Wanting More (Mitchell Family #5)(34)
Author: Jennifer Foor

She patted me on the shoulder. “You have to go. Rick comes home tonight and if you’re going to be indisposed, I have to put on a happy face and have his dinner ready.”

“There’s just one more thing I came here to tell you, Amy.”

“What? Put poison in his dinner?”

I leaned down and kissed her, holding her lips to mine, knowing this could be the last time I got to do it. “I love you, Amy.”

Chapter 20

Amy

Speechless! That’s what I was.

Conner stood right in front of me with the most serious face I had ever seen him have. This beautiful man had just said something to me that changed everything. He’d been waiting patiently for me to make a decision and this was his last Hail Mary.

"Did you hear me, darlin’? I just told you that I loved you and you’re just standin’ there like you didn’t hear me."

I wanted to break into a crying fit. There was nothing that I wanted more than to be able to tell Conner how I really felt about him. I was so flabbergasted and overcome with pure happiness. "I heard you. I just wasn’t expecting you to say something like that."

Conner reached his arm around me and used his other to brush his fingers over my lips. "I can be a selfish man, Blaze. I’ve always taken what I wanted and didn’t think about who I hurt to get it. I’ve done everything different with you though. I’ve been patient and I’ve sure as hell been understanding with your situation. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to sit at a damn table with that son of a bitch that put his hands on you. You don’t know how hard it was for me to not knock his ass out."

"I would have been happy if you had. He means nothing to me."

He brushed our noses, letting his lips barely touch mine. "Are you sayin’ that because maybe you’re in love with someone else?"

His kiss was slow and steady. As it intensified, I felt his hands reaching up the back of my shirt. My emotions were all over the place. I pulled away from Conner just enough to catch my breath. "I…"

His phone started ringing and he grabbed it out of his pocket. "Hold that thought, darlin’."

Conner played with my hair as he answered the phone, but in the short time it took him to say ‘hello’, his hand dropped and his face turned bone white.

He put the phone down and looked at me with a terrifying look on his face. "I have to go."

He didn’t explain who was on the other line, or why he left in such a hurry. I knew something was wrong for him to bolt out the door the way he did. I grabbed my own phone and started dialing numbers, trying to make sure Miranda was alright, but it kept going to voicemail. I’d never seen Conner look like that before, so I ran out into the parking lot, but he was already pulling away. I went back inside and walked over to sit down until I could get someone to answer their phone. After calling Conner and Miranda’s number with no answer, I heard the salon door opening. I got up and started running toward it. "Conner, my God, what is…"

Rick stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "How long you been f**king him, you little slut?"

I backed a few steps away from him. "What are you talking about?" It wasn’t like I could tell the truth about it.

He pointed toward the door. "You want me to believe that when you’ve been here in the dark with him for the last forty minutes?"

I shook my head. "No, he came to talk about Heather, I swear. I was closing up when he pulled in and I just sat and talked to him."

He walked toward me, frightening me more with each step. I backed up until I hit a station and prepared myself for what was coming. "You expect me to believe such a bullshit story? Give me your damn phone."

He held out his hand and to prevent things from getting physical, I reached in my pocket and handed him my phone. I watched him looking through my messages and flipping through it. He held it up so I could see it dialing and put it on speaker phone. It rang four times before I heard what I feared.

"Hey, you got Conner. You know what to do next."

Without hitting the end button, Rick took my phone and broke it in half. "How much you want to bet me that number shows up all over our phone bill?"

I don’t know why, but I was more upset with him breaking my phone than the fear of him putting his hands on me. "We’re friends, that’s all, I swear."

The back of his hand hit my cheek and sent me falling to the hard floor. I caught myself with my hands and felt the sting through both of my wrists. "Stop lying, cunt! How long have you been f**king him?"

So many things were running through my mind, but most of all Conner’s words repeated. He loved me. I clenched my fists and sat up, rubbing my face. "Why do you even care? You’ve been cheating on me for years. Hell, you’d think you’d be happy if someone else wanted me so you could move one of your little road conquests right in."

Another slap hit me, but this time I blocked it with my hands. The force sent me down, but there was no harm done to my face. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me to stand up in front of him. The pain felt like each follicle was being ripped out of my scalp. "You think I am going to let you just walk away and be with someone else? I ain’t being laughed at in my own damn town, you hear me?" He put his hand around my neck to prevent me from looking away from him. "Now, you’re going to go home and make me dinner and when your little boyfriend tries to call you, he ain’t going to get an answer. In fact, if I even catch you talking to him again, I’ll f**king kill you…and that’s a promise."

I couldn’t hold back the tears. "Just kill me now and get it over with. You’ve already taken everything that I loved and ruined it. I hate you so much!"

"You think I give a damn about your feelings? I’m going to tell you right now, that bastard shows up at my house and I’m going to put a bullet in his head. That’ll give your dumb ass something to cry about."

"Rick, he has nothing to do with this."

"Keep on talking. You’re only proving that he has everything to do with it. Have you forgotten that this is my business and not yours? You have nothing you stupid bitch, you hear me? Nothing!"

He let go of my neck and picked up my purse off the desk. "You’re riding home with me. You try to run and so help me god, I will find you and you will be sorry."

I wiped the tears from my face that were more for Conner than anything he was threatening. "I’ll go with you Rick, just please leave him out of it. It was all me anyway. I came onto him and tonight he told me he wasn’t interested. He’s going back to Kentucky and not coming back."