As the door swung shut, I gasped at the pain I felt in my chest. It wasn’t from the cut or the bruising. It was from the pain of him walking out the door. He was leaving me because he didn’t think he was good for me, and there was nothing I could say to convince him to stay.
He had to realize that on his own.
43
JR
Slammingthe door to my truck, I walked up to Lizzy’s house, wiping my boots on the mat before knocking. I didn’t bother waiting for her to answer since she was supposed to be on bed rest.
I watched as she quickly slipped back onto the couch, covering herself up as she pretended she hadn’t been ignoring the doctor’s advice.
“Caught red-handed,” I smirked.
“Don’t you dare say a word. I’ve been good, but there’s only so long I can sit on my butt. Besides, I needed more snacks,” she said, pointing to the table that was already filled with every kind of snack in a grocery store aisle.
When I didn’t come in further, she sighed. “You’re leaving.”
“Yeah. I went ahead and talked to your brothers. They’re going to fill in for me.”
“Perfect,” she muttered. “So, everything will be screwed up.”
“It’ll be fine. I went through everything. They know how you want things done.”
She nodded, but biting her lip, I knew there was more she wanted to say.
“You’ll be fine.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about.”
Quirking an eyebrow at her, I walked over and took a seat beside her. “Really?”
“I’ve made peace with my situation.”
At my pointed look, she rolled her eyes.
“I’m working on it, which is more than I can say for you.”
“There’s nothing for me to work on. There’s only one option, and that’s for me to remove myself from Josie’s life.”
“Did you ask her how she felt about that?”
Huffing, I dropped my gaze. “It was pretty damn clear. She didn’t even put up a fight.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Lizzy—”
“Men are all so pigheaded. So, you’ve decided what’s best for her, and you didn’t even think to find out what she needs.”
“I nearly got her killed.”
“But you saved her.”
Like any of that mattered. “Just because I came in at the last minute and kept her from being gutted doesn’t mean I should be with her.”
“You love her, JR.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m no good for her.”
