Page 16 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

It was the best I’d felt in years.

I searched for a tinge of regret but came up empty. My only wish was for a bathtub instead of the camper’s narrow shower.

I sat up and fished for my panties with a toe. I stood, then gathered the rest of my clothes scattered across the floor. Carrying them down to the bedroom, I paused as I passed the large window by the dining table.

From here, only the corner of Kaine’s log cabin and its green tin roof were visible. But just that small glimpse made me smile because he was in there, hiding from me.

“That was either the dumbest thing I’ve done in years or the smartest.” I touched my lips again.

Smartest.

My ex and I’d had a great sex life. At least, we had at the beginning of our marriage before the scheduled sex took the fun out of it. And I’d always considered Adam an incredible lover.

I’d been missing out. Kaine and I might have gone quick, but that fifteen minutes was the best sex I’d had in my life.

I wanted to shout it to the treetops and scream with glee.

Sex with Kaine was just another reminder that the love I’d thought would last my lifetime, the love I’d thought ran bone-deep, really just stopped under the surface.

For months, I’d been single. For years, I’d been separated from my husband, waiting for our divorce to go through. And though signing divorce papers had been a milestone, the legal declaration of my single status, today had been the turning point.

I wasn’t just proclaiming that I was over Adam—words without action always felt empty. Today, I’d taken action. I’d had sex with another man. I’d jumped off the boat into new waters.

I was swimming with fast, sure strokes into a future of my own making.

Dumping all of my clothes into the hamper, I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water warmed, I went to the mirror and giggled at my flushed cheeks. Kaine might regret what we’d done, but he’d left behind a look of utter satisfaction on my face.

Steam filled the room quickly and I hurried into the stall. I didn’t get luxuriously long showers in my Airstream, but the hot water was enough to relax away the stiffness in my shoulders.

When I stepped out and tied up my hair in a towel, I met my own smile in the mirror. Should I be this happy? Shouldn’t there be some worry rattling around in my brain after having sex with a stranger? I searched again for a ping of shame.

And again, I came up empty.

Wearing only my towels, I went to the fridge and got out the chardonnay I’d put in there last night. I poured myself a healthy glass and sat on the couch. As I sipped, a grin tugged at the corners of my mouth.

Kaine had run out of here so fast, he’d probably pulled a muscle in one of his bulging thighs. He’d been so angry when he’d stormed over here earlier, so sure that my renovation trash had encroached onto his property.

The look on his face when I’d pointed out those two property-line markers had been priceless.

A giggle slipped loose, followed by another. Then the dam broke, sending me into a fit of hysteria as I set down my wine and laughed so hard there were happy tears.

I’d missed laughing. I’d missed feeling carefree.

I’d missed being . . . myself.

Kaine couldn’t know, but what he’d done for me this afternoon had broken the chains I’d wrapped around my heart these last few years.

With each negative pregnancy test, I’d wrapped a chain. With the test results from our fertility doctor, I’d added a lock to the chains. When Adam had admitted to kissing his costar, I’d added an anchor.

Those chains had become a shield, one I’d retreated behind years ago.

Slowly, I was casting them away.

My phone rang on the counter by the sink and I got up, holding my towel secure to my boobs as I answered Thea’s call. “Hey!”

I’d missed her earlier today when I’d gone down to work for a few hours with Logan in his home office. She’d already been off to work at the bar.

“Hey! Want to come down to the bar for dinner? Logan is at home with the kids, and there’s a pretty good after-five crowd in here so it could be fun. A few of your construction workers just walked in.”