Christmas Interference by Lisa B. Kamps

Author:Lisa B. Kamps
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hockey romance, holiday romance, Christmas story, second chance romance, redemption, coming home, family, alpha hero, secret past, tragic past
Publisher: BimHaven Press
Published: 2018-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

There are days I can't live with myself, knowing what I did to Wyatt.

The words sliced deep, hurting her more than she expected. Not so much the words but the way Shane had said them. Flat. Emotionless. It was that lack of emotion that scared her, because she had heard it before. Not from Shane, but from Wyatt. Three years ago, when all his progress had come to a halt. When he'd actually lost progress. When he'd given up. He'd said the same thing to her then—that it would have been better if he'd died in the accident. That death would have been preferable to losing his leg. His dreams.

Chloe stepped closer, placed the palm of her hand against the middle of Shane's chest, right over his heart. She could feel it beating, strong and steady, maybe just a little fast. But alive.

She couldn't imagine him any other way. Couldn't imagine what she would have done if he had died that night. It had been one thing to lose him personally. When they had drifted apart after the accident, when they'd finally succumbed to the stress of the aftermath, to the guilt and regret. Then later, when he'd been picked up by Baltimore and moved away.

Yes, she had lost him. But he was still here. Still alive. Agony sliced through her at the thought of it being any other way. She forced the pain away, forced the awful fear to the back of her mind, locking it in a deep, dark corner, never to be seen again.

"It wasn't you, Shane. Why can't you see that?" How many times had she told him that? How many times had her parents and his aunt and uncle told him that? Even the police, once the accident investigation had concluded. She'd been there, by Shane's side, when they told him he wasn't at fault. The roads had been icy and the car had simply spun out of control. Speed wasn't a factor. Alcohol wasn't a factor. And Shane's handling of the car had saved them. It could have been so much worse.

But he didn't see that. He either couldn't—or he wouldn't. Even now, he was shaking his head, brushing her words off, as if they meant nothing.

He closed his fingers around her wrist, eased her hand from his chest, and stepped back.

"You need to leave, Chloe."

God help her, she almost did. Almost turned to run from the house. From Shane. From everything they had ever shared. But she couldn't, not when he looked so lost. Pain etched into the tired muscles of his face, pale beneath the stubble covering his jaw. Sorrow gleamed in the depths of his eyes, ringed in red that even the thick dark lashes couldn't hide.

Not just sorrow—loneliness as well. She could feel it, washing over him in choking waves, leeching the life from his soul.

No, she couldn't leave. She wouldn't, no matter how much he demanded. And while what she was ready to do might not be the smartest thing, it was the only thing she could think of.

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