She looked right at that bright, burning anger on his behalf, because if she looked away from it, she’d have to see how angry she was at herself for expecting anything more from him.
Kristin had warned her, even. These guys weren’t reliable.
Darcy stood in the stairwell with her fists curled, trying to pick up her feet and go back to her bedroom. As though sensing her disapproval, Teagan turned his head and saw her watching them. His expression changed from annoyance to one of quiet regret. That only made her angrier, because that meant he knew he was wrong to leave. Leave rehab. Leave her.
She’d known better than to think he’d do anything but disappoint her.
Darcy spun on her heel, ready to make herself scarce until after he’d gone. She didn’t know whether he’d planned to say goodbye before he left, but she’d take some spiteful satisfaction in denying him the opportunity. She started back up the stairs, but Sloane had seen her too. The girl pushed the glass office door open and rushed out, calling Darcy’s name. She caught up to Darcy halfway back to the landing.
“Wait. Help. Help me,” Sloane said, grabbing the sleeve of Darcy’s thermal knit shirt. “Help me convince him to stay.”
“I’m off duty till noon,” Darcy snapped.
Sloane tensed her shoulders nearly to her ears. She looked back at her brother, face full of worry, then back up at Darcy. “Help me anyway, please?”
“What makes you think he’d listen to me?”
If the guy wasn’t even going to stick around to see if she’d sleep with him, she didn’t see why Teagan would be moved by Darcy’s less-than-legendary powers of persuasion.
She’d thought he liked her. She’d thought hereallyliked her.
“He’s pissed at me,” Sloane said, looking teary and harassed. “Because I didn’t tell him about this stupid board meeting.”
“He’s quitting rehab to go to a meeting?” Darcy asked incredulously. No. That had to be an excuse. Addicts quit rehab to go back to their addictions.
Teagan had followed Sloane to the foot of the stairs. He stood there silently, hands on his hips.
Sloane turned around. “I’m coming with you,” she said. “I’ll get my stuff.”
“You arenot,” Teagan said, breaking out a verydadkind of voice. “You are going to stay here and finish rehab.” It didn’t work on Sloane, and it only straightened Darcy’s back, because if he could see that his sister needed to stay and work on her substance issues, why couldn’t he see that he did too?
Darcy brushed past Sloane and marched down the stairs.
“You’re making a mistake,” she told Teagan, poking him in the chest. “You’ll be back to square zero in a month.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t argue with her. “I’m sorry” was all he said.
That only made her angrier. “No you’re not, because if you were sorry, you wouldn’t do it.”
“I meant, I’m sorry I won’t be here to help you finish clearing the new trail. I finished your job applications though. The password for the account is on a red sticky note by the computer.”
Because you always do what you said you’d do, Darcy thought with a sharp throb of pain. And he’d said he’d help her apply to a better job in Yellowstone, but he’d never said he’d stay and pursue whatever small sweet thing they’d been building, no matter what it hadfeltlike he was promising when she kissed him.
“As if that even matters. Do you want to end up in the hospital again?”
“I have to go. The board is going to fire me if I’m not back this week, and they’ll be right to do it, because our cash position—”
“Rose said she has a proposal for the board,” Sloane interjected. “She said she was handling it. She said youdon’thave to go.”
“Rose is the one gunning for my job,” Teagan said, his voice rising in volume. “And the chair told me to get back to work.” He looked exhausted, now that Darcy examined him more closely. His hair was damp from the shower, and he had a little cut on his neck from shaving, but he had bags under his eyes and lines of fatigue around his mouth like he hadn’t slept since she last saw him.
Darcy wanted to shake him, and she also wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and hold on, because at some level he obviously knew he was making the wrong choice.
“Is someone going to show up and arrest you if you’re not there? Are they going to send security to drag you back? Who ismakingyou go? I’ll fight them for you,” Darcy said.
Teagan exhaled in aggravation, hands shoved in his pockets. “I’ve spent the last two years trying to rescue this organization—”
“Likeyoucan’t get another job,” she said scornfully. “Mr. Yale sweatshirt.”
