Page 16 of The Unknown Colton
“Because I love you,” he said.
She shook her head again. “No. You would have wanted me there with you then.” He had kept her in the dark and at a distance for far too long. She’d wondered before how long they could continue that way, but now she realized it might already be too late to salvage their relationship.
* * *
Troy’s arms ached to hold Lakin, but she kept stepping back from him, as if he was one of the bullies who used to pick on her on the playground. But he’d been the one who’d protected her from them, just like he’d wanted to protect her from what had happened to him.
He knew that she would have been upset and scared for him; he could see that she was now, just from hearing about his fall. He’d wanted to save her and his family from the uncertainty and fear of his paralysis. But apparently he’d only put it off; he hadn’t saved her from it.
And he really hadn’t saved her from the intruderhe’d chased through the woods. The person probably would have run off anyway if they had just been desperate for food, like Eli and Kansas seemed to think. Although if they had really wanted only food from her, they would have just had to ask. Lakin was so sweet and selfless that she would give someone her last morsel of food even if she was hungry, too.
“I do love you,” he said, his heart aching. He reached out again to touch her cheek, to slide his fingertips across her soft skin. “I love you so much.”
Tears filled her dark eyes, and she shook her head again. One of the tears slipped down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his fingertips. He hated that she doubted his feelings. He hated even more that he’d hurt her.
“I am so sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t want to put you and my mom through that uncertainty. I wanted to know what I was facing before I told anyone what happened.” It had made sense at the time. But now…
“What are we facing, Troy?” she asked. “What kind of relationship do we have if we’re not there for each other in the bad times as well as the good times?”
He sucked in a breath, alarmed at the question. Had she had doubts before about their relationship, or were her doubts new…and because of what he’d done?
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you,” he said.
“If you had it all to do over again, would you?” she asked. “Would you call me if you get hurt again?”
“Lakin…” He couldn’t lie to her.
She stepped back again so that his hand dropped back to his side. “You should leave.”
“But…” She had never turned him away before. In fact she was the one who usually pulled him inside this cabin with her, who led him toward the bed. But today she hadn’t even kissed him yet.
Of course there’d been the intruder, and now… He wasn’t sure what was going on now. His body was aching, but it wasn’t just because of the fall. He wanted her, needed her, and she was turning him away for the first time in their lives.
Like he’d turned her away? Was she getting back at him for not calling her?
No. Lakin wasn’t petty. She was kind and forgiving and loving.
And maybe he’d taken all of that for granted for much too long.
“You shouldn’t be alone tonight,” he said. “What if the intruder comes back?”
She shook her head. “They won’t. They got food. Lunch meat and chips and cookies. It was probably a teenager. Maybe a runaway.” Her brow furrowed, and her dark eyes glittered again with more tears, sympathy for the person who’d robbed her.
That was how sweet Lakin was.
And sometimes naive.
“Teenagers can still be dangerous,” he pointed out.
That shadow he’d chased through the woods had been big and broad. Even if the intruder was a teenager,he was bigger and more muscular than Lakin, probably than Troy was right now. Hopefully the physical therapy he was starting in Shelby would get him back in shape soon, as well as get rid of the limp and the pain. It was frustrating enough that he couldn’t work right now, but it was even more frustrating that he couldn’t really protect the woman he loved.
“I’m going to dead bolt the doors like I promised Eli I would,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
“I won’t,” he said. “Not with you mad at me. I won’t leave you here alone. I’ll be outside in my truck.” He turned and started for the door. Standing in one place had stiffened his back even more, making his limp more pronounced. He grimaced at the twinge of pain.
“Don’t go,” she said.
He released a breath of relief. Another thing he loved about Lakin was that she could never stay angry for long. She was always quick to forgive. Maybe he’d been counting on that when he hadn’t called her.
