Taylor flinched at my movement. “I just need some time.”
“Time for what?” I was not going to let her use this as an excuse to push me away. I refused.
“To think. I need some space to figure out what I want.”
“Well, which is it, Taylor? Time or space?” My temper teased the surface, and I knew I needed to keep it in check.
She twirled the ring on her finger. “I don’t know, maybe both.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I’m no good for you, Walker.” Her words were soft and filled with such grief, they broke my heart.
“What are you talking about?”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m a mess. Can’t you see that?” She swiped at her face, and I fought back the urge to pull her into my arms. “You got hurt, and all I want to do is run away. Do you know how fucked up that is? I think I might love you, and yet all I want to do is get as far away from you as possible at the time when you need me the most.”
My heart stuttered at her confession, warmth filling my chest. “Taylor, baby, that is totally understandable given what you’ve been through recently.” I reached for her, but she stepped out of my grasp, shaking her head back and forth.
“No, it’s not! You deserve better. Someone like Ashlee, who’d love nothing more than to be by your side through it all.”
“What the fuck? Seriously, Taylor, what the fuck? I do not want, nor have I ever wanted Ashlee. I want you. You’re mine, remember?”
“I’m broken, Walker.”
“Well, then all your beautifully broken pieces are mine.”
Taylor’s body visibly shuddered at my words. “I think I’m going to go back to LA for a while.”
My spine went ramrod straight. “No. You go, and I’ll follow your ass.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Please.” There were tears in her voice. “Please, Walker, I need to get my head straight.”
My teeth ground together with such force, I thought I might crack a molar. “I’ll give you space to get your head straight, if you promise me you won’t leave.”
Taylor blew out a slow breath. “All right.” Her eyes, full of tears, met mine. “I’m going to go now…if you’re okay on your own.”
I wanted to scream at her that I wasn’t fucking okay on my own, but I resisted the urge and nodded instead. She disappeared into the guest room she’d been staying in, I assumed to get her stuff, and I just stared at the two sandwiches assembled and placed on plates. Footsteps sounded, drawing my attention.
There she stood, duffle over one shoulder, so eager to walk right out of my life. “I’ll call you when I figure things out.” I nodded, and she headed for the door.
“You know I love you, right?”
She froze. “I know.” The words sounded so unbelievably tortured.
“To the depths of my soul. I’ll give you time, but don’t think I’m letting you walk out of my life so easily.”
Taylor’s head jerked in a nod as her shoulders shook with sobs, but she didn’t turn around. Instead, she walked right out the door.
38
Taylor
Tears clouded my vision as I drove down the gravel road back to my cabin. What the hell was I doing? I had no freaking clue. All I knew was that I needed space. I needed to retreat to the safety of my bubble, a place where there was no one it would destroy me to lose.
I wanted to run somewhere Walker would never find me, but I would have to settle for holing up on my couch with a blanket pulled over my head. I swung into my driveway, and my jaw clenched. There was a large SUV parked to the side of my house, one I didn’t recognize. The last thing in the world I wanted was to be forced into polite conversation with anyone, especially a stranger.
I pulled down my car’s visor. Shit. I was a mess. I did my best to dry my tears and wipe away the tracks of mascara on my face. There was nothing I could do about the red eyes and cheeks other than put on my sunglasses. Grabbing my bag, I opened my door.
My eyes scanned from the strange SUV to the front of my house. A figure reclined on my front steps, a baseball cap pulled low, sunglasses on. Was he taking a nap? Then I noticed a guitar case leaning against the wood railing of the porch steps, and it all clicked into place. “Liam?”
The figure shot up to sitting and then moved to stand. “Hey there, Tay. How would you feel about a house guest? I really needed to get out of Dodge, and it had to be under the radar—” He paused mid-ramble to study my face. “Are you okay?”
That was all it took. I promptly burst into tears. And not the pretty kind. These were snotty, hiccupping sobs. Liam wrapped me in a tight hug. “Hey, hey now. Everything’s going to be okay. Whatever it is, we can fix it.”
“N-n-no we can’t.” I cried into Liam’s shirt.
“What could be so bad that it’s not fixable?”
“I-I-I fell in love with someone.”
Liam pulled back, lines creasing his brow. “You fell in love with someone?”
I nodded.
“And that’s bad?” he asked.
I nodded again.
Liam burst into a fit of laughter that had him leaning back to let it out. Rage flooded my veins. So many emotions had been pumping through my body for the past few hours, I was on overload. So, I didn’t take the time to think or calm my temper like I should have, I just wound my fist back and socked Liam right in the stomach. “It’s not funny, asshole!”
Turning on my heel, I stormed into the house, leaving Liam wheezing in my wake. I went directly to the kitchen and opened the freezer to pull out a bottle of vodka. I filled a glass with ice, a healthy pour of alcohol, and a dash of lemonade. Taking my drink, I walked out to the back deck and sank onto one of the rockers.