Dangerous Secrets (Montana Men #6)(38)

As soon as she entered, both dogs were deliriously happy to be home and showed their affection and happiness by licking her face and bouncing on her as much as they could. Halley squatted down to get closer, then just gave up the battle and sat on the floor, pulling the box of tissues closer. The dogs seemed to sense her sadness and they pressed their wiggling bodies closer, trying to offer her comfort. Halley pulled them onto her lap and buried her face in their fur, loving these little beasts like crazy. Dogs were the kinds of creatures that God had sent down to earth specifically to be the perfect companion. 

She cried and cried, the dogs just nudging her every few minutes, trying to get more attention. Halley petted them and scratched their ears, trying to come to terms with the fact that Mike was married. Married with three kids! Three! And his daughters were beautiful! How could he cheat on his wife when he had daughters? What would he do to a man who had a secret family and dated … no, what they'd been doing hadn't been dating. There hadn't been any official dates. No movies out, no dinners at a nice restaurant … not that there were a whole bunch of restaurants in Jefferson, but still, the point was valid!

The knocking at her door startled her and she looked up. Elf and Midget immediately jumped up. Elf barked once, but then they realized who was standing at the door and got excited.

Halley looked around the corner of her sofa and gasped, pain and anger burning in her chest. Mike was standing on her porch, looking out at the trees so he didn't see her walk away from him.

She wasn't going to let him in. No way! Instead of walking to her front door, she walked into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

If that didn't send the message that she wasn't going to see him or speak with him, then nothing would!

He ignored her message! The jerk just walked into her cottage and closed the front door. "Halley?" he called out.



Mike looked around, wondering what was wrong. He knew she'd heard him knocking. The dogs would have alerted her if she hadn't heard his knock. But she'd been sitting on the floor, so she couldn't have missed the sound of his knock.

Looking over at the floor, he noticed all of the tissues there. Was she sick? Walking over, he looked down at the tissues and realized that Halley had been crying!

A sick feeling hit him at the possibility that she was sad or upset. "Halley? What's wrong, love? Why are you crying?"

He walked deeper into her house. It wasn't large, just a family room and kitchen in one big area along with two bedrooms, hers and one for any guest that might be staying with her, which he knew was rare. There were also two bathrooms, one off her bedroom and another that served as the guest bathroom and connected to the family room. So there weren't many places she could have gone in the seconds after he'd seen her until he'd walked in.

Knowing she'd most likely be in her bedroom, he moved over to the door and pushed it open.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting curled up in her big reading chair, Elf and Midget looking like book ends as the three of them stared at him. Well, Elf and Midget stared. Halley's look could only be described as an outright, furious glare.

"Halley, what's wrong?" he demanded, seeing her red-rimmed eyes, thinking back to all of those tissues. If someone had hurt her … !

He lifted her up into his arms but she fought him, punching at his shoulders and acting like a wild woman. He grabbed her wrists and held her still. "Halley! What the hell is going on with you?" he demanded.

Pushing away from him, she took several steps back, not wanting to even touch him! He held her still, grabbing her wrists and forcing her to tilt her head back in order to see his face. "You liar! You're a liar and a cheater and I hate you and I'll never be intimate with you again! Get out of my bedroom! Get out of my house! And just … " she sobbed, still trying to jerk her wrists from his hold, "get out of my life! I never want to speak to you again! If you ever try and give me another speeding ticket, you're going to have to arrest me because I'm not stopping! I won't slow down and I won't adhere to the law when you're flashing your stupid lights behind me! Do you hear me?"



       
         
       
        

He was completely stunned by her outburst, not sure what to make of it. "I hear you," he growled, trying not to get angry until he understood what was making her flip out like this. "I think everyone in the next county heard you. Now explain to me what you mean! How am I a liar and a cheater? What did I lie about and how did I cheat?"

She jerked her hands and, thankfully, he released her. She stepped further away from him, rubbing her wrists and refusing to look at him. "I saw you!" Halley sniffed with the memory of those three lovely girls and that beautiful woman. The blonde woman was so completely the opposite of herself. Halley was shorter than average and brunette while that woman was taller, blonde, and stunningly gorgeous. She hated her! She hated everything about her. She'd say that about the kids too, but the girls were innocent. They'd been brought into this world by a cheater and she hated Mike, but not the girls.