Once Upon A Half-Time 2(103)
She didn’t answer. The silence was like a punch to the gut.
“You didn’t come to see me in jail,” I said. “You didn’t write. Didn’t call. You didn’t even say goodbye after the trial.”
“What was I supposed to do? You were convicted.”
“I was innocent. You fucking know that.”
She dropped the egg. It cracked over the counter. She swore, forgetting our argument to count the rest of the eggs in the carton.
Shit. Josie did have money problems. Who fretted about one lost egg?
What the hell had happened since I was gone?
A chill gripped the back of my neck, the hand of whatever god decided to hold me before I made another legendarily bad decision.
“Forget the past. I want to keep you safe.” I paused. She didn’t look up. “I’ll take care of you.”
“I’m safe on my own. And I’ve been taking care of myself and Granddad for a year.”
“Then I’ll help.”
“I don’t need your help.”
I offered her a towel from the stove. She mopped up the mess, still avoiding my gaze. My temper got the better of me. I forgot to think before I jerked off my own rage.
“There’s an arsonist in this town, Sweets. Someone who destroyed your store. And I got news for you—it ain’t me.”
“No one is after me.” Josie’s voice lowered, the once sugar-sweet now lost in bitterness. “Except you.”
“Damn right, I am. I’ve spent a year away from you. I’m done fucking around. I want you, Josie. I want you with me. I want you to be mine. Forever. You get that? I’m not wasting any more time.”
“We broke up, Maddox.”
“Yeah?” Easily remedied. “We’ll un-break up. Marry me.”
“What?” The flour spilled. She turned, her almond eyes wide.
“Marry me, Josie.”
“I know you were in jail for a long time…”
I moved closer. She stepped back. It never bothered me before, but this time, I wasn’t playing. I tossed my weight and strength around, but I wanted her to lean in, not seek shelter behind a pair of eggbeaters.
“Yeah. I was in jail. Gave me some time to think. To figure out what I want. Sweets, it’s you. I want it all. I’ll find a good job, get some money. We can buy a house. Get your shop rebuilt. Start a family—”
“A family?”
I didn’t like the hush in her words, but mine mirrored the same quiet hope.
“We tried…before the breakup,” I said. “We can try again. We’re good at that part.”
She quieted. “I’m on the pill again.”
I expected it. Still hurt. “You wanted a baby.”
“I also wanted to enter the State Cake Bake-Off. And to perfect another éclair recipe. I wanted the candy shop, Maddox. But things change. Everything changed after the fire.”
“I’m innocent. I didn’t set fire to your shop. And it won’t hurt to hear you say it. I needed to hear your voice. I just wanted to see you so I didn’t think I’d rot away forever in that goddamned prison without…being near you again.”
She ran a hand through her curls. “I was told to stay away.”
Rage surged through me. “By who?”
“Really, Maddox? Everyone. Everyone who said I was an idiot for dating you finally got their chance to gloat. All of my customers told me to stay away. Granddad. Delta. Everyone agreed that you were bad for me.”
“Is that what you think?”
She turned away. I knew it was coming before she said it, but like a damn martyr I took the hit.
“I think you should go.”
I refused to make the only woman I ever loved feel unsafe in her own damn home. Not when the real criminal was still out there, lurking in plain sight and salivating for the chance to pounce on her when she was at her most vulnerable.
It wouldn’t happen while I was free, not when I had too much to gain and so much more to lose with Josie.
“This isn’t over,” I promised. “What we have? It’s real. We belong together, Sweets. And I’m going to prove that I’m not just some delinquent. I’m not a good man, but I’ll treat you good. I’ll swear that to you.”
“Maddox—”
“You know where to find me. You call if there’s trouble. I’ll be here. I’ll protect you.”
She sighed. “There won’t be trouble.”
She was still an optimist…or maybe dangerously naïve. Either quirk made me love her more.
“Now that I’m back, the man who did this will try to hurt you again.” I didn’t care if I terrified her. She had to know what would happen, what we faced. “I’m going to find the son of a bitch who did this to us.”