A Sheriff's Passion by Michelle Beattie

Author:Michelle Beattie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Published: 2017-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

Damn it, he was making things worse. Shane had wanted to apologize to Mitch, to bridge the distance between them but he’d only succeeded in widening the gap. There was only one way to make things right. Shane sighed, rubbed a fist over his heart.

“I was always afraid one of us would turn out like him.” Despite the softness with which he’d spoken, the words sounded loud as a scream in the quiet jail.

Mitch went still. Slowly he turned. There was no mistaking the hurt Shane’s words had caused.

“And apparently that’s me?”

Shane didn’t know if he should remain seated or if he should stand to face what he’d done. He supposed it didn’t matter one way or the other. The only thing that mattered was making this right.

“It was a logical conclusion.”

“Because both you and Logan became lawmen and I’m nothing but a worthless gambler.”

“Because it never bothered you. The beatings, the drinking, the living in fear. You sneered at it all. It was water off a duck’s back to you. Well, it wasn’t for me. I was scared shitless, Mitch. Logan was off doing chores, working, or hunting most times and it was just the two of us against Pa. Maybe instead of telling me not to cry, not to be afraid, maybe instead of making it worse, you could have shown me some understanding, some compassion.” Shane sank into his chair. “We lived through hell, no question. And I’m not saying we could have avoided it, but I’m saying I was seven years old when it started, for Christ’s sake, and I wasn’t old enough or mature enough to take it like a man. I was a boy and I needed someone to realize that, someone to acknowledge that what we were going through was hell. And that it was all right to cry and be mad. That despite it all, someone understood and cared.”

Shane looked down, examined his hands. “I never got the sense you did. And that just kept rolling through the years right up until you rode out of town, making it look so easy, as though whatever was behind didn’t mean a lick to you.” He raised his gaze. “Just like pa had.”

Mitch scowled. “Pa left a wife and children. Logan had already gone by the time I left and you were hardly in nappies.”

Shane nodded. He knew all this. Or at least his head did. His heart wasn’t as logical.

“When Logan left, I could tell he felt badly about leaving, even if we were old enough to take care of ourselves by then. And he’s kept in touch. I always knew he was alive. I knew what he’s been up to. He kept in touch, dammit.

“But you? You hightailed it out of here grinning and whistling as you rode away.” And he’d never looked back. Not that day or any other day in the past ten years.

Still standing at the door, Mitch said, “You could have come with me. I did ask you, if you recall.

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