Page 54 of Micah

“Micah Turner?” Bella asked in a shocked voice.

“Do you know another Micah?” Patsy said sarcastically.

“No need to be pissie about it, Pats. I’m just shocked you were with Micah, seeing as how you feel about him. Wait. You just said you loved him so much. Did you mean, Micah?”

Patsy nodded. “Yes. You can laugh now.”

“I would if you weren’t so upset. Tell me why that is, if you’re in love with him? Hedoesn’t love you? Is that it? Because I will kick his ass.”

Patsy smiled for the first time in hours.

“He told me he does love me—” Her smile fading as fast as it began.

“Then why are you so upset?”

“Damn, Bella. If you would just let me finish a sentence, maybe I’d be able to tell you.”

“Sorry,” Bella muttered.

“He loves being an FBI agent and I hate it. Bella, I can’t live with the thought of it being a real possibility that one day he’d walk out that door and not return. I saw what you went through when you thought Mont was dead. I won’t go through that. Like I told Micah, I’d rather walk away knowing he’s alive than stay and watch him die. I don’t ever want to know if something happens to him. When I saw him get shot—”

Bella sprang up. “Micah was shot?”

“He’s fine now. He was hit in the shoulder and vest or he definitely would have been killed. When I saw those three bullets hit him, I wanted to die. I knew then that I couldn’t stay with him. I left him and drove straight here.”

Bella sat down again and put her arms around her. Patsy’s body shook as she cried. She could hear Bella talking to her, trying to soothe her but it didn’t help. Nothing would help. She’d lost the only man she’d ever love. Her. Patsy Murphy fell in love. Hard. She knew the first time she sawhim that he was different. He’d held her attention far too long. She could usually look at a man and dismiss him. Not Micah. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. So she gave him the impression she didn’t like him—just as he had with her. They should have stayed away from each other. She’d be happier than she was right now, that was for sure.

Chapter Eleven

Micah sat in his recliner and stared at the TV but didn’t really see it. All he could see was Patsy walking out on him. She said she loved him but couldn’t stay, even after he told her he loved her.Shit! You just had to fall in love with her, didn’t you?

What was he going to do now? Damn it to hell, there was nothing hecoulddo. It had been a week already since she left him and he still hurt. A hurt that had nothing to do with his shoulder. His heart hurt and he’d rather have the shoulder pain than the broken heart. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He loved her, of that he was sure.Damn pixie.He should have known it was going to happen. She was too beautiful and kept drawing his attention. It had been the one reason he’d stayed away from her. His heart seemed to skip a beat anytime he saw her. Sighing, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Two weeks later, Micah pulled up to his dad’s house and parked his car. He stepped out, walked up the steps, and entered the house through the back door.

“Dad?” he called out.

Mitcham Turner entered the kitchen. “Micah? Son, what are you doing here?”

Micah frowned. His dad looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“What’s up, Dad?”

Mitcham cleared his throat. “Nothing. I was just wondering—”

“Mitcham? Where are you?” a female voice called out from another room.

Micah raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had…company.”

He turned toward the door to leave.

“Hello, Micah.”

Micah spun back around and stared in shock at seeing his mother standing in the doorway in her robe.

“Uh, Mom…what? Never mind.” Micah ran his hand through his hair. “When did this happen?”

“Ever since your mother and I saw each other at the hospital when we were there for you—”

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