“Come with me,” she blurted, pushing past the dread that surfaced at her offer. “Come to the inn with me. We can talk to Richard and Emmitt and see if…”
Trenton slammed the tailgate closed and squared a look at her. “See if what, Andie? If I’mgoodenough to be in the know?”
“It’s not like that. I told you that it’s not justmysecret to tell. And it doesn’t even change anything, Trenton. When I said I loved you, I meant it. I don’t want to lose you over something like this,please.”
“Over somethinglike this?”The dark look in his eyes turned hard and cold. “You say that like lying to me this whole time is no big deal.Youof all people should know that I’ve been lied to enough in my life.”
A fresh wave of desperation kicked up as he pulled his keys from his pocket and headed toward the driver’s side of his truck. Andie felt like her heart might explode altogether. “Then come with me so we can tell you. We can work this out.”
“I don’twantto make it work anymore. Don’t you get that?”
A gasp pulled from her throat, the small sound nothing compared to the ripping pain in her heart.
“I knew I should have left before you guys arrived,” he said, shaking his head in disgust. “Here I thought you were helping me out, making this whole discovery about my past a little easier. In reality you were widening the wound, getting ready to shake salt in it before you were through with me.”
“That’s not true,” she insisted.
“Itistrue. And whether or not you’re done with me and your secret little mission here, I have no idea. But the one thing that is clear in this moment is that I am one hundred percent done withyou.”
With that, Trenton climbed into his truck, started the engine, and left Andie in a cloud of dust.
Chapter 22
Andie pulled the covers over her head, desperate to shut out the sun for a while longer. At most stages in her life, the sun’s bright rays and radiant warmth would lighten her spirits. When spells of darkness and grief were upon her, Andie had often planned trips to sunny places and let the warmth and comforts heal her wounded heart.
But she wasn’t willing to let the sunlight in. Trenton McGrath was gone, and no matter the weather, Andie knew her world would never again be so bright. That knowledge started a chain reaction that rocked her body with new grief each and every time.
First, the piercing ache through the center of her chest. Next, the infectious fire that raged through her limbs like a disease. The sweat came next, a sick flash that left her shivering in its wake.
For the last four days, Andie had tortured herself with thoughts of all she had lost. Mom, Dad, her grandparents, as they’d never visit or speak to either again. A new wave of grief struck as thoughts of Memphis and Maverick came to mind. They were, as the detective said, as good as dead to each other now. She’d never attend their weddings. She’d never meet their future children. If such things awaited them at all.
The funny thing was, those things hadn’t occurred to her until she’d started to dream about her own future in such a way. In the days leading up to Trenton’s heartfelt confession of love, Andie had begun to picture those very events.
She couldn’t help but replay the hurt she’d seen in Trenton’s eyes. The deep sense of betrayal as he’d assured her that he’d had enough secrets to last a lifetime. The worst part was that no matter how much she’d understood where he was coming from, and no matter how much she felt that her secrets shouldn’t affect him, he deserved to know the truth.
She’d almost given it to him too.
Another round of volcanic heat rushed through her at the recollection. Could it really come down to something so…so simple? It didn’t seem fair. In fact, each time she considered it, a side path presented itself in her mind. It was a path that, until now, she hadn’t wandered down. But why not? Why not explore the fact that—had the situation been reversed—she would have given Trenton every opportunity in the world to explain himself.
The heat within her shifted to something more tolerable.
It wasn’t the longing, the pain, or the regret. It was anger.
Her chest puffed with a dose of empowerment.Yes,she had every right to be angry. Not just at Richard or at the situation as a whole, but at Trenton, Mr. Perfect himself. Why had she kept him on a pedestal after he’d treated her that way?
He’d barely gotten word that Andie had been keeping something from him and what did he do? He put his ranch up for sale, loaded up his truck, and prepared to leave her behind without so much as a word.
Never would Andie do such a thing. Never would she write off the man she’d fallen deeply in love with without giving him a chance to explain. What was he—twelve years old?
With a fresh sense of empowerment, Andie tore the blankets off and sat up straight in bed. At once she shot to a stand, the restless energy making it hard to hold still. The floor was cold beneath her bare feet as she paced across the foot of the bed, back and forth. Then back and forth again.
“That jerk,” she mumbled. “Didn’t even give me a chance to explain. It’s like he didn’t even want to know. Hadn’t he said as much when he left?”
A small gasp pulled at her throat as enlightenment crashed in.
That was it. He was looking for an excuse to leave anyway.
She shook her head as it all began making sense in her mind. That was exactly it. Trenton must have panicked after telling her he loved her. And hadn’t he said he wished he’d have just left before they got there and never looked back? Oh, and nowshewas to blame that he hadn’t? It was ridiculous.
