gaze felt pinned by his, trapped by the power of words she’d never dreamed of hearing from Mitch McCluskey, the beautiful, dark-hearted rebel who was always going to fly away from this hick town. “How…how did you think of me?” Then she swung toward the house, her face burning. “No. Don’t answer that. Would you like coffee? The boys will be home from school in about twenty minutes, and Jenny—”
“Are you frightened of me?”
The question halted her midstride. Slowly she turned back to him, trembling, needing, ashamed. She didn’t want to say it, but she’d never lied to Mitch; she’d only kept
She met his gaze, hers filled with unflinching honesty. “Terrified,” she said softly.
His hands, reaching out to her arms, dropped. “I hoped it was only him who’d wanted me to go that day. I’d hoped you at least still trusted me.”
“I do!” she cried. “I do, Mitch…but I—” She floundered, biting her lip. Haunted by past pain, hemmed in by secrets, by the fear and self-hate that walked beside and inside her, night and day. “It’s just that I— Oh, I can’t explain…but it’s not you,” she finished lamely.
“I see.” His face twisted. “That’s why you keep moving away from me like I’m a monster.”
The pain in his eyes found an echo in her soul. Mitch, oh, Mitch, I wish it didn’t have to be like this!
She owed him the truth. She knew what his life had been before they met, how few people he cared for or trusted since living through the foster system. But he trusted her.
“I learned a long time ago not to believe in everything Tim said or did,” she said, giving him what truth she could. “I never wanted him to say those things to you. I didn’t want you to go out of our lives like that. I’m glad you’re here now. The boys have missed you so much.”
“Thanks for that.” He nodded, as if thinking of something else. “What time does Tim come home from work?” His voice was slow, thoughtful.
“I—” She blinked. “ What did you say?”
His brow lifted. “It’s a simple question, Lissa. What time does your husband come home from work?”
Without warning everything shifted focus. She felt dizzy, disoriented, as though she’d stepped back in time to a strange new world where only one truth made sense.
Mitch didn’t know.
Blinking to clear her mind of the unexpected turmoil, she tried to speak, but it came out a harsh croak. “Tim left me six years ago.”
Mitch staggered back, as if she’d decked him. “What?”
She shrugged, seeing no need to repeat herself.
“You’re divorced?” He watched her with an intense gaze, as if trying to make sense of a simple fact. Waiting for her to deny what he’d just heard. “You’re free?”
Lissa flinched. Oh, how she hated the word divorce. It was a word unheard of in the Miller family—until Tim walked out, left her for— “Yes.”
Obviously, he’d seen her expression. He’d been looking at her with all his brooding intensity. “Do you ever see him now?”
“Of course,” she answered, relieved at the change in subject. “He comes to see Jenny, our daughter. She’s five.”
“Did he leave you for someone else?” The question was as grim as the look in his eyes.
She dragged in a breath. At least she could answer that question honestly. “Yes.”
“He left when you were pregnant with his child.”
Unable to look at him, she nodded. If he knew the truth—
“Damn it. I’m going to kill him.”
She blurted without thinking, “How is it any different from you? It’s exactly what you did to Matt and Luke’s mother—except you didn’t even bother to marry her before you did your runner!” She clapped a hand to her mouth, horrified by the burst of anger she hadn’t even seen coming, destructive fury born of twisted jealousy. “I-I’m sorry, Mitch. It’s none of my business.”
Another short, uncomfortable silence, the words he didn’t say hanging in the air between them. “I