Page 118 of Burning Love
“Yeah,” he said, swallowing past the lump in his throat.
He seemed to be repeating history like his mother.
Making the wrong decisions.
“I hope you’re happy. Your mother would want that. I’ll give you some time. I come here every weekend to talk to her. Could be fate that you were here today.”
He nodded his head as he watched Jeremy walk away.
Fate for him to help Jace move on. He’d like to think that to help with some unanswered questions too.
“I don’t know why I continue to be surprised by the things you did,” he said, talking to his mother’s stone again. “I can’t take back the words I said in anger. I’m sorry if you think I don’t love you. I always loved you. I always will. I just hate what you did and I’m not sure I can get past it. But I won’t let it hold me back either. That I can promise you. I just can’t do it anymore. I can’t live like this.”
He turned his head to look up at the sky, then back down to her name on the stone.
Stella Miller. Thirty-seven years old. Loving mother and wife.
She was all those things. No one could say otherwise.
“Jeremy said you’d want me to be happy. I was getting there. Then I messed up. But I’m not going to continue to mess up. I’ll figure out how to fix it.”
35
CAN HANDLE IT
“Fuck me!”
The last thing he expected hours later while he tried to figure it out was the arrival of two vehicles in his driveway when he shut his saw off.
He’d hoped it was Talia when he heard the car door since he texted her an hour ago. She hadn’t replied yet.
They’d never gone this long without talking and he knew he’d have to take that first step.
He was willing to do it.
Instead it was six men climbing out of the SUV and truck in his driveway.
The Carlisle brothers.
He held his ground.
This was his fear all along.
She was avoiding him. She obviously told her family and now they were going to come and threaten him.
It wasn’t happening.
West moved forward, the other five walking close with him.
He looked at Elias, didn’t get the friendly smile he had before, then shifted to West.
He’d address the leader of the family.
“Do you know why we are here?” West asked.
“I can guess,” he said, stiffening.
“What are your intentions with our sister?” Braylon asked.
