Under Lock and Key by K.D. Richards

Author:K.D. Richards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2024-07-29T14:10:34+00:00

* * *

KEVIN CAUGHT TANYA at her apartment the next morning before she left for her shift at the hospital. Tanya already had her coat on, thermos of hot coffee in hand, when she opened the door to him.

“Kevin? Hi, what’s up? Are you okay?” she asked, stepping back so he could enter the apartment.

He didn’t waste time or mince words. “You knew about Maggie’s miscarriage? About the baby, didn’t you?”

“How did you—”

“Maggie told me. That’s what you were going to tell me the other day before you stopped yourself.”

Tanya sighed and set her thermos down on the side table next to her purse. “I knew.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Fury rose in his tone.

“Because I couldn’t. Maggie came into the student health center once she realized she might be pregnant. You know I held a work-study job there while we were in school. I was on duty. Patient confidentiality laws prohibited me from saying anything to you or anyone about a patient’s medical history.”

He glowered at her. “You’re my sister. It’s been years.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who I am or how many years it’s been. Confidentiality still applies. And, to be honest with you, I’m not sure I would have told you if I could have.”

He threw up his hands. “Is everybody losing their minds?” he yelled.

“Kevin, there was nothing you could have done. Miscarriages are common, much more common than most people even realize. Telling you would have only left you feeling guilty for something that you had no control over.” She reached out, placing a hand on his arm. “Something that was not in any way your fault, do you understand me?”

He understood her just like she understood where his anger emanated from. Fear. Fear that his decision to break up with Maggie had upset her enough to cause a miscarriage.

“If I hadn’t left—” he said softly.

“She would have still lost the baby,” Tanya said firmly.

“I should have been there for her.”

“What is it Mom always says, ‘the shoulda, woulda, couldas will drive you up a wall if you let them’?” She gave him a small smile. “You can’t change the choices you made, and you shouldn’t want to. Right or wrong, they made you, and to some extent Maggie, who you are now. And you’re not that bad.” She gave a little sister shrug he knew was intended to draw a smile from him.

He wasn’t ready to smile, but talking to his sister did make him feel a little better. It didn’t alleviate all his guilt. He wasn’t sure anything could do that, but he felt a little lighter than he had when he’d walked into her apartment. He pulled his sister into a tight hug.

“So Maggie finally told you,” Tanya said after they pulled apart. “Interesting.”

“What’s interesting about it? She was mad at me for getting her fired, and she shot it at me like a bullet.”

Tanya’s mouth fell open. “You got her fired?”

He ran a hand over his head. His life felt as if it was spinning out of control, and he didn’t like it.

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