Pulled(51)
Author: A.L. Jackson

I started to pace, desperate to remember every detail of that time. What the hel was she talking about?

Stephanie? I fiercely rubbed my palm over my face. I quickly spun back to her, speaking to her from across the room. “Did you know I came to Dal as for you, Melanie?” She slowly shook her head no, causing my heart to sink. She never knew I came for her? Is that why she thought I didn’t want her? Did she feel rejected because I waited too damn long? I knew I should have gone. Every part of me had insisted I go.

That still didn’t explain how she knew about Stephanie. God, I hated having this conversation with her, but we had to get it all out, no hiding. I tried to phrase it so I didn’t sound like the ass**le I knew I was. “Did…did you know I was with Stephanie after I came back from Dal as?” Even now, that memory made my skin crawl.

Melanie shook her head, her lips pressed

together. Her face was agonized as she forced herself to say it, squeezing her eyes shut, refusing to look at me. “No, Daniel. I found out about Stephanie when I got to Colorado.”

I sucked in the air I couldn’t seem to find. Reeling, I tried to wrap my mind around a fact I had never thought possible. Melanie had come back to me.

“When did you come to Colorado?”

She didn’t hesitate, having no need to search for the date. “July seventh.”

I choked. July seventh. I didn’t go to Dal as until the twelfth. I tried unsuccessfully to control my shaking as everything clicked together. From across the room I stared at my beautiful girl, realizing what I should have known all along. She didn’t leave me.

My heart rejoiced and broke at the same time because Melanie had believed something very, very wrong; believed something so wrong it was powerful enough to destroy two lives—our lives. I felt sick as the possible scenarios ran through my head, each of them leading back to the same person.

“Melanie, what happened when you came to

Colorado?” I closed my eyes against her words, bracing myself for the rage I knew was sure to come.

I squeezed them tighter when a loud sob erupted from her. Her pain echoed around the room. “Stephanie,” she forced out, her voice shaking and cracking, “told me you were happy…with her.”

I bit back the growl that rumbled in my chest. That selfish bitch. How could someone be so cruel, so selfish to look an angel in the eye and lie, the intent only to steal and destroy? And how could Melanie have believed her?

I looked back to Melanie. Her eyes were still shut as if she were trying to block the memories.

I called softly to her, coaxing her eyes to meet mine, desperate to reveal the truth. “Melanie.” I took a tentative step forward as she opened her eyes. “I would never choose her over you. I don’t know what she said to you, but whatever it was, it was a lie.”

Swal owing, I took another step toward her, narrowing the gap between us.

“It’s true, I slept with her, but not until I’d found out you were married, and even then it wasn’t because I wanted her,” I slowly confessed. “I’ve only ever wanted you.

Every second since the moment I first felt you when your dad dropped you off in my driveway and every day since, it was you. Always you.”

Her face went white, the light reflecting the tears on her face. “She lied to me.” Such a simple statement, but I knew those words meant more to her than anyone could ever know. She struggled against her tears as she painfully ground out the words. “Nine years, Daniel. Nine years, and now it’s too late.”

“No, don’t say that,” I commanded gently. “Do you really think it’s an accident that I’m here, Melanie? You know as wel as I do that we were brought together again. I can’t live without you. I haven’t lived a day without you,” I pleaded with her. This couldn’t happen. I wouldn’t let it.

We’d been through too much, and it was time to make it right.

She shook her head, looking at the floor. “I won’t come between you and your family. As much as I love you, Daniel, I refuse to be that person.” Of course, she thought I was with Vanessa. I should have realized what she’d meant when she said I had her. She had always been one of the most honorable people I knew. This was yet another thing that proved to me she was still the girl I loved. She would give up what she wanted in order to do what was right.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair, searching for an explanation. “I’ve never cared about anyone since you, Melanie, but I’ve been with a lot of women.” I stressed the word, praying she’d understand without having to go into all of the sordid details. I wasn’t proud of my exploits, but I refused to hide them from her. “Vanessa and I aren’t together. We’ve never been. It was one night just like all the rest. She caught up with me the very day I saw you again.

That was the day I found out about the baby.” Melanie stared at me from across the room, her eyes intense as she absorbed everything. My stomach was tied in knots, my body rigid as I waited—waited for her to decide. We both knew what this was. She had to make the choice. Neither of us said anything. The room suddenly felt smal as if the ceiling dropped and wal s had closed in, drawing us together. Energy swirled around us, her breath so heavy I could taste it. Our chests heaved as we realized how much we’d lost, how much we’d suffered, how we’d been robbed of so much time. Stronger than all the regrets, though, was the force churning in the air, boiling, surging in our veins. It reminded us of where it had led us, standing mere feet from each other, insisting we didn’t waste another minute.

Chapter 17

I couldn’t tear my eyes away as I absorbed everything he said, everything he’d revealed. He’d always wanted me. Somewhere deep within me I’d always known it. Always. He’d lived the last nine years exactly as I did—

alone, each of us in our own way. The air was heavy, the energy building as we both stood staring, unable to move as our minds rejected the lies we’d believed. It was all so clear, and I felt so foolish, but now was not the time for regret. My life was standing feet from me, and this love would no longer be denied.

“Daniel,” I called to him softly and without hesitation. I raised my hand, my fingertips hovering in the air as I beckoned him to me.

Relief washed over his face, and he closed the space between us. He reached his hand out to meet mine, fingertips meeting fingertips, souls rejoicing at the contact.

I sucked in air, my heart stopping as his eyes went from our fingers to my face. His mouth turned up, giving me the saddest, sweetest smile I’d ever seen. “I missed you.” I nodded, never agreeing with a statement more.