AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He nodded. “Let me wash up then,” he said, taking off the cap and placing it on a rack by the door.
“The food looks and smells delicious. What part of the chicken do you like best?”
“The breast and leg.” He went off to the kitchen to wash his hands, thinking that those were his favorite parts on a woman, too.
When he returned, Lennox had sat down at the table. Their gazes met and the first thing he noticed was that her lips--her very tempting lips--were set in a firm line. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, glancing at the bowls of food in front of her.
But he knew she wasn’t telling the truth. He slid into the chair across from her. “Thereissomething bothering you, Lennox. I can tell.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, but just spooned food from the bowls onto both of their plates--mashed potatoes and gravy, string beans, corn bread, potato salad and chicken. And to top things off, a glass of lemonade for each of them.
“It’s just not fair.”
He picked up his fork. “What’s not fair?”
“DeWalt was killed four months before our wedding day. We didn’t deserve that.”
He figured there was more to what she was saying, but at the moment he really wasn’t emotionally able to indulge her. He frowned. “Look, Lennox. We’ve been on the road for almost seven hours. I’m tired. Could we talk about something else?”
He saw the flash of irritation in her eyes. “You don’t understand.”
“I do understand,” he said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to eat until they’d cleared the air. “You were to get married four months before your fiancé was killed. I heard you and I’m sorry. But you’re not the only one who got a raw deal. My wife was killed just before I was cleared of murder and set free. So forgive me if I don’t get too indignant on your behalf.” Then, as calmly as he could, he took a sip of his drink.
When she got quiet, he began to eat. She refused to look at him, but he could see that his words had made her lose her appetite. She was only picking at her food.
Oh hell… He hadn’t intended to be so hard on her, but she’d hit a nerve. Still, he couldn’t be angry with her. Considering everything she’d gone through in the last thirty-six hours, he figured she was entitled to an emotional breakdown.
A lot of people would have been going crazy by now, knowing someone was trying to kill them. In a way he was glad it was happening now and not when he’d been driving, trying to put distance between them and Charlottesville. Or worse, when he’d been getting them out of that ambush. She had held it together so if she needed to let things fall apart now, he would let her. But he couldn’t let it last long—for both their sakes.
“Roland?”
He glanced over at her, figuring it was safe now to do so. She’d said his name in an ‘I’m-back-in-control’ voice. “I’m sorry. I guess I kind of lost it there for a few minutes.”
“Trust me, it can happen to the best of us. But I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to be so hard on you.”
She nodded, then murmured softly, “I can’t imagine what you went through.”
“It wasn’t that different from what happened to you. You never quite get over losing the one you love, the one you intended to spend the rest of your life with. Both DeWalt’s and Becca’s deaths were senseless and tragic.”
Although she was back in control, he knew she needed to talk through things, and now was as good a time as any. In fact, it was probably best that they got it over with.
“You’re right--they were senseless and tragic. But do you know what bothers me more than anything?” she asked.
“No, what?”
She paused a moment. Then she took a deep breath. “All this time, I believed DeWalt’s death was an accident.”
“And now you’ve found out the truth. Would you rather not have known?”
“No. It hurts, but it’s better that I know. I’m also glad I found out about Steve.”
“I am, too.”
They continued eating, with little to say other than to agree on the wonderful quality of the food. When they’d finished, she said, “I swear, it tasted home-made.”
“I’m pretty sure it was,” he said, picking up his now clean plate. He’d helped himself to seconds and so had she. Everything had tasted good.
