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Shane’s head snapped up as she stopped directly in front of him. She attempted to read him, to see if he would give her anything that might make this situation better.
Those eyes she’d fallen in love with remained guarded. The set of his jaw was hard, and his body tense.
“Did you ever love me?” She didn’t think it was possible, but Shane’s whole body tensed even more. The muscles in his face twitched. “Well? Don’t just stand there. Spit it out. Tell me exactly what it was you came here to say.” Her voice shook with the emotion that had made a sudden return.
“Eloise,” he murmured, “I wish I could tell you—”
“Oh no, you don’t. We’re not doing that. I asked you a question, and I deserve an honest answer. Either tell me what I need to know or get back in your car and run away like the coward you are.”
His eyes darkened, consumed by a haze of something she didn’t recognize. “You want to know the truth? I’ll tell you the truth.” Shane stepped within inches of her, his eyes piercing into hers so she couldn’t make an escape if she wanted to. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Life isn’t perfect, Eloise. There is no cut-and-dried way to deal with the stuff that it dishes out. You might think you know where your decisions will take you, and then you’re knocked to the ground with something you didn’t expect.”
Eloise glowered at him. “That’s a lot of talk when all I wanted was a simple answer.”
Silence hung in the air between them, sending chills down her spine until she couldn’t take it any longer. “That’s what I thought,” she snapped. “You’re nothing but a coward.” Eloise spun from him and stalked toward the house.
“Eloise,” he called out.
The despair in his voice was so strong that she turned around.
“I didn’t want it to end like this. I didn’t want us to end at all.”
The last bit of her heart shattered, taking with it any decorum she had left. How could he say that if he wasn’t in love with her? Instead of running toward the house, Eloise made her escape to the barn. She needed to get out of there—somewhere Shane wouldn’t come after her.
“Eloise! Wait!”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she ignored them, setting to work saddling her horse. It was late, but she knew this place like the back of her hand. There was a hunting cabin not too far past the fields where the animals grazed. She’d be able to lick her wounds there.
Eloise saddled her horse faster than she’d ever done in her life, and in no time she was flying down the trails that would take her to her sanctuary. Branches clawed at her, tugging at the dress she hadn’t changed out of yet. Her hair fell from the style where she’d pinned it and now flew freely around her face. The only light guiding her was that of the full moon, but it was more than enough.
By the time she made it to the small cabin, her tears had stopped falling, but the skin on her face felt tight and itchy. It wouldn’t have been possible to cry a single drop more. She’d shed the last tear she ever would over Shane Owens.
Eloise slipped from her horse and tied the mare up to a post in front of the cabin. She hunted around for the hide-a-key and eventually got inside the building. Then she collapsed on the sofa and stared with a daze toward the dark, cold fireplace.
She thought she might just curl up and fall asleep when there was a knock on the door. Immediately, her heart raced. No one knew she was out here. Shane was good with horses, but even he wouldn’t dare follow her out here, would he?
Slowly, she got up from the couch and inched toward the door. Right beside it hung a repeating rifle on the wall. Someone who wanted to do her harm probably wouldn’t bother with knocking, but she’d been taught better than to believe everyone was on the right side of things.
Eloise grabbed the gun, checked to see if it was loaded, then leaned up against the wall beside the door. “Who is it?”
“Marc.”
“What in the world—” She pried open the door and stared at Marc, dumbfounded. “How did you find me? Why are you here?” She shook her head. “Were youspyingon me?”
“What? No, of course not.”
She glanced over his shoulder and spotted an ATV. How had she not heard him coming?
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Marc rubbed the back of his neck, then shifted so he could peer inside. “Could I come in? I’ll explain everything.”
She stepped aside, allowing him entrance, then shut the door. “How did you even know about this place?”
He chuckled. “After buying that property out by the country club, I thought it might be a good idea to learn how to handle a hunting rifle.” His focus shifted to the one she held. “Your father was willing to show me a thing or two, and we came out here once.”
“My fath—” She shook her head. “No. My dad wouldn’t have done that.”
“Maybe not for free. But he was willing to take a pretty penny from me.” He gestured toward the couch. “Mind if I sit?”
