Page 14 of Illinois Innkeeper
Miranda’s eyes widen at this news, but she remains quiet.
Hoping to make her understand, I say, “My dangerous enemies are the reason why I’ve always kept you at arm’s length. I couldn’t risk you getting dragged into my mess. But last night, I was so devastated, I let my guard down. I’m sorry for not protecting you better.”
Lifting her chin, she says, “I can protect myself.”
I wouldn’t expect anything less from the strong, stubborn woman, but she doesn’t understand the full magnitude of what we’re dealing with here. “Under normal circumstances, I would totally agree with you, but these people are ruthless. Since they feel their capo was wronged by me, they’ll stop at nothing to get revenge. If they find out I care about you, your life will be in danger, and I won’t risk that.”
Looking at me with renewed faith shining in her gaze, Miranda says, “I’m glad you told me about this, but I wish you had trusted me enough to confide in me earlier. We could have faced this together.”
It fills me with joy that she is firmly by my side, even after hearing my shameful secrets, but I can’t allow her to put herself at risk. “Don’t you see? We can’t be together. You’ll never be safe with me in your life.”
She frowns before saying, “But they burned down your inn. They took your home and your livelihood. Isn’t that enough revenge for any wrongdoings they feel you’ve committed?”
Resigned, I slowly shake my head. “It will never be enough. Besides, even if they leave me alone for a while, I’ll never know when they might strike again. I can’t put you in that kind of danger.”
“But that means they are stealing your entire life. You can never be happy with anyone if you’re always worried about them showing up at some point and hurting those that you love. You’ll always be stuck alone and looking over your shoulder. That isn’t fair!”
I love how outraged she is on my behalf. Having made peace with the situation a long time ago, I say, “This half-life is still better than being ingrained in the organization and doing their bidding. At least I can live quietly without being forced to commit crimes that go against everything I believe in. Maybe I’ll slip under their radar after a while, or they’ll find new targets to torment.”
“They don’t get to steal your happiness,” Miranda says with fire burning in her eyes. “Give me the letters, and I’ll take them to the chief. We’ll make sure the responsible parties are tracked down and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
It’s refreshing that she’s innocent enough to believe that mobsters play by the same rules as everyone else.
When I shake my head, she guesses correctly in a somber tone, “The letters burned in the fire.”
I nod my answer before saying, “I never meant to involve you in any of this, but I couldn’t stand the idea of you believing me to be an arsonist––even from a distance.”
Instantly picking up on my hint, Miranda asks, “A distance?”
“Yes, we need to protect you from the dangers of my past. It’s impossible to know when they may resurface to come after me, so I plan to be far away from you and Charming Falls when it happens. As much as I hate to say it, this needs to be the last time we see each other, Miranda.”
14
MIRANDA
My mind is racing as I try to absorb all of the shocking revelations Graham has shared with me. The worst of which being that he never wants to see me again.
Graham has been my secret fantasy since he moved to Charming Falls. Last night, he proved himself to be even more wonderful than my vivid daydreams. But now that we’ve finally admitted our feelings to each other and found out that we have an undeniable, world shifting connection, he wants to leave.
I understand that he’s just trying to protect me, but this can’t be how things are supposed to work out for us. It simply isn’t fair.
My fingers tap together as I try to process.One-two-three... Four-five-six… Seven-eight-nine… Ten-eleven-twelve…
The tapping is probably annoying Graham, but he gives no indication of it.
Thirteen-fourteen-fifteen... sixteen-seventeen-eighteen… nineteen-twenty––That’s it!
Graham looks over when I don’t complete the third tap in the sequence. He apparently already realizes that this is completely out of character for me.
After bolting up from my seated position, I barely glance back at Graham as I say, “I need to get to the fire station.”
I freeze near the hotel room’s door when I hear Graham ask in a resigned voice, “Can I have one last kiss?”
Turning back to face him, I say, “You can have a kiss, but promise me it won’t be our last.”
The grim expression on his face tells me that he believes it will indeed be our last.
He stands and we quickly bridge the gap between us. Placing my hands on the sides of his face and gazing up into his eyes, I say, “I mean it. Promise me that you won’t leave town before I have a chance to straighten this out.”
