Page 84 of Fire in My Heart

I didn’t intend to stay. I felt too out of control for that. “I’m not happy that you didn’t tell me what was going on.”

She blinked up at me again. “I didn’t want to bother you with my past. Things between us were so good.”

“Don’t you think I had a right to know?” I asked, knowing I was racing toward an end I couldn’t see happening just yesterday when I’d been happily in love with a woman I didn’t know.

CHAPTER 21

CHARLOTTE

Teddy was here, but he was a million miles away. There was distance between us that hadn’t been there before, and I had no one to blame but myself.

When I’d come home, all I could think about was getting into the tub and Teddy joining me. I’d been shocked when someone had grabbed me.

Rick was in the back of my mind when I was in town. But here at the cottage, I’d felt safe.

He’d thrown me up against the house and held my chin tightly while he yelled about me leaving him.

Thankfully, Teddy showed up when he did. I didn’t know what Rick had planned. “I intended to tell you.”

Teddy wouldn’t even look at me. He stood, arms crossed, poised to leave at any second.

“You should have.”

“My only excuse was that I was ashamed. That I was hoping it would all go away. It was obviously childish and stupid.” What was I going to do? Would Rick ever leave me alone? “What’s going to happen?”

Teddy slipped into police mode. “He’ll be arrested fortrespassing and assault. But you’ll need to testify in court. If you don’t, the charges will be dropped.”

“Won’t that make him angrier?”

Teddy’s face was stone. “If you don’t, you and possibly my family will be at risk.”

I was so cold. No matter how deep I snuggled in the blanket, I couldn’t get warm. “I don’t want anything to happen to your family.”

“Then you’ll do what needs to be done.”

“I’ll testify. Your family means a lot to me.”

Teddy shook his head. “Obviously not enough or you would have warned us about this.”

“I told your father.”

“If I’d known the details, I wouldn’t have let you live on the property.”

“Even though it was safer?” I asked, my world crumbling around me. Teddy was pissed, and I didn’t see him changing his opinion of me anytime soon.

“I need to protect my family.”

“I can understand that, but what about us?” I shouldn’t have broached this topic, not when he was so upset.

“You put my family in danger.” Teddy’s voice was so cold and detached.

“You can’t forget that or forgive me?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Teddy saw things in black-and-white, and my choice was wrong. There was no coming back from this. I hated that our relationship was ending. I felt like the bottom had dropped out.

“You didn’t trust me to protect you.”

That’s all Teddy had to say. Trust was a big deal for him, and I’d blown that. “I’m sorry, Teddy. I do love you. I was going to tell you about Rick. I was waiting until after the holidays.”

“Sometimes love isn’t enough.” He fell silent for a fewseconds, and then he said, “I’ll follow you to Fiona’s if that’s where you want to go.”

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