Forget Me Not by Stormy Glenn Read Free Book Online

tape.
    Should he listen to it? Did he have the strength to open himself up to that kind of hurt again? Even after all this time, Dominic still had the ability to bring him happiness or pain. Keely knew he had been fooling himself to believe otherwise.
    He picked up the tape recorder and paper with Dominic’s cell number on it and took them to his study, laying both on his desk. He would be back for them when he found the courage to listen to the tape. Until then, he had a dinner to make for two little kids that were depending on him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Keely stared down at the tape recorder in his hand. He just stared at it. He felt like his mind was filled with fog. No single thought was bigger than any other, and yet he couldn’t seem to settle on any of them. His thoughts were too jumbled.
    He had known since the day she was hired that Karen never really liked him, but he never dreamed that she would plot to separate him and Dominic. The woman was a menace, and Keely hoped that Dominic pressed charges against her, or took out a restraining order at the very least.
    Maybe he needed to consider doing the same. He knew that Karen hated him, and after she had been found out, he had no doubt that she blamed him as well. There was no telling what she could do, and Keely had two small children to protect.
    He’d talk to his partner at the law firm in the morning.
    In the meantime, he needed to decide what to do about Dominic. Keely understood the implications of what he heard on the tape. He got it that this entire mess was not all Dominic’s fault.
    But he also understood that a lot of this could have been avoided if Dominic had simply picked up a phone and called him. Even if Keely hadn’t been able to get through to Dominic on his cell phone, there had been no reason that Dominic couldn’t have gotten through to Keely on his.
    That basically said it all right there.
    Yes, someone else had interfered in their relationship, on a huge scale. And fate had seen fit to take Keely’s life in another direction, giving him a new life with a family. Keely understood all of this, and on some level he even forgave Dominic.
    It still wouldn’t mend what was wrong between them, no matter how much Keely wanted it. Dominic had his life in the big city, globetrotting around the world, living in a fancy house decorated to the nines, and making money left and right.
    And Keely had his life in a small town, settling legal cases that involved chickens and water rights more often than anything else. He had a minivan, two small children, and a house that was messier more often than it was clean.
    Their lives were different, and so were the things they wanted out of life. Keely was happy where he was. He liked the slower pace of the small-town life. He liked knowing his neighbors and waving to people on the street. He liked the backyard BBQs, shopping at the farmer’s market on the weekend, and going to movies in the park with the kids.
    Dominic would never be happy here. He would be shocked if Keely tossed a blanket down on the grass and asked him to cuddle while they watched a movie with fifty other people surrounding them.
    There were no bright city lights here. Hell, they practically rolled up the sidewalks at night. The biggest news story of late was the scandal surrounding the town librarian getting caught up at make-out point with a married member of the town council. That had everyone buzzing, even if the town councilman was separated from his wife.
    Keely had play dates at the playground with other parents and their kids, movies in the park, and poker night once a month with Jared and a few friends he had made over the two months he had been in town. His life was simple, mundane, and totally uneventful.
    Dominic would hate every minute of it.
    Keely sighed deeply. His heart felt so heavy in his chest that it might as well have been in his stomach. He picked up his phone and dialed Mrs. Ferguson from next door. She often babysat for