Page 60 of Salvation
“No, B,” I say sadly, “This has nothing to do with Campbell.”
And it’s true. We created the fractures between us. They were there long before I came to Benton Falls. We wore rose colored glasses, hoping they were enough. But my glasses are off, and I can’t put them back on.
Brecks’s face morphs, the anger in his eyes reminding me just how much of my grandfather’s puppet he became before he passed.
“Don’t lie to me.” His voice rings out through the air as his hand comes down, landing on the door behind me. He steps closer, crowding me into place.
Suddenly, it swings open, and I spin around, coming face to face with a furious-looking Campbell. The blue of his irises is heated with fire as he glares over my head.
“What’s going on here?” he asks, his voice a low rumble. He’s a man who doesn’t have to raise his voice to get his point across. It’s obvious enough from the threat in his eyes.
Behind me, Brecks snorts. “Yeah, nothing to do with him at all. Right, Ivy?”
I glare over my shoulder. “Yeah, Brecks,” I snap, “that is right. Not that you’ve been listening.”
He clamps his mouth shut, and I turn back to Campbell. “Is there something you need?”
The muscle in his jaw jumps—once, twice, three times—before he pulls his heated glare away from Brecks and looks down at me. The fire diminishes, turning into something softer.
“Are you okay?” his eyes ask, and I hate myself for being able to read them. So I pretend I can’t, clearing my throat as I wait for him to speak. He sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Willow and her parents need to start heading home. I came to get you so they could say goodbye.”
“Okay, I’ll be right in.”
I expect him to walk inside and close the door behind him, but he doesn’t. He hesitates, looking back over my head with a warning in his eyes.
“Go, Campbell,” I say, shoving at his chest, but I might as well be shoving at a brick wall for as much as he moves. “I’m fine.”
At my insistence, he looks back down at me one last time, letting his eyes roam over me before gritting his teeth and doing as I ask. The door shuts with a click behind him, and I take a deep breath, slowly turning to face Brecks. He’s glaring at me with accusation in his eyes.
“Brecks, do you realize you haven’t called me since I told you I have a daughter?” He shakes his head, ready to deny it, but I put up my hand, stopping him. “No, B. It’s true. We haven’t talked in weeks—not since that day—and it isn’t because I haven’t tried. I’ve called you over and over again. You don’t answer.”
“I’ve been busy,” he protests, but it’s not good enough. Not anymore. There are so many unknowns in my life, but this is no longer one of them.
“And maybe I would have been okay with that before, but I’m not anymore. I’ve changed—or maybe it’s that I’m finally remembering who I am—but either way, I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me enough to be by my side while I fight my battles. This has nothing to do with him,” I say, glancing back over my shoulder, “but everything to do with me. I’m choosing me, B.”
Like water over a fire, the anger in his gaze fizzles out. “I loved you,” he says, running his hand over his face. “But you’re right, I can’t stand by your side for this battle. I didn’t sign up to be a dad to someone else’s kid.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“No, but maybe I was scared you would.”
I laugh, but it’s humorless. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?
Brecks smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We could have been.”
“I don’t think so, B.” My throat aches, but I swallow around it, refusing to break down here.
He leans down, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” When he straightens back up, he holds my face in his hand. He nods to where Campbell disappeared inside.“You should tell him.”
My brows furrow, the warmth of his hand bringing more tears to my eyes. “Tell him what?”
“That you’re still in love with him.” I open my mouth to deny it, but I can’t force the words out. “It’s okay, Ivy. Truly. Because he’s in love with you, too.”
Leaning down one more time, he wipes away my tears and leaves me with one more kiss on my cheek. His hand falls away, and I watch him walk to his car, get in, and not look back.
And only once his taillights disappear do I whisper into the night air. “Bye, B.”
Chapter 28
