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“Hey, calm down. I won’t let that happen. I will figure something out.”
“And if you don’t? What happens to them then?”
I wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear. That there was some magic solution, but in the past two days we had gone through every parcel on the island. There was nothing for sale. There was no way I could move the trailer park. I was at a complete dead end.
“They’ll lose their homes.” I couldn’t look at her.
“They are counting on you, Mason. Shawna and Lindy. They don’t have anyone else. This was it. What about the swing set and the slide? And the swimming platform? You made promises that you were only going to keep if they were convenient.”
I shook my head in protest. “That was never my intention. I had nothing to do with these damn endangered bugs. We did our due diligence. My legal team advised me. What did you expect me to do?”
The green in her eyes flickered. “The right thing.”
I closed my eyes. “The right thing for me was not to lose millions of dollars.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“You said Shawna was counting on me, but she’s not the only one. You met the people in the Dallas office. There are three floors of employees there. Don’t they matter? If this project goes under I will have to let peop
le go. People will lose their jobs. The contractor will lose the job. The people in Padre who are counting on new tourists and jobs for their families will all be let down. This thing is bigger than one trailer park, Syd. And it’s all on my fucking shoulders.” I shoved off the bed.
“I don’t want to let any one of them down. Not one single person.” I turned to face her. Her eyes wide with confusion. “And for one second I hesitated.” I bent so that my nose was within inches of her face. “I almost said to hell with all of it, and let the thing go under. I almost didn’t sign the contract. I was going to lose the millions. I was going to let people go unemployed. I actually considered it so Shawna and Lindy could stay there. You know why?”
Her head moved back and forth.
“Because I didn’t want to see that look in your eye. I didn’t want to disappoint you. To hell with the rest of them. But you. I didn’t want to let you down. And I know that’s what you would think. You see your sister in her. You can’t help it.” I put my head between my hands. “And somehow you’d blame me for all of it.”
“But you could have told me,” she whispered. “You should have told me.”
“Not until I knew there was no way out.” I sat, the bed bouncing under my frame. “I would do whatever I had to not to see that look in your eye. It kills me. It cuts right through me, Syd.”
I felt the exhaustion and the strain from the day. The ache in my muscles. The worry when Sydney was missing. The fear she was lost. The struggle to keep it all together.
“Don’t leave me, Syd. Don’t make this the thing that breaks us. God, don’t leave me.” It came pouring out in a jolting, disjointed sequence. All I could think about was that I had ruined us.
“Shh.” She wrapped her hands around my neck. “Shh. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her lips were on mine. I felt the heat from her mouth. My hands twisted in her hair, bringing her closer. Our cheeks were wet with tears. I didn’t know where hers started and mine stopped. I tasted the salt on our tongues.
“Don’t leave. Don’t leave.” I felt the safety in her arms, the softness, the tenderness.
“Mason, you broke my heart today.” She sat forward, studying my face.
“I know I did.” I only wanted her lips again, the feel of her body sliding against mine. Things were right when we were connected. The pressure was gone. The only responsibility I had was to keep her in the fortress of my arms.
“I will make things right for Shawna. I swear I will.” I looked into her eyes. The tinges of hazel and amber that drove me crazy the first day I saw her at the Cove danced together.
“It doesn’t fix everything.” She drew X’s over my heart with her finger.
“No, it doesn’t.” I sat forward on my elbows. “But I learned something today.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter to me that we haven’t known each other long, or that we’ve burned through this relationship hotter and faster than we should have. When I had to fly home without you, I knew why I was so crazy. I knew what had happened.”
“What happened, Mason?”
Her hair fell loosely on her shoulders. Her long eyelashes were damp with tears. All I could think about was kissing her. Hanging on to every touch.
