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The fact was, he couldn’t. There was no way to keep all of his past hidden. Especially with the more one-on-one work they did with each other. Dax rubbed the back of his neck. He squinted as he peered at her, then toward the trail again.
“How much has Brielle told you about me?”
Her brows rose. “What does Bri have to do with you being a teacher?”
He laughed. “I’m just curious if she’s given up any of my secrets.”
“If your secrets include how good you are at your job or how much integrity you have or how hot—” She cut herself off and her face flushed. “It’s not really a secret that the two of you are together.”
“Were.”
“What?”
His small smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We were together. But that was a long time ago—like when she’d just graduated from high school.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Really? I would have thought it was more recent than that.”
He shook his head. “Nope. But then Brielle never really gets over a guy because she never has really had a long-term relationship. Frankly, I don’t think she wants one.” And that was the biggest reason for their breakup. He’d needed to find someone who could be a better influence on him—especially after he’d started going to meetings.
Dax took in a deep breath, keeping his focus forward. “So she’s not mentioned anything about my past?”
“Why would she?” She let out a nervous laugh. “What? Are you some kind of serial killer? Please tell me you’re not a serial killer.”
A laugh bubbled up from his chest. “You’re funny when you wanna be.”
She warmed with his compliment.
“But no, nothing like that. Remember when you mentioned that you were here because your mom sent you here for some kind of reform?” He didn’t turn fully toward her, but he could see the blush on her face deepen. They were closing in on a topic that made her uncomfortable. It was ironic that he had similar experiences.
Sarah wasn’t looking toward him anymore. And the way she sat in the saddle had once again grown stiff and unyielding.
He let out a sigh. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you about why you’re here. I only brought this up because it will help demonstrate the answer to your question.”
“Okay, so you have some kind of sordid past.”
“Yes.”
Her head snapped around to stare at him. “Really.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Let’s just say that I have had my share of run-ins with the law.”
“With the sheriff?”
“Actually, all my problems were in different states.”
“States? Plural?”
He grimaced. “Yeah.”
She blinked a few times as he gave her time to process this. He fully expected that she’d ask him for details. That’s what every girl he’d dated seemed to want to know. Perhaps that was yet another reason why he’d been interested in her past. He didn’t trust easily. And he’d been conditioned to need to know who or what he was dealing with.
Instead, Sarah just gave him a nod.
A nod. That was all.
She didn’t push him. There was no judgment. Just an acceptance.
It was a strange experience, to say the least. He didn’t have to put up any defenses and explain why he’d gone down that path or how he’d come back from it.
