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He cut her off swiftly, before she could repeat the words he knew would wreck him. “It’s fine. It was a heat of the moment thing, just like our relationship. I know you didn’t mean it.”
Carly flinched. “Oh,” she choked out, and everything inside of him howled that he should take it back. But then he saw the faded flicker of memory from twenty years ago, the angry splash of blood, the hastily packed suitcases, and his resolve became cement, thick and unyielding. Better he hurt her now by letting her leave than the alternative.
He couldn’t hurt her the other way.
“Really, Carly. Feel free to go with a clear conscience. The resort will find someone to replace you.” Jackson paused, his next words swirling burnt and bitter in his mouth. “Plus, you never belonged here anyway.”
A spark of anger flared over her wet eyes, making them glitter. “I never belonged here, or I never belonged with you?”
“Both. What was going on between us wouldn’t have worked out in the end. Now you can go home and start fresh, just like you wanted.”
Carly stiffened, her demeanor shifting as she hardened her answer. “If that’s what you think, then you don’t know a damn thing about meorwhat I want, Jackson Carter.”
Their gazes clashed, hers glittering with sadness and anger, and Jackson knew she was telling him she wanted to stay, to be with him. That she meant what she’d said last night.
That she loved him.
If he didn’t walk away from her,right now, he wasn’t going to. They stood, unmoving, in the open mouth of the loading dock, caught up together by one last strand of possibility.
Feed her.
His lips parted, but the only thing he could hear was the twenty-year old sound of fists on flesh, and it knocked him back to reality.
No.No.
Jackson turned his back on her and walked away.
* * *
Every one ofCarly’s instincts shrieked before yanking her in opposite directions, and she watched Jackson’s broad shoulders slump in retreat for only a fraction of a second before her feet kicked into gear.
“Jackson, wait.”
He didn’t even break stride, which both pissed her off and terrified her. Carly stumbled toward him, awkwardly jerking her arms out of his too-big hoodie as she moved.
“Wait! Take your sweatshirt.” It was stupid, but it spilled from her lips nonetheless, and she gained on him from behind as his gait finally slowed.
“Keep it.” His voiced strained on the terse reply, but he didn’t turn around. The heavy thump of his boots echoed over the pavement, and Carly rushed forward, silently slipping behind him.
“Damn it, Jackson!Wait.”
Suddenly, everything shifted to slow-motion, and Carly lunged forward to grab Jackson’s arm at the exact instant he reared back to answer her. She felt the force of his body as he jerked around, emotion roiling from him in waves. Her cheekbone absorbed the sharp crack of his elbow as it connected with her face, whirling her all the way around. For one breathless second, she felt nothing except a loss of balance, and she tried to steady her feet although the accidental blow had turned her nearly a hundred and eighty degrees.
Then the pain slammed into her like a wrecking ball, and she couldn’t do anything except crumple to the ground, the back of her head hitting the pavement with a hardwhump.
“Oh, Jesus. Carly, I didn’t see you. I didn’t know you were there.” There was a shuffle of movement—feet, maybe?—and Carly tried to open her eyes to gain her bearings.
But they were already open, and the only thing she could see was a handful of white spots she was pretty sure didn’t exist. She blinked, and the pain splintered into a thousand pinpricks dipped in acid.
“It’s fine. I’m…” She trailed off, overcome by dizziness. Something hot and wet dripped over her fingers, which she pressed to the back of her head by sheer instinct, and she channeled all her energy into trying to focus through the pain.
Oh, hell. Was that blood?
“You’re bleeding. Oh, God, you’re reallybleeding.” Jackson’s panicked words reverberated through her, and she tried unsuccessfully to train her vision on him. He went silent at the sound of the back door squeaking open, and Carly heard rather than saw how he jackknifed to his feet to run toward the sound, calling for help.
A wave of nausea surprised its way over her, pulling at her throat. The spots grew brighter, darting around her line of sight in chaotic circles and turning everything foggy.
Why couldn’t she think?
