Except she knew his favorite color was yellow. He hated salmon but loved perch. He’d take Jason over Freddy any day of the week, and he had a thing for her lips, especially when she pressed them against his own.
Sarah sighed and dove through the air, her cabin in mind. No matter how she looked at it, both she and her bird were in love. She couldn’t, in good conscience, leave Cullen until she’d sorted this emotional mess out with him. She owed it to herself.
And if Cullen truly loved her, he’d leave with her.
And leave his family? His business? Yeah, that’s fair, Sarah. Force him to choose between you and his family.
Another no-win situation, she realized. Because even if Cullen did love her, there was no way she’d stay in this town with the raptor clan. Not with the way the town perceived her.
She circled over her cabin, suddenly in sight, and landed easily. Shifting back into her human form, she hurried inside, only to find her house trashed. As she dressed in a pair of ripped sweats, her anger grew…until she saw the note tacked to the back of her front door.
If you want Cullen Whitefeather to remain in the clan, leave town and don’t ever come back. His status as a town citizen depends on you to do the right thing. And if he’s kicked out, it’s a sure thing the family business will fall as well. You tell anyone about this, and we’ll make sure the Whitefeathers are out of Cougar Falls faster than the crow flies.
Sarah’s jaw dropped. She’d expected trouble for Cullen, but not this kind. If he was expelled from the clan, he’d have to leave town. He had a family here, a business, a place in Ac-taw society. Sarah had nothing. Nothing but Cullen, and that was iffy at best. Her leaving wouldn’t impact anyone but Mac, and he could get another waitress at the drop of a hat.
Not only that, the note implied that Cullen’s family would be at risk as well. No matter that none of them deserved it. Jenny Larsen and her friends had just that kind of pull in the community. As tough as Sheila liked to think she was, she needed steady clients to run a business in a town as small as Cougar Falls. Cullen’s contributions to several art galleries notwithstanding, the family as a whole could only exist so long as the clan accepted them.
Did Sarah have the right to deny them their life in Cougar Falls? This mess was hers in the first place. Jenny Larsen had been after her, not Cullen.
Handsome, honorable, talented Cullen.
She contemplated her situation for hours, torn by the possibility of happiness just within reach. But at what cost?
Heartbroken, Sarah knew what she needed to do. As much as she hated the thought of leaving Cullen, she’d do it for his own good.Besides, he never said he loved me,she told herself.That was supposition on his mother’s part. So how can I sever ties to something that never was? As if a man like Cullen could ever love someone like me.
Wiping hated tears from her cheeks, she packed what little of her things remained intact and headed into town to say her good-byes.
