LITTLE BIT STRONGER | A COUNTRY ROMANCE

Chapter Four

The moment Kate entered the attorney's space done in hardwoods and deep greens, her cousin linked their arms together. "Come to my office, honey. Meg, please hold all my calls."

"Of course. Let me know if I can bring you coffee or order lunch."

With a nod, Roberta continued to her office. Closing the door softly, she gathered Kate into a hug. "I'm sorry, Kate. I'm so sorry."

"I..." No more words came.

She clutched the older woman painfully tight and sobbed all over her expensive blouse. Looking back later, how long they stood together as Kate purged her stress and hurt would embarrass her a little.

In the moment, it was what she needed most.

As her tears began to ease, Roberta led her to a seating area and lowered with her to a leather couch. Reaching out, she picked up a box of tissues. Kate accepted them gratefully.

"I hate that you have to go through this. I was only able to watch the first few minutes of the video. Meg turned it off when I threw a book across the room and shattered a vase."

Despite the painful pressure around her heart and the lump in her throat, Kate smiled. "She takes such good care of you."

Roberta smoothed a strand of Kate's hair behind her ear. "I have you to thank for that."

Many members of their family - the older generation specifically - didn't talk to Roberta. They hadn't since she came out after her graduation from law school.

At the time, Kate was barely sixteen. With her brand-new license in hand, she drove her dad's truck to Roberta's dorm and helped her move into her first apartment in Tulsa. She'd landed a lucrative job with a law firm there.

Every month, she took the hour-long drive - sometimes with Kyle and Krista, sometimes alone - to spend time with the cousin who had babysat them as long as they could remember.

All their memories with Roberta were good ones and Kate didn't care who she loved as long as she was happy.

A few years before, the savvy lawyer purchased a dilapidated building in Boxton and turned it into stunning office and retail space. She used the corner location and rented out the rest. She was successful but lonely.

When Kate met Meg during a charity run, they became running buddies. It took almost a year for the lovely brunette to admit that she was gay.

No one else in her life knew. She felt incredibly alone, always fearful that someone would find out.

Naturally, Kate did some matchmaking.

Roberta eventually lured the bright younger woman away from her dead-end job and sent her to school to become a paralegal. She ran the office, helped with cases, and became the light of Roberta's life.

"You're perfect together."

"I agree." Taking one of Kate's hands in both of hers, she asked, "Tell me this is what you want. I need to know so I can be mean if you start to waffle."

Inhaling deeply, she added, "Because you will waffle, Kate. You love him even now. It doesn't turn off like a switch. You'll experience fear and second-guessing. Caleb's questions will throw you into chaos. If I know where you stand, I'll get you through it."

For a long moment, she considered her cousin's words carefully. Then she nodded. "I can't stay. I know myself too well. Even if I pretended to forgive him, I never really would. It would sit there between us, a knot in my chest."

Wiping her face, she took a deep breath. "I doubt this is the first time he's cheated. If I stay, he'll just get better at hiding it the next time. I won't live like that. I can't. It's not good for me or Caleb."