herself?
He did his best not to worry as he packed up his stuff. His dad took him to the airport. It was still pitch-black at five in the morning, but at least it was clear. Flying out of South Dakota in the middle of winter was always dicey.
True to form, they didn’t talk. Billy just glowered, and Seth? He tried to focus on the future. He’d never been one to settle down. Wandering all over God’s green earth was who he was. He knew it. Kate knew it. His family knew it.
At least, he thought they did. They got to the airport and Billy silently helped unload Seth’s bags and Seth couldn’t remember ever having been more miserable than he was right now because this felt wrong. Everything about it was wrong.
Panicking hard, Seth stood before the only man he’d ever called father. “I’m not Madeleine’s father,” he said, wishing he could take the words back even before he was done saying them.
It was not Dad’s business—it was none of anyone’s business. But he knew, deep down inside, that Billy Bolton was disappointed in him.
Billy jammed his hands on his hips and stared up at the midnight-black sky. “No, I didn’t figure you were.”
“I have to put the family first.”
Once, long ago, Seth had punched this man in the face for daring to break up with his mom. It was the only time he’d ever struck Billy, and the man hadn’t yelled or hit back. Instead, he’d looked at Seth with disappointment in his eyes—the same disappointment in his eyes right now. “Neither of them is family, but you already know that baby’s name.”
Seth’s throat closed up. “You guys made me a Bolton. That wasn’t something I took lightly. I’m not going to let you or the business down.”
Seth hadn’t realized he was staring at the sidewalk until Billy’s massive hands settled on Seth’s shoulders. “Son,” he said, and it just about broke Seth’s heart to hear that word spoken with so much sadness, “God knows I tried to do right by you and your mom. And God knows if it weren’t for motorcycles, I’d either be dead or in jail.”
“I know,” Seth said, wishing for numbness because he couldn’t take this. The business kept his father going and he couldn’t turn his back on that.
Billy’s grip on him tightened. “Look at me, Seth.” Seth raised his head, swallowing back tears. “The business is important, but we could lose it tomorrow and it wouldn’t change anything about you and me and our family. We will always be family because we chose you, and more important, you chose us.” He gave Seth a little shake. “You don’t have to prove a damned thing to me. You never did.”
Then he pulled Seth into a mammoth bear hug before quickly shoving him away. “Write your mother,” he called out as he got back into his truck and drove off.
Seth stood there for a moment in the freezing air, shaking.
He hadn’t chosen the Boltons—his mom had. His aunt had—they’d both married brothers. He’d been part of the deal, but not as a voting member. He’d just...
He’d spent the last ten years of his life living and breathing motorcycles and the motorcycle business because when he welded a frame Billy approved of or pitched an idea Bobby got behind, it made Seth feel like he was part of something. Crazy Horse Choppers had given him a place. A purpose.
That was what mattered.
Wasn’t it?
* * *
Not that anyone was buying real estate right now—no one really wanted to move on the second day of the year in the middle of winter—but Kate went to work anyway. She couldn’t handle staying alone in her crappy apartment all day, staring at the lovely Christmas card her mother had sent.
She wore the stunning diamond pendant necklace and matching earrings Seth had bought for her. She wasn’t an expert in diamonds, but she’d listened when the jewelry salespeople had talked cut and clarity and all that and she was wearing probably close to four carats of diamonds. It wasn’t a stretch to say that she was wearing close to fifty thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry—a fortune.
He’d spent that on her. It was a hell of a farewell gift and, if worse came to worst, it would take care of her and Madeleine for a long time.
But she couldn’t bear the thought of selling Seth’s gifts. She’d sold her engagement ring because she hadn’t wanted to hang on to another reminder of Roger—and she’d needed the cash. But Seth’s pendant?
She wore it on a long chain so it nestled next to her heart. It was the only way she could keep him close.
That, and being here at work. There were so many memories of Seth here. Hearing the door jingle and looking up to see Seth standing there, that grin on his face. She didn’t want to entirely leave those memories right now, either. It was easier to pull those memories around her like a blanket at the office. She was even gladder that she’d never had him over to her apartment. It would’ve been too much.
She glanced at the clock—again—and slid the diamond along the chain. Seth should’ve landed in LA by now. He was probably holed up in a bar, waiting for his flight to China. Was he thinking of her? Was he wishing that she’d taken him up on his offer to ring in the New Year—just one more night together? She’d known she needed to say no to him, but now she wished she’d said yes. Because it already sucked, letting him go. What would one more night have hurt?
The baby fluttered in her stomach, and Kate put her hand to where Madeleine was kicking. This was what she had to focus on now—impending motherhood. For all intents and purposes, she was all Madeleine had.
No, it wasn’t exactly true. Seth had made her swear that if she needed any help, she’d contact his family. Part of Kate knew that wasn’t a good idea because, while she genuinely liked his parents and his sister, that would presume a relationship that otherwise no longer existed.
On the other hand, it was clear from her mother’s Christmas card that there wouldn’t be a close relationship with her parents. And Kate was just coming to grips with the fact that she had a long, cold, dark three months of being extremely pregnant ahead of her.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Madeleine were already here. The baby was going to take every little bit of energy Kate had—and probably some she didn’t have. She wouldn’t be able to dwell on Seth’s absence once Madeleine arrived.
Kate tried diligently to focus on listings. The family she’d spoken to a few months ago was being relocated to Rapid City and anticipated moving by March. And since Kate had recently been in a vast majority of the homes currently on the market, she could with great confidence eliminate most of them.
That was what she was supposed to be thinking about. But even in that, her thoughts turned back to Seth. He’d purchased the house that she had long wanted—but refused to furnish it without her input. The house could be such a showplace, but right now, it was little more than an exaggerated bachelor pad, stacked with boxes that had been in storage. She hoped Seth would hire a good interior decorator when he came home and make something out of that house.
She was making another cup of tea in the small kitchen tucked behind Harold’s office when the door jingled. “It’s a zinger of a day here at Zanger,” she called over her shoulder, pouring the hot water over the tea bag. Who knew? Someone had actually come looking
