“Blake, for God’s sake, when are you going to drop your guard and let people in?”
He tensed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, you won’t let a half sister into your life because you think I might let you down like your mother did when she died. And you won’t let Samantha into your heart because of the same thing. You’re frightened you’ll get hurt.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he snapped. Sure, he wasn’t willing to get involved with anyone and lay himself open to hurt, but that was only because he couldn’t be bothered with the ramifications of it all. He was too busy to introduce any complications in his life.
“Then tell me why you’re letting a beautiful woman like Samantha walk away from you?”
“She wants to go.”
“No, you want her to go and she knows it.”
His jaw clenched. “This has got nothing to do with you, Erica.”
“Look at yourself, Blake. You’re deliberately making it hard for Samantha to stay. You’re pushing her away and abandoning her before she can abandon you.”
He swore. “Just stay out of this.”
“Think about it. Your mother died when you were six, so it stands to reason that you would be affected by her death. And what about your father? Donald Jarrod shut up shop with his emotions when his wife died, and the only way he could cope was by focusing on his offspring. He pushed all of you to be the best you could be, and none more than you as eldest.”
“Erica…” he warned.
“I suspect he wanted his kids to be fully reliant on themselves. He didn’t want any of you to get hurt. Not like he got hurt.”#p#分页标题#e#
“That’s enough.”
“So you effectively lost not only your mother when you were little, but your father, as well. Is it any wonder you don’t want to let anyone get close to you?”
He opened his mouth again….
And then somehow, without warning, her words began to hit him right where it mattered. But still he had to say, “What I want is not to listen to this drivel.”
Her eyes said he wasn’t fooling her. “People have their breaking point, Blake. Your mother’s death was your—I mean, our father’s breaking point. A person can do silly things in their grief. Everyone reacts differently. Our father turned to my mother, looking for solace. Who’s to say you wouldn’t do the same thing?”
“I would never want another woman after Samantha,” he growled. “Never.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
He stiffened and blinked. “What?”
She stood there watching him in silent scrutiny for a moment. “If Samantha died how would you feel?”
“Don’t say that,” he rasped, the thought slicing down through the middle of him.
“You love her, Blake.”
His head reeled back. “No.”
“Yes. Don’t let yourself realize it too late. You may never get a second chance.”
He swallowed as something deep inside him lifted up like a shade on a window and he finally admitted what was right there in front of him. He did love Samantha.
And right then, he finally understood the depth of his father’s loss. He still didn’t understand how Donald Jarrod could have shunned the children who were a legacy of his beloved wife, nor how his father had turned to another woman, but the idea of Samantha dying squeezed his heart so tight he could barely breathe.
He surged to his feet. “I have to go to her.”
“Thank God!”
He glanced at his watch. “She may not have left the lodge.”
“She’s already taken the valet car. I saw her leaving.” Erica made a gesture toward the door. “Go. I’ll make sure they stop the plane. And hey, take it easy getting to her, okay? We’ve got our first snow, and she’ll want you in one piece.”
“I will.” He was almost at the door by the time she finished speaking. All at once he stopped, conscious that he had to take a moment more for something else. He returned to Erica to kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks, sis.”
She beamed at him. “You’re welcome. Just remember you’ll have a few brothers and sisters who’ll expect your firstborn to be named after them.”
He grinned. “That’s a lot of names.”
“Well, maybe you can have a lot of kids.”
He chuckled as warmth filled him at the thought of Samantha carrying his child. But first things first…he wanted only one person right now. Samantha.
As he raced down to the lobby, he remembered how after their lovemaking the other night he’d felt so at home in her arms. Now he knew it was more than that.