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“I ahtly in front of her chest “I’m so sorry I hurt you And Kynan”

I blink in surprise as Madeline turns ine how hard that was for you… to have Joslyn cut you off without any real explanation And then to find out years later, she thought the worst about you for so you didn’t do”

“I accept your apology, Madeline,” I say without reservation or further judgy Doesn’t s, but I want the attention off hter so we can move past this

“What’s going on in here?” I hear afro room

I turn to see Darren Dawes He’s a large, beefy man with snohite hair and a eathered face This is a guy who still clearly rides the range as he’s got on jeans, chaps, and a lamb’s wool jacket of a dark brown suede

Madeline has tears slipping silently down her face, and Joslyn appears unsure of herself with Darren entering the conversation I decide to do so rash and totally out of character for myself

I step up to Madeline, then put my hand on her shoulder “You and Joslyn need to talk With your permission, I’d like to take Darren out for a beer I’ll fill him in on what’s happened, and you and Joslyn can clear the air”

Several different eh Madeline’s eyes as she stares back, but the ivesto her husband to introduce us I’lance at Joslyn

She regardsto forgive ht

“How about we just go into ests

“Works for me, mate,” I reply

He moves to his wife to kiss her on the cheek, then whispers so in her ear She puts her hand on his and pats it before turning to Joslyn with resolve on her face I have a feeling that things are going to get aired out nicely between the women If Madeline is set it out of her syste look of curiosity before he turns for his study I attempt a smile, but it’s weak I knoantsis okay, but he’s clearly walked into a situation that’s not His loyalty will be to ed hiaze drifts over to Kynan, and I hopethat

It’s ard to me

“I’m so very sorry, Joslyn” Mywith emotion

I take in a breath and let it out slowly Turning to face her, I lay it all out on the line, because whatever she has to say about this will deterhter “I a to ask ‘why’ because there’s no mystery there What I want to know is at what point in our relationship did I startso little to you as a person and only had value to you as a means to fame and fortune?”

My mom jerks as if I’d struck her, and she shakes her head “No, never I never thought that I did what I thought was best for you to push you forward to happiness Toabout that, Joslyn You wanted that, too, and I thought by reht Kynan to be that you would appreciate it later”

She’s not wrong about some of that I did want the fame and fortune, but I wanted Kynan as well “I could have had both with him”

“I didn’t know that,” she replies sadly “In fact, I doubted it I was nineteen once I kno at that age, you can get consumed by another person You hardly knew Kynan and—”

“I loved hirily “He loved me It was real”

“Maybe,” she replies as she twists her hands “But the chances of that being so weren’t very plausible towith the probability what you two had was too new to really matter I had even convinced ht about it—that he just let you leave—that I’d done the right thing”