Almost Summer by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page B

covered
with scars left by an abusive and destructive mother who had deliberately pushed
her only child into a fire. “I believe things happen for a reason. Had I not
been injured, I would never have studied medicine, never have become a surgeon.
I wouldn’t have found my destiny.”
    He smiled. “That sounds dramatic and I don’t mean it to.”
    “It sounds honest,” Alistair told him. “I knew what I was
supposed to do with my life as well. At an early age. Sara never understood how
important my work was to me. She was content with the tiny sphere in which she
lived.”
    “You never were.”
    “No.” He sipped his brandy. “The fault is mine. I shouldn’t
have taken the easy way out, marrying her.”
    “She was in love with you.”
    “I took advantage of that.”
    “You gave her what she wanted. She was happy.”
    Alistair wasn’t so sure. “I could have done better. Been there
for her more.”
    “Then you wouldn’t have been the man she loved. Your remoteness
was part of your appeal.”
    Alistair raised his eyebrows. “Have you been reading women’s
magazines, old man? Your insight is disconcerting.”
    Simon laughed. “I have been blessed with the love of a woman
who exceeds me at every turn. She surprises me and delights me.” He raised his
glass. “I could never leave her.”
    Alistair wasn’t surprised. While Simon had always been a caring
individual, he’d kept that side of himself locked away. Few had known the gentle
soul trapped behind the scarred and gruff exterior. He’d held himself apart from
those around him—choosing a solitary existence over ever belonging.
    Somehow Montana had changed that. She’d drawn him in and
allowed him to express his true self. He was a different man now. Much like the
infamous Ebenezer Scrooge, Simon had discovered the joy of loving life.
    “You didn’t love Sara enough,” Simon said bluntly. “That is the
crime for which you feel punishment is necessary. If you had loved her enough,
you wouldn’t have left her behind. Or gone away yourself. Therefore, your lack
of love is the reason she died.”
    Alistair stared into his glass. “I preferred you before you
could articulate what you were thinking.”
    “That doesn’t change the truth.”
    “I suppose not.”
    Simon leaned toward him. “You don’t have as much power as you
think. She still would have died. As there is no way to undo the past, what it
comes down to is what will you do with the information now that you have it?
Learn from it or continue to punish yourself?”
    “Probably the latter.”
    “Then you’re a fool.”
    “I think we can both agree on that,” Alistair told him.
    Knowing and accepting were not the same thing. He wanted to
move on, but didn’t believe he had the right.
    “How did you know about Montana?” he asked quietly.
    Simon smiled. The scarred half of his face barely moved, but
the rest of it curved into a happy, knowing grin.
    “She allowed me to feel again,” he said simply. “She gave
herself so fully, I couldn’t resist responding in kind. I wanted her from the
first second I saw her, but what I didn’t realize was that I also loved her from
that first moment. It took me a while to figure it all out. I nearly left her.
What a mistake that would have been. Without her, there is nothing.”
    A raw truth, Alistair thought, almost uncomfortable with his
friend’s honesty. What would it be like to have someone like that? A woman he
loved so much he couldn’t leave her?
    The face that came into sharp relief wasn’t Sara’s. It was the
face of the beautiful angel who had saved him.
    On the surface, Paige was perfect. She wanted to travel, she
was open and giving. He knew immediately what she had to offer any man lucky
enough to steal her heart. But what about what she deserved? Could he forgive
himself enough to give her all she needed? Or was the kindest act to simply walk
away?

Chapter Seven
    Paige listened to the soft-spoken woman on the CD,