Page 18 of Straight Fire


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He shook his head. “I’m good.”

I went back to my e-reader, although reading was going to be hard.

“You really don’t remember anything.” He said this as if he didn’t believe it.

I shook my head without looking at him. I had already answered that question yesterday. The answer wasn’t going to change today.

“Why did you come back to Ocala?” he asked.

He wanted to talk today? Fine, we could talk.

I slipped off my shoes and tucked my feet under me, then looked at him. “Because I didn’t like the life I had there.”

His frown deepened. “How did you know to come here? Your parents aren’t here anymore.”

That was a decision that had caused much drama. I wouldn’t tell him that though.

“My uncle Neil is here. I needed somewhere that I wasn’t expected to be a certain way or to do certain things. Old me liked things that I don’t enjoy.”

My friends had been shallow and elitist. My fiancé had been worried about appearances, wealth, and connections. I hadn’t worked and had never had a job. However, none of that was his business, and I wasn’t sharing that much of myself with him.

“I take it, your boyfriend was one of those things.”

I shrugged, then nodded. I didn’t add that he’d been my fiancé.

“We were too different.”

And how had he even known I had a boyfriend? That seemed strange. I started to ask and remembered I wasn’t supposed to ask questions. Dang it.

“You work at your uncle’s doctor’s office.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, so I just nodded.

He let out a short laugh that didn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah, that’s nothing like the old you.”

How well had he known me? If I had been a batshit-crazy female stalker, would he have known me or what I was like? Other than that I was mentally unstable.

“Would you get me the TV remote?” he asked.

Our talk was over. I wasn’t sure if I was happy about that or not. I stood and walked over to get the remote from the dresser, then brought it back to him. He didn’t say thanks, or anything for that matter, but I honestly hadn’t expected him to.

As the sounds from the television filled the silence, I reached for my notebook and pen. I needed to make a list of the few things I’d learned. Like the fact that Gage had known about Isaac. He had also known I hadn’t worked. As I stared at my list, there were so many things I wanted to know. The questions that I had no answers to were all taunting me.

Unable to stop myself, I finally looked up at him. “Can I ask you a question?”

He didn’t look at me. His gaze stayed locked on the television. “You can ask, but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer it,” he replied.

I hadn’t expected him to agree to even letting me ask, so I was now stuck with deciding which question to throw at him. Asking him what the heck I’d done to make him hate me was a question I knew he’d shut down. If he wanted me to know, he’d have told me already.

“Why did you want me to come back today?” I asked. That question wasn’t on my list, but it should have been.

“Not sure,” he replied.

“You’re not sure why you wanted me to come back when you had made it clear yesterday how you felt about me?”

That was as bad as not answering it. He might as well have said nothing at all.

He turned his head to look at me, and I wanted to shiver from the cold gleam in those amber depths.

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