Page 170 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

I wondered how he’d been convinced of it because I couldn’t begin to believe that about him.

“How can you think that?”

Black flames of misery burned in the depths of his eyes. “I was supposed to love her. Take care of her. And I failed her in the worst way.”

Grief squeezed my chest. My care for him was close to overwhelming.

Part of me wanted to beg him, “Who”.

The other part was sure I’d be crushed.

Thinking of him with someone else.

The way grief splintered through me, knowing this man had suffered so severely.

Stricken by gutting guilt over whatever secret he kept.

And I saw where the guilt lie right then.

It was guilt that his heart was tilting in my direction.

I was pretty sure mine was already there.

Begging him to meet with me.

My hand slipped to the side of his face. His trim beard scratched against my palm. “And I don’t believe you could ever let anyone down.”

His hand slid over the top of mine. “But you don’t know the things I’ve done.” Shame crawled through the coarse words.

“Maybe I want you to show me.”

Horror and disbelief rolled through him before his expression shifted in severity. “And that’s what I want from you, Piper. I want you to show me everything you’re hiding. Want you to let me hold it. Want you to understand the lengths I would go for you.”

“And I won’t put you in danger.” It was out before I could stop it.

Theo flinched, and every muscle in his body went rigid. “I need you to tell me what that means.”

My head shook at my stupidity. At the reckless words I had released.

I tried to retract it with a rushed, “It’s nothing.”

Theo’s hand tightened over mine. “It’s not nothing to me if it means something to you. I told you I’m strong enough to protect you. I know something is going on with you.”

A battle waged inside me. The terror I’d run from for so long against the promise in Theo’s unrelenting gaze.

“Tell me.” It was a soft demand.

One I shouldn’t heed but it was dropping off my tongue anyway. “I got involved with someone I shouldn’t have.”

Fury twitched through Theo’s body, yet he waited.

I tried to swallow around the ball of razors in my throat. “I’ve been running from him ever since.”

“Is he looking for you?”

My head shook. “I…I haven’t seen him in years.”

Not since I tried to settle three years ago. To lay down roots the way Nelly had been begging me to do again. Not since he’d caught up to me and…