Sleeping With The Enemy (A Stranger's Touch) by Mary Eason Read Free Book Online Page B

for a little while longer. She’s been doing fine without me anyway. Dad, I think you should come with me.” Her father’s reaction to this was clear. “Daddy, we don’t know what Alex is capable of. What if he tries to hurt you? Please, Dad, just for a little while.”
    “Baby, I’m not going anywhere. I won’t run away from this. Alex Bradshaw made those accusations against me years ago. He couldn’t make them stick then and he won’t do it now.
    “Don’t you see, Katie, none of this adds up. It’s been ten years. Why hasn’t he tried to get revenge before now? Why now after all these years? What does he hope to gain now? He knows the accident wasn’t because...”
    “Because of what, Daddy? The first report said the accident was due to you being drunk. What happened that night, Dad? Did you…” Even though Kate couldn’t say the words, he seemed to understand.
    “No, baby, I wasn’t drunk. I tried to swerve out of her way, but I couldn’t.” Her father shook his head and turned away. “That poor woman. She was dead before I got to her. By the time I reached her, there was nothing I could do. She was gone.”
    “The report said it was your car that drifted into the oncoming lane on a deserted stretch of highway. Why were you out there, Dad?”
     
    “I know what the report said, and I admit the whole thing happened so fast, but I’m certain it wasn’t my car that crossed that center line. It was hers. I was coming home from work. I’d just finished the graveyard shift at the plant.” He spotted her reaction, and shook his head.
    “You don’t believe me, do you? It’s okay. I can’t blame you. I know I lost your trust a long time ago. You saw the terrible affects of alcohol growing up, didn’t you?”
    “Yes.” What else could she say? Her mother had tried to save her husband from his addiction before finally giving up hope. She’d left with her daughter and started a new life in New Mexico. She and Kate stayed with Jenny’s sister for several years. When they returned to Austin when Kate was a teen, there was a visible change in Robert. Her father was a different man. He’d stopped drinking entirely. Kate never understood it until now. It happened around the same time as the accident. After her mother died, Kate moved in with her father and the change became more apparent.
    “Dad, why didn’t you try to clear your name back then? Why let Alex get away with saying those terrible things about you.”
    “I did try, but for someone with my past, it wouldn’t have mattered how innocent I was proven. There would always be suspicions.”
    “So why didn’t Alex let the matter drop? After all, there weren’t any charges filed against you. You were innocent. Why wait all these years to get revenge?”
    Her father turned back to her with a bitter laugh. “Katie, I’m not innocent—not by a long shot. I’ve certainly caused my share of pain.”
    “But you weren’t responsible for killing his wife. It wasn’t your fault, Dad.”
    “No...but it didn’t change the facts, now did it? He lost his wife that night. Either way, I helped take away the woman he loved... I’m sorry, honey,” he added quickly when Kate winced at those words. “I’m sorry I’m the cause of your pain. But I still can’t help but believe this is somehow just a huge misunderstanding.”
    “No! It’s no misunderstanding, Dad. He was trying to get to you through me. But now I know the truth, there’s nothing Alex can do to you.”
    “He’s hurt you,” he added slowly. “That’s worse than anything he could ever do to me, Katie. He’s hurt my baby.”
    “Yes . But I won’t let him hurt me anymore, Daddy. And you’re right about one thing, I am going to talk to Alex. I want to see his face when he realizes I know the truth about his little plan. He didn’t win after all. I may be hurting, but I won’t let him destroy you or me. He can do whatever he wants with those lies, because they can’t hurt