part because they both had a parent who had issues dealing with his job. Somehow in telling his story, Trent could see that he, too, had been quite full of himself by thinking his mom’s death had been his fault. That guilt, along with being a cop, made him keep his distance from women. In hindsight, that might have been a cover up for some deeper issue. Charlotte was right in another way, too. People died for all sorts of reasons, yet he thought it ironic that his father was still alive despite having been in many shootouts.
After dinner, Trent told Charlotte that he wanted to follow her home because he needed to make sure she made it safely, and that while she’d only had two drinks over a two-hour period, her reflexes could be impaired. The truth was
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