Page 34 of Mountain Man's Valentine
But how many girls has he played this game with before?
“This is not some freaking game. I am not a game. I am not a prize.” I swallow again, and I feel my heart drop inside me. “Goodbye, Cole.”
I turn, and I begin to walk away from him.
My heartaches.
And my eyes begin to flood with burning hot tears.
“I’m not letting you go this easy,” Cole says, coming up behind me. But he doesn’t touch me. Part of mewantshim to - but then, part of me doesn’t. I know what I saw. And I don’t want to hear what he has to say.
I don’t want to hear it.
“Val,” he says softly. “Her name was Cassie.”
I feel the blood in my head, all the blood in my body drain down and pool inside my feet when he says her name.Cassie. Like she really meant something to him.
“Her name was Cassie, and she was my sister. Val, she was my sister. My twin.”
I stop dead in my tracks, and suddenly, my bare feet on the dirt and the melting snow are freezing. Numb. And I take in a large breath as the hot, salty tears flow down my cheeks.
“She was your sister?”
I turn around slowly, pulling my coat up around me tighter.
“Yeah,” he says.
He looks so strong, yet so vulnerable.
“Wasyour sister?”
“Sweetheart, come inside. Please.”
I take a step toward him and he wraps me up, wiping away my tears.
“Val, don’t cry. Don’t cry. I’ve got you.”
