Page 67 of Burned

“Lily, Daisy. It’s okay. I’ll talk to him.” She moved from behind them to face Rhys.

“Are you sure?” Daisy asked with araised brow. “This asshole and his evil seedhave caused enough problems already.”

“That’s enough.” Sadie knew her sisters were only trying to be protective of her but sometimes they forgot she was no longer a child.

“Sadie—” Lily began to protest but Sadie held up her hand to stop her.

“It’s okay.” She then walked over to Rhys. “There’s a diner down the road. We can go there for coffee. “

Rhys nodded. “Sounds good.” He placed his arm on her back to lead her away.

Sadie turned her head toward her sisters and mouthed that she’d be okay.

The car ride to the diner was in complete silence. It was only when they were sitting at their table, Rhys with a strong black coffee and Sadie with weak decaffeinated tea, did either one of them speak.

Sadie shrugged. “Well? You’re the one who came long distance to see me.”

“I couldn’t stay away, not when I know you’re suffering. I know there was no love lost, but there had to be some residual pain. I wanted to be there for you.”

“I have my sisters.”

“But I wanted to support you as well. It was important for me to be here and for you to know that I’m not going to give up on us so easily.”

Sadie sighed heavily. There were so many emotions swirling around her mind. This wasn’t something she’d been prepared to deal with today. “Rhys, I asked you not to come. You should be home with your daughter.”

He shrugged. “My mother flew in from Wales and is staying in the states for a couple months. Besides, you’re just as important to me as Carys is. You’re the mother of my child and I love you, whether you’re willing to accept that or not. Look, I didn’t come here to argue with you.”

“I’m not here to argue either.”

“Then why did you agree to talk to me?”

Sadie stirred her tea to give her hands something to do. She wasn’t really interested in drinking the beverage. “You know, as I watched Jackie being buried I realized, I have to let go of the past. I don’t want it to continue to shape who I am. I mean, I am who I am because of where I’ve been, but I no longer want to hold on to the anger, the bitterness, and the shame. I want to be happy. I want to be a good mother to my child. I have to learn from my past and move on with my life and that also means making peace with you. I’d intended on contacting you when I returned home.”

“And what did you plan on telling me?”

“That I lied. The way we left things the last time I saw you was wrong. I said some hurtful things like how you could have been any man and I would have responded. That’s not true. I responded because it was you. You can’t just shut off feelings no matter how much you want to.”

“And do you want to, Sadie?” She noticed the hitch in his voice that sounded like fear. Sadie wanted to reach out and grab his hand and reassure him that everything would be okay, but she was too afraid to take that step, afraid to allow herself to feel more than she dared to right then and there.

“Yes,” she said barely above a whisper. “I still love you, Rhys, but coming from the background that I did, I know children must be protected. My baby has to be my priority and regardless of how we feel for each other, I will never be one hundred percent comfortable having my child around Carys. I’m sorry.”

“But she’s in therapy. She’s excited at the prospect of having a sibling.”

She closed her eyes against his words. “I understand, but I can only go on past incidences. And you’re her father. What kind of man would you be if you didn’t stand up for her? And what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t protect my child?” She placed her hand on her belly. “Rhys, I may have been a little overboard when I said you’d only be able to see your child with supervised visits. Maybe we can still work something out with visitations. But as for the two of us getting back together. I just can’t see that happening, Rhys.”

“Are you saying there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

She shook her head. “I’d rather you didn’t try. If you love me like you say, then let me be, okay? Let me be by myself for a while. It’s what I need.”

“And when you’ve had this time alone, then what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what the future holds, Rhys but for now, my complete focus will be on the baby.”

“I see,” he said quietly. Though he spoke the words, they weren’t said with much conviction. Sadie nearly got up to throw her arms around him but knew this was the best decision for her and her unborn child.

* * *

When Rhys dropped Sadie off at her hotel and waiting sisters, he didn’t dare look back because it hurt too damn much. He’d heard it said that a man wasn’t supposed to cry, but damn if he didn’t cry the entire four-hour trip home. He felt that he’d lost her all over again, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

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