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“And youlovedit.You wanted more and more.Youbeggedme to marry you.”
“No.”The word comes out strong and hard.“That didn’t happen.It’s not true, and it’ll never be true.”
“Shut the fuck up!”He storms over and backhands me, making me see stars.“You’re a motherfucking liar, you whore.”
“I’m not lying.”
He hits me again and then pushes me down into a chair.It’s one of Roger’s kitchen chairs.My cheek throbs, and I feel nauseous again, but I realize that he’s tying me to the chair.
“You’re not that stupid fucking rancher’s,” he mutters over and over again as he ties the knots.“He can’t give you what I can.He can’t love you like I do.In for a penny, in for a pound.In for a penny, in for a pound.”
He keeps repeating odd phrases, over and over.He’s mentally insane.
And he’s going to kill me.Oh, my God, he’s going to kill me, and Roger will find me here.Sweet Roger, who wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Remington and the kids need me.My whole family needs me, and this monster is going to take me away from them.
“Your dad told you,” he says, looking me right in the eyes.“He told you that he wanted you to marryme.Because he knows.He’s smart, and he’s famous, and heknows.”
“What does he know?”It comes out in a whisper.
“That I’m the only one for you.”He calmly reaches up to drag his fingers down my cheek, and then he grips my mouth, bruising my face on either side.“I’mthe one who loves you.I would have treated you so fucking nice, but you just wouldn’t listen to me.No, you had me put away.But you can’t stop a love like ours, Erin.When it’s meant to be, it works out.And we are meant to be.”
“No,” I whisper and earn another slap across the cheek.
“You shut your whore mouth!”he screams in my face, spittle hitting me.His breath stinks like old coffee, and he has something stuck in his teeth.I must be in shock because that strikes me as funny.“Don’t you laugh at me.”
“This whole thing is laughable,” I reply.He’s going to kill me anyway.I might as well be honest.“What, are you going to take me up to your apartment and keep me hostage there?”
“Not hostage,” he says.“Our home isn’t a jail for you, my love.No, it’s your safe place.Roger told me that you bought that furniture for us.You’ve already made it our home.That’s where you belong.”
“I don’t belong anywhere near you.”
He stands and paces away from me, pushing his hand through his hair.Then he rounds on me and punches me with a closed fist, and everything goes black.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Remington
“Hey, Dad?”Johnny asks as we walk down Main Street.
“Yeah, buddy?”
“Maybe we could just stay in town until Erin gets done at work, and then we could take her out for dinner.We haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Yeah!”Holly agrees.“We could get BBQ!”
I stop and look down at the two of them.They’re staring up at me with excited eyes, and I know that there’s no way I’ll say no.
“Best idea I’ve heard all day.We should definitely do that.We don’t spend much time in town, do we?”
“Nah, but there’s lots to do out at the ranch,” Johnny reminds me.“Sometimes, it’s fun to come to town, though.”
“Let’s pop back by the coffee shop,” I say as Holly slips her hand into mine, “and we’ll make sure that Erin doesn’t have other plans.”
“If she was gonna do something with Aunt Millie, she can come with us, too,” Holly suggests.“Then it’ll be evenmorefun.”
“We can invite Aunt Millie if you want.”
