Page 88 of The Harborer
“I guess I wanted to make sure you’re okay. Is there anything I can get you?”
He shook his head. “No.” A gulf of time yawned between them.
“Do you have an attorney?” Amy’s heart physically hurt, and she had to remind herself this was a mess of Micky’s own doing. Hard as it was, she had to stand by. She couldn’t fix it. She didn’twantto fix it. No one but Micky could.
He nodded. “I’m selling my house to pay the legal fees, so if you left anything behind, you need to get it before it goes to the dump.” He pulled the receiver away and dropped his head for a beat, then raised it again, clearing his throat. “My mother agreed to pack up the stuff I care about and store it at her house.”
“You’ve seen her?” Amy had never met his mom. She lived on a ranch on the Western Slope with his stepfather, and they weren’t close.
He shook his head. “I called her.” More silence dragged. Amy didn’t know what to say, and the fist in her throat was choking back any words her brain might conjure. Micky filled the void. “I’m going to turn the business over to Cade for now. He’ll run it while I’m … away. He’s got a lot to learn when it comes to fixing cars, but he can drive a wrecker, and that’s the lion’s share of the business anyway. He probably won’t have time to work for you anymore, though.”
She nodded. “He’s a good kid, and he loves cars. That work will suit him better and keep him out of trouble.”
“Yeah.” Micky’s index finger tapped his receiver. “Are you with O’Brien now?”
Amy didn’t want to rub salt into his wound, but he’d find out sooner or later. Besides, she reminded herself, this was a wound he’d opened up all on his own. “Yes.”
He let out a mirthless chuckle. “I knew it.”
Her knee-jerk reaction was to rush in and defend herself and soothe Micky’s ego at the same time. To reassure him she and Shane hadn’t been fooling around before the split. But something inside her shifted. Why should she feel guilty? She and Shane had done nothing wrong. Micky would believe what he chose to believe, and trying to convince him otherwise would merely burn up her energy. Why turn herself inside out to appease Micky’s tender ego?
Anger surged inside her, kicking her pity to the curb. She sat tall. “You don’t know jack, Micky. And if anyone is guilty of misdeeds in this room, just look in the mirror and you’ll see who it is. It’s the man across from me who turned my store into a drug distribution center. It’s the man who lied and cheated and stole. It’s the man who put his romantic partner’s life and her livelihood in jeopardy without a second thought.” Her voice was pure steel, eerily calm, but inside, she vibrated with rage.
“I tried to take care of you, Amy.”
“Exactly how, Micky? You shoved me aside like I was an afterthought to you. Like I didn’t matter. Like I was nothing. And you did it in front of our friends, my customers, perfect strangers. You didn’t care who was around to witness my humiliation.” And now that she’d spent a few days with Shane and knew what a romantic partner “taking care” of herreallyfelt like? The contrast was astonishing. No comparison. With Micky, she had settled for far too long. She would never let herself be undervalued like that again. And it started with her.Shewould never undervalue her own worth again.
Micky’s shoulders slumped, and his head drooped. When he leveled his gaze on hers once more, his eyes were glossy. “Amy, you’ve got to believe I never expected things to go as far as they did. I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose.”
“But youdid, Micky.” Her harsh edges softened. “You did.”
A tear rimmed and spilled down his cheek, and he swiped it roughly with the heel of his hand. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.
Something told her he was sorry for himself, not for what he’d done to her or for any harm he’d caused anyone else. At his heart, he was a selfish creature who cared about one person: Micky. Yet she saw the fear of what was to come in his eyes, and the empathetic side of her couldn’t help but hurt for him. Yes, he’d wounded her gravely, but she wouldn’t let that define her. Her eyes were wide open now, and she would never allow herself to be pulled into his web again. But she could still feel sympathy for him, and that was okay. She didn’t want to lose the human, caring part of herself as she grew more self-aware.
“Will you come see me again?” The hope in his voice was palpable.
She was spent. The past few days had taken their toll and so had the years she’d spent contorting herself to please this man who never appreciated her. Her entire past with Micky seemed to shrivel and become a distant memory already whitewashed by time.
She gave him her honest answer. “I don’t think so.”
A flicker of surprise shone in his bleary eyes. “What if I need something?”
“I’m sure your attorney will be able to help you with that.” The answer rolled off her tongue so naturally. Finally, she was putting herself in first place.
“I can’t do this.” Micky abruptly hung up. He motioned to the deputy and stood, fingers drumming the counter. Then he bent down and picked up his receiver again. She still gripped hers in her hand. “Thank you.” His face was a blank slate. Replacing the phone, he turned and walked out.
She gathered herself and left the room, her heart in pieces. Not because Micky had shattered it but because this once proud man with all the arrogance of a strutting rooster had, by his own hand, transformed himself from someone with friends and a thriving business into a pitiful shell who would soon be a number in a brutal world he was not prepared for.
Suddenly, she wanted to rush outside where sunbeams would warm her face. She vibrated with the desire to race toward her future.
When she stepped through the Sheriff’s Department door into the bracing mountain air, the first thing she saw was Shane waiting beside his truck in the parking lot. A moment of clarity struck as she took in his tall, confident frame, his soft brown eyes filled with love and concern for her.Herewas her future. This man would do whatever it took to help her pick up the pieces. This man would stand by her steadfastly and be her glue as she cobbled her life back together. This man would kiss her breathless and see her the way she truly was and love her for it, even when she was wrinkled and gray. He was her other half, and she was his.
He gave her a tentative smile when she approached. And because he could see down into her soul, he wordlessly held his arms out, and she rushed into their protective fold and sobbed.
Chapter 29
Use It or Lose It
