Page 19 of Fight for Me
Before she can say anything, I push the door open and make my way down the steps as he’s exiting his car.
“Syd.”
“Dec.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here.” He runs his hands through his hair.
I give him a soft smile. “I didn’t know you’d be here either. We were apparently kept in the dark.”
He glares up at the window and I follow his gaze to find Connor there with a grin. Asshole.
“About the last time I was here,” Declan says, but I’m already shaking my head.
“Not now. Not here either. There’s a lot to say, but this isn’t the time.”
Declan nods once. “All right.”
Regardless of my feelings for Declan, we’re going to have a child. I can blame him, hate him, and all that, but that isn’t the life I want for my child. I grew up unwanted by my father. I watched him walk away, saying things that no child should hear her father say about her mother. My father hated my mother, and since my sister and I were part of her, he hated us by default. I will do whatever I can to protect a child from feeling that level of pain and that means that Declan and I have to figure out a way to get along.
“I didn’t want for us to see each other for the first time since that night to be in front of them, so I came out here.”
He releases a heavy sigh. “We have a lot of history, and I want to say that I’m sorry about what happened between us a couple of months ago.”
My eyes lift, studying his. “What about it?”
“That I hurt you again,” Declan says quickly. “I should never have come to you when I had no intention of staying after my time was up. I should’ve … fuck, I don’t know. I never should’ve let things go so far. I’m sorry.”
He has no idea how far things are. “And what now?”
“What do you mean?”
I steel myself, knowing what the answer will be and hating myself for asking it again, but time might have changed things. God knows my life has changed since taking that test. “Is there any chance you’ll stay in Sugarloaf?”
“No. I will never stay here.”
“Not for anything?”
I’m not being fair. He doesn’t know all the reasons behind why I’m asking.
Declan’s jaw tightens, and he shakes his head. “There’s nothing that could hold me here. This town … it’s filled with things I can’t be near.”
Things like me.
“Maybe one day you’ll change your mind,” I say and then turn.
“Syd.”
I shake my head, spinning back to face him. “Don’t. I’m not asking for it to be me. I’m really not. What happened a couple of months ago was meant to be a goodbye. I know where you stand, and you know where I stand.”
I also know that the next six months will prove a lot.
“You two going to make out?” Connor calls from the top of the porch.
“Keep it up, and you’ll have a house full of ducks,” I warn.
His grin falls, and I mentally pat myself on the back. He’s so easy to rattle. Connor is the only former SEAL I know who is afraid of a freaking farm animal, and I’m not afraid to use it.
“Let’s not forget I know your fears too,” he replies with mischief in his voice.
