He scoffs as she turns to walk away. “You said you needed a job so damn bad. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I run the farm,” she snaps.
“Oh, yeah, that’ll help with the student debt. Big achievement, Dee. You work on your family’s farm. You go running home to Mommy and Daddy?—”
I’m already halfway across the yard and I step between them, cutting Rob off. “Keep talking,” I say. “Keep talking and find out what happens.”
“Let me guess. You’re Jake. The one who can’t keep his hands off her.” Rob rolls his eyes. “This is between me and my fiancée.”
“She’s not your fiancée,” I bark at the same time Darcy shouts, “I’m not your fiancée!”
Rob pushes past me and I just raise my eyebrows at him. He gets one more. One more before I deck him.
“Darcy, take the flowers. Take the job.” Rob’s voice weakens. “Take me back.”
She whirls around to face him, trembling.
“I just wanted you to be happy, babe. I was trying to set up our future. Make your life easier.”
She shakes her head and swallows. “That’s not what I wanted. You didn’t ask me. You controlled me.”
“One time, Dee.”
They’re standing close together. Too close. My chest aches watching her eyes flit between his.
Horror grips me as she reaches for the flowers, taking them in her hand. She stares down into them, her jaw clenched so tight I can see the bulging muscle. A gentle hand grips my arms, Maggie at my side.
“Please don’t,” she whispers. I think she’s talking about me beating up Rob, but when I look where she’s looking, I realize she’s talking about Darcy going back to him.
Darcy trembles and Rob’s hand settles on her waist, the other brushing a curl back from her face.
I want to kill him.
The roses drop from Darcy’s hand, the plastic crinkling as they hit the ground. “It wasn’t one time.”
Rob’s face goes red. “What?”
“You didn’t just control me one time,” she says, her voice rising. “You did it all the time.”
“All the time?” he squeals, incredulous. “When?”
“I knew you’d do this,” she says, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. He made her cry. My fists tighten at my sides. “I’m under no obligation to spell it all out for you. I’m allowed to walk away from you. We are over, Rob.”
Relief floods through me at those words.
She turns to walk away and he grabs her by the elbow. “When?” he demands. “When did I control you?”
I step forward. “Get your fuckin’ hands off her.”
Rob gives me a dirty look and Darcy wrenches out of his grip. “I don’t know! Straighten your hair, Dee! Wear these clothes, Dee! That’s too many times eating out for lunch this week, Dee! What time are you going to the gym, Dee? Think of your wedding dress, Dee!”
Rob buries his face in his hands. “Darcy, I love you. The way you are. I never?—"
“You never lovedme,” she bellows, swiping another tear from her cheek. “You loved what you wanted to make me into. Now stay away from me and let me live in peace.”
Maggie runs for Darcy and sweeps her toward the house. Rob follows on their heels, and this is my moment. My hand lands on his shoulder and I pull him toward me. “I don’t think so, buddy.”
“I’m not your buddy,” he says a split second before my fist connects with his face.
