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“He’s concerned about you. I hurt you, and he doesn’t want me to do it again. If me working for the farm is a problem, I can leave.” I’d been working to get another gig that paid as well, but it was a small town, and the neighboring tree farms didn’t want to carry the same inventory as the Monroes.
Talon reached over and covered my hand with his. “We have a history, and I’m determined to figure out what went wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything.” I was the one who’d screwed up, who couldn’t handle the real-life problems that were thrust at us. I wasn’t sure any relationship could have survived what we went through.
Talon gave me a look. “I wanted to be there for you.”
“I pushed you away. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was all me.”
Talon pulled the horses to a stop on the lane. He shifted so that he was facing me on the bench seat. “I have a problem with that. Because we went through something that was devastating. We both did. And we never got any kind of closure.”
“Is that what you want? Closure?” I asked him.
“I don’t want things to continue like they are. Everyone walks on eggshells around us, as if they’re afraid of upsetting one of us. But no one knows what happened.”
My shoulders stiffened. “I don’t want to talk to anyone about it now.” It would only bring everything up again, making it fresh and real. I wanted to bury it down deep where I didn’t have to think about it.
“But it wasn’t your fault,” Talon said gently.
I couldn’t respond to his statement because I didn’t believe it. I’d taken the most precious thing in the world and lost it.
“I never blamed you.”
I let out a disgusted breath. “You had every right to because I blamed myself.”
Talon sighed, his hand still resting on mine, warm and comforting. “That’s the part that always bothered me. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
I shuddered, hating the idea that something so horrible was fated.
Talon sighed. “I didn’t mean to get into this tonight.”
“If you wanted to talk, you could have just asked me instead of bidding ten thousand dollars in front of your family and the town.” Everyone knew that we dated in high school, and I was positive the rumors were already flying.
Everyone would be waiting for me to screw up again. I couldn’t handle the pressure of that. It was easier not to feel anything.
There was a comfort to the numbness. Unfortunately, I couldn’t maintain that state of mind when I was with Talon.
“I know this isn’t what you want, but I hope that you’ll give me this chance.” His eyes were soft and pleading.
I sighed. “I’ll give you tonight.”
It was all I had to give him. I’d let him have closure, and then we’d go back to how things were. We’d continue to tiptoe around each other. One day, Talon would find a woman who deserved his love. He’d marry her and have a couple of kids and live together in his cabin on the farm.
Because that person wasn’t me. I’d screwed up everything a long time ago. I’d ended us, and there was no coming back from that.
Chapter 2
Talon
My stomach churned when she finally placed her hand in mine and let me help her out of the carriage.
Marley had assured me we’d have privacy for the entire night. I hoped Holly would give me time.
She’d never let up on her decision to end things between us. She’d been adamant that I deserved someone better.
It sliced like a knife when she said that because I loved her. I’d never met anyone since that made me feel the same way she did. Even though we were young, I couldn’t escape the sense that we were meant to be.
My family insisted I needed closure, and I felt that things were unfinished. None of what happened was her fault. I couldn’t understand why she insisted on punishing herself and me in the process. I intended to make sure she understood that.
