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that.”
    It hurt me to say it. I knew he cared about me deeply, but I feared for a huge confrontation between him and Branch. To keep the peace , I had to hide any feelings that I had for him deep inside.
    “I get it , Kat. I’ll be there for you on your special day and I won’t cause problems. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
    Didn’t he know that his leaving tore me apart? “Thank you.”
    “Listen, I need to go.”
    “Wait.” I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. “Can I call you again?”
    “You can, but you may want to use someone else’s phone. Branch may act all innocent, but I guarantee he checks your phone bill for my number. You’ve got a month to come up with a good excuse as to what we talked about and why you called me today.”
    “I’ll handle it.”
    “Bye, Kat.”
    “Bye, Brooks.”

    I didn’t go to work. Instead I went home and crawled in to my bed, where I cried for the whole day. Branch may not have been running around cheating on me, but he was certainly hiding things. I didn’t want to start our marriage like that, but knew at some point it would have to be addressed.

Chapter 7
    October -November 2010

    The wedding was just two months away, and believe it or not, I had everything in order. Finals were scheduled for November for three of my classes, so I’d have time to run around once school was over.
    Branch was busier with school than I was. He’d doubled up on classes and decided he was going to stay in school for another year and work his ass off for a higher degree. He assured me that it would benefit our future.
    I don’t want to say that a wedge had formed between us, because I was extremely excited to become his wife, but the lingering secrets he was keeping from me still didn’t sit well. I wanted a marriage where we could tell each other everything. It was understood that Brooks would always be someone special to me, but I couldn’t just cut him out of my life.
    With that being said, I called Brooks at least once a week, using a phone at my workplace. I understood that I was sneaking around, but I wasn’t doing anything bad. We weren’t talking about being together; in fact it never even came up. We talked about work, school and things that Brooks had gotten into since joining the military. Finally, after so long, I felt like my life wasn’t missing anything. I knew he wasn’t back, but talking to him filled the void of him leaving.
    One thing I did notice was that the happie r I was, the more strange Branch was acting. He started bringing me flowers every Friday. I wasn’t complaining. The thought meant a lot. Maybe it was just my guilty conscience, but I felt like he knew I was talking to Brooks. By November he was showering me with gifts and doing everything to help with the wedding. I appreciated it, but remained skeptical, like he had ulterior motives.
    By Thanksgiving, the wedding jitters were back in full force. They got so overwhelming that I took on extra shifts to keep myself busy. I stopped calling Brooks, in fear of telling him that I was nervous and him taking it the wrong way. We hadn’t spoken about feelings, but it was no secret that he still loved me.
    The last thing I needed was him telling me that I was choosing the wrong brother.
    AGAIN.
    When he hadn’t heard from me in three weeks, he called my cell phone.
    I’d erased his number , but knew when it said Texas, that it was him.
    “Brooks, now isn’t a good time.”
    “Why haven’t you called me, Kat? What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” I lied.
    “I know you better than that. Did I say or do something that made you mad?”
    “No. It’s not you. It’s me.”
    “So, I guess we’re breaking up?” He was trying to make me laugh.
    When I didn’t say anything, he changed his approach. “ You can tell me anything.”
    “I’m scared.”
    “Has he hurt you?”
    “No. Of course not. I guess how I’m feeling is normal.”
    “When’s the last time you ate? You know you have to take