Page 84 of A Moment for Us
It’s no surprise this is where we are. That she’s pregnant, in love with me, and I’m desperate for her.
Delia is my biggest hope and my greatest fear.
So, I’ll do it now. I’ll break both our hearts and tell her the truth.
“You want to know?”
She nods.
“You’re sure, because there’s no going back. I’m going to break your heart more than you think I am now.”
Delia wipes at the wet rivers running down her cheeks. “Tell me so that I can understand.”
“Fine.”
Although none of this is fine. Nothing about that day is fine. Nothing about telling her is fine. In fact, it’s going to destroy me.
“What happened, Josh?” Her question is soft and filled with understanding that I don’t deserve.
I steel myself. Allowing the past to become the future. I see the face of the woman I loved. The trust that I didn’t deserve in her eyes. The sound of her voice, the musical notes of her laugh, and the ending that neither of us anticipated.
“I killed her.”
Chapter 24
Delia
My lips part, and I hear my own intake of breath. “What do you mean?”
Josh is many things, but a murderer is not one.
“You asked for the reason, Delia. Here it is. I killed the woman I loved.”
“You’re not making sense.”
“Of course I am!” He practically roars. “I failed her. I was . . . I was selfish, and she paid the price for it.”
A part of me breaks as I hear the pain in his voice. I move closer, slowly as to make sure he doesn’t retreat. “Who did?”
His blue eyes move to mine, and the agony that fills his gaze makes my heart crack. Josh looks haunted, and I want to take it all from him, but I don’t move. He’s finally talking about what happened, and even though he isn’t making any sense, I won’t do anything that will destroy whatever progress he’s making.
“Her name was Morgan. She was . . . well, she was beautiful and smart, and I loved her.”
I try not to hurt, not to allow the words that I’ve craved and wished he’d say about me enter into this because this isn’t about us, it’s about him.
Josh’s gaze doesn’t waver. “It’s my fault she’s dead.”
The certainty in his voice makes me pause. “How?”
“Do you remember the hurricane ten years ago?”
“Of course,” I say quickly. The hurricane barreled through New Orleans. The destruction was . . . unspeakable. So many lives lost, homes gone, and it was catastrophic. I remember that word because it was said over and over again on the news. Alex was a mess, and no one could get in touch with Josh. The phone lines were down. Cell phones were barely working. It was days before we knew he was safe, and I swear, I died a thousand deaths while we waited.
“I’ll never forget it. The sounds of a hurricane of that force coming through, it was . . . terrifying. My job was to make sure the guests at the inn were safe. I did everything I could from boarding windows to making sure we had water, gas for the generators, and food stored. I worked for four days—no sleeping, no stopping—to do anything possible.” I try to take his hand, but Josh pulls away. “Don’t comfort me, Delia. I don’t deserve it.”
“I don’t believe that.”
He gets to his feet, moving around the room. “If it hadn’t been for me, she would have evacuated. Morgan would have been safe.”
