Page 1 of Love At Peace

Chapter 1

Heather

Roarke didn’t react. He didn’t firm his face into an expression of anger. Nor did he smirk and laugh like David used to when I would inform him about a decision I made.

As if it would always be a joke that I could have control over anything in my life.

The rugged ranch hand standing to the side from my front door didn’t play any games like that. He wasn’t amused by my declaration. He wasn’t arguing.

Simply staring, still and immobile as though I’d stunned him with my words, he released a long exhale.

I was tense, waiting with bated breath for his reaction, for any reaction. I needed to know if I had to dig in harder and convince him of my decision. David had shown me how much I should fight and make a case to get my way—only to never grant me what I wanted.

I wanted to see if Roarke was at all like my ex, quick to fury with being told something that didn’t align with his wishes.

“I’m leaving,” I repeated when I couldn’t take the silence anymore.

Since the moment we met, we were argumentative and combative. That push-and-pull contributed to a lot of sexual tension, but right now, it felt like a void.

Say something, dammit.

It ate at me that his reaction would matter so much. His opinions had sunken in too far into my psyche.

Because I care. I swallowed hard, forcing my throat to work past the emotions clogging it.

I had come to care about Roarke, but I had to choose to protect myself.

His niece was with my ex. And that connection couldn’t bode well for me.

“I’m taking a new job that Janelle heard about.” It was early days yet. She’d only mentioned it to me this week, but I had to consider it as a viable option forward.

“That’s it?” he finally snapped, moving. His hands came out of his pockets and he flung his arms into the air only to drop them back down. “That’s it? You just got here, and you’re leaving?”

The frustration in his tone peeved me.

I didn’t answer to him. If I wanted to come and go, then I damn well would. The freedom to move where I wanted to was just one thing among many that I fought to reclaim after I left David in Chicago. I’d be damned if another man ever tried to tell me where I could be, where I could go.

“Yeah. You heard me.” I tipped my chin up, defiant. I let the anger and shock at the news about Nevaeh and David fuel me to stay strong.

“You can’t stay, huh?” he said with too much snark.

Now, he was mad. His anger was rising to the surface, but it wasn’t taking over him. He was still standing apart, not trying to get in my face and tower over me to intimidate me. He kept his body relaxed yet braced, not trying to raise his fist to me or make a grab for my arm.

Because he’s not David.

Roarke is not David.

That mantra hadn’t changed. I knew they weren’t alike, but the fear embedded my mind wasn’t easy to dismiss.

Even if the men were opposites, even if I could convince myself that Roarke wouldn’t behave like David had, there was no possible means to erase the connection between Roarke and his niece. They were all connected. A layered web of association had been formed around me, and I didn’t want to stick around and see how soon a noose would tighten around me.

I shook my head. I couldn’t. I truly didn’t want to stay and be subjected to whatever the hell they were conspiring against me.

“You can’t stay and see where things go with us?”

“Us?” I scoffed, pointing my finger between us, marking the several yards that acted as a buffer. “There is no us, Roarke.”

I got another reaction out of him with that comment. He stiffened, almost as if he’d been struck. If he was counting on an argument to persuade me not to want to go, he should’ve been prepared for me to lash back out. I didn’t know why he would perceive me as a weak thing to push around. Unlike my behavior around David, I’d been firm from the get-go with Roarke, insisting on my space and protecting my privacy.