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His jaw clenched as she shouldn’t feel this good in his arms.
“You want me to see you, Tara?”
She audibly swallowed as he placed her in front of him on the counter, aligning her so he could push his erection behind his jeans against her pussy.
“You want me to treat you like any other woman and make a play for you?”
Something flashed behind her eyes. He couldn’t decipher it. Was it hurt? Annoyance?
“Or did I misread you?”
She pressed a hand on top of his T-shirt, right over his heart. “I’m not just any other woman.”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips. “That’s right, babe. You’re the girl that set fire to my heart before she trampled on it.”
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…”
He took a little step backwards, needing room to breathe as her words tightened his chest. Owen didn’t want another half-ass apology. He could care less if she wanted any of this to happen. She’d caused this. Thanks to Tara, he missed out on her pregnancy and the first five and a half years of his daughter’s life.
“Bullshit.”
He wondered if he imagined the pure sorrow he read behind her eyes. Was she playing tricks on him by acting sad? Did she want to get on his good side now that she must have realized he would never let go of Frankie?
“I know you don’t believe me. But it’s true,” she whispered.
“You knew you were pregnant when you left me.”
Her light-blue eyes widened as she shook her head. “No. I had no idea!”
He scoffed. “Right. I’ve seen Funny Ear, Tara. It’s no use denying it. You took my bear with you to give to our child.”
She pushed his chest with both hands, making him take another step back in surprise. She hopped off the counter and raised a finger in the air between them.
“I know you hate me and that you’d rather ditch me in this dump and take Frankie with you so you’ll never have to see me again. But I took Funny Ear because he reminded me of you and all the nights I spent at your parents’ house while my mother was away for days and just left me to take care of myself.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but she continued, “I took Funny Ear the night I left Winter Peaks, because I knew that your scent was all over that ugly ass bear…”
She hiccupped as the tears flowed freely over her cheeks. He wanted to comfort her but he didn’t. There was still so much hurt inside of him keeping him from reaching out.
Tara whispered, “I didn’t know I already took a piece of you with me…”
“You didn’t know?”
“No…”
“Why? Why did you leave Winter Peaks in the middle of the night? Why did you leave me? I thought you loved me.”
Her shoulders shook as she cried. He didn’t give a damn anymore as he swept a tear away from under her eye.
“I’m sorry. I-I think I made a mistake…”
As if she twisted a knife around in his back, he stepped away from her. “You’d think?! Fuck, Tara. Of course you made a mistake! You should have come to me the moment you knew you were carrying my child! I would have done anything for you. AND for Frankie. You had to know this…”
He left her standing in the bathroom because he couldn’t stare into her sad eyes for a moment longer. He rounded the corner and entered the bedroom. He almost missed her words as she whispered, “That’s exactly why I kept you all safe…”
Owen wanted to ask her about the cryptic shit she spewed, but Frankie hopped in the middle of the bed like she’d found a trampoline and said, “I’m up! What’s for breakfast?”
He would ask Tara about keeping them safe later. Perhaps after he got them settled in his new home and Frankie wasn’t around to listen in on their conversation.
