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She slowly started to shake her head, so Jay turned away quickly. “You might want to watch yourself in the future. Not every man has as much control as I do. Or their brother’s relationship at risk.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You can’t go around tempting a man with those big blue eyes and not expect someone to take you up on your silent offer.”
“What silent offer?”
He heard the pain in her voice, knew he was hurting her, but also knew he had no choice.
“I was not offering you anything, Jay Colby. You took from me without my consent.”
He was relieved to hear the anger back in her voice. “Oh I had your consent princess, we both know that.”
He saw her hand fly in the air, had the time to stop it, but allowed it to reach its mark. The stinging blow, however, matched nowhere near to how despicable he felt inside. He closed his eyes from the sheer pounding in his head rather from the affliction she rendered him.
“You are a mean and hateful man, Jay Colby.”
He was surprised to hear the tears in her voice. His gut wrenched painfully and the throbbing in his head intensified. Turning, he watched as she slumped down on a nearby crate.
The sensible portion of his brain told him to leave as was, but the other portion, the one far too sensitive where Erika Snowden was concerned, nagged him terribly.
Sighing he rubbed his temples and said, “I’m not what you want Erika. You need someone like Ryan. A man who is sensitive, and kind, and would never consider insulting your feelings.”
She tightened the blanket about herself, ignoring him and he knew she hated him with a fresh sense of depth. Though he knew it was for the best, it was still hard to bear.
“Erika, your dream has been to leave this town and travel all over. Ryan will help you fulfil that dream. I don’t plan to ever leave Placid. I’ll be here until the day I die.”
Her chin lifted then, and he could see his words had finally struck home. There was one thing Erika Snowden wanted, whether she knew it or not. Was her freedom. As long as she continued to live in Placid within her grandfather’s control, she would never obtain that.
She blinked, forcing back the tears that hovered and turned to stare out toward the shoreline where the town sat perched high above the bluff. Silence filled the fishing boat as she simply sat there staring. When she eventually did speak, he was startled at her choice of words.
“If you wanted, you could be very powerful in this town, Jay.”
Though he felt a sense of pride at her belief in him, he immediately brushed her comment aside. “I believe that seat is already occupied. Besides, I don’t exactly have a huge following, if you know what I mean.”
From the look on her face, he knew that she did know what he meant, however, the words that followed took him by surprise. “Perhaps you have more support than you realize.”
He had to fight hard not to allow her words to light that small flicker of happiness inside. He had spent all his life fighting a town’s disapproval of him. He had no misgivings of believing that would ever change.
“Don’t try and make me something I’m not,” he told her, levelling her with a gaze. “I’m not, nor ever will be a gentleman. I’m a farmer, fisherman at best.”
He knew using her own description of him would hit its mark. She stiffened, her eyes becoming an icy blue. “Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps that will be all you’ll amount to.”
“And I have no issue with that.”
The only noticeable reaction that this last statement affected her was the smallest flicker of her brows. “Then I hope you’ll be very happy with your choice in life.”
His eyes held her gaze. “As I said, I have no issue with it.”
She shifted, her eyes darting back toward the shoreline. “And I suppose you’ll take a nice young farm girl to marry.”
Jay paused. Maybe at one time, he would have wanted that, but not any longer. “Some people are just not meant for marriage.”
She offered no comment and her eyes remained fixed on the distance. He couldn’t see her face or read anything in her body language. Whatever was going through her head, she wanted none of it known to Jay.
Which was all for the best, anyway, he thought as he turned his attention to the sails. Getting close to Erika Snowden was a huge mistake. Getting emotionally close was pure self-destruction.
* * *
