Page 106 of Rumor Has It

“Reed’s my cousin. He came after you to get back at me. His entire plan rested on making you believe I never loved you. He set out to hurt me, but broke me instead.” His voice quivers, breaking my heart.

I open my mouth, but words fail me. I try again, only to shut it again. When I finally figure out what I want to say, I’m livid. “Why in the hell would you keep something like that from me, knowing he’d try this kind of shit? He didn’t just hurt you, Boone. He ended us! We were demolished by his lies.”

“Don’t you think I know what he did to us? I’ve paid every day for eleven years for allowing him to hurt you and break us to the point I thought we were beyond repair.”

“All this time, and I’ve hated myself for destroying us. Loathed my very existence for allowing him to get in my head and convince me you were no different than all the rest of them.” I shudder to think of all the damage that’s been done.

Boone takes a wary step toward me. “Now you know why.”

“Why I know what, Boone?” I bat away the building tears.

“Why I could never hate you. I’ve hated myself more. I considered you pushing me away as my punishment. I deserved to never see you again.” He beats his fist against his leg. “If I had been the man you needed, none of this would’ve happened.”

Standing here in the ashes we’ve created from burning our love to the ground, my heart still knows his. “You’re the only man I’ve ever needed. I only wish I would’ve told you sooner.”

“No, I’m not. You deserve a man who will be honest with you, to tell you every day what you mean to him, but most importantly, to protect you. I let you down and didn’t keep you safe from harm. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life, and I’ll continue to try to make it right.” His shoulders slump under the weight of the mistakes of a eighteen-year-old.

I gaze at him, feeling nothing but love in a moment some would say I should be seething. His soul pulls me to him, like a bee to nectar. I will always know his heart.

“Boy, I hope our comeback is better than all of our setbacks.” I snort as I giggle. “I suppose we’ve both paid Reed’s price, haven’t we?”

“How much more do we owe before we can be happy?” He presses his forehead to mine.

I sigh heavily, basking in his warmth. “I wish I knew because I’m as ready as you are.”

“I won’t ask you not to see him. I know it’s for Rumor and important to her future, but I’ll be damned if I pretend to be okay with it.” He wraps me in his arms, trembling.

“Do you think that’s why he came back, to finish what he started?” I grimace when Rumor’s face flashes before my eyes.

“I have no idea, Mackenzie, what his plans are for any of us.” His body shudders. “But I can’t shake this feeling of dread.”