like to help bear your burdens. If you’ll let me.”
He stalked to dresser and opened the drawer that contained his clothes. “I’m bearing my burdens just fine by myself.”
“By running away from them?”
Through the darkness she could tell he was jerking out several items. “You would know, since you’re the queen of running away.”
The hard cutting edge in his words took her breath away. He spun away from the drawer without closing it, strode across the room, and exited without another word. She could only stare at the door and try to make sense of what had just happened between them.
She’d only wanted to talk to him, to make him change his mind about leaving Race Point. But she’d had to ruin it all by digging into his past pains too deeply, by pushing him to talk about things before he was ready. Her chest ached and her throat burned with the need to cry. But she swallowed hard, willing herself to remain calm.
She wouldn’t let a little thing like an argument get in the way of something beautiful that was growing between them. Maybe she’d run from relationships in the past. But she wasn’t running this time. Not now. Not ever again.
Chapter 16
“Five telegrams and one letter.” From the center of his cutter, Jimmy held out the bundle to Tom. Even though the boat swayed with the force of the high waves, Jimmy didn’t falter, as comfortable and stable in his cutter as on land.
From the dock, Tom took the stack of correspondence and sifted through them. One telegram each from Nathaniel, Henry Cole, Mrs. Cole, Victoria’s friend Theresa, and even one from Mrs. Winthrop, Nathaniel’s mother. The letter was from Arch.
“The big bald guy who wrote the letter said not to tell anyone except you that he’s in Provincetown.”
Tom nodded. Four days had passed since he’d sailed to Provincetown and posted the telegram. The slew of responses wasn’t unexpected. Now that he’d made Victoria’s hiding spot public, he figured he had one, maybe two days left before her perpetrator arrived. At least, he hoped the news of her location would bait the attacker to come and get her. And this time, he’d be ready, especially because Arch was helping him.
With Arch positioned in Provincetown, Tom hoped he’d have some advance warning if the man who’d attacked Arch and tried to kidnap Victoria made an appearance. Although communication between Race Point and Provincetown was slow, Arch had a horse ready to ride out to the lighthouse when needed. If Arch rode fast enough, he’d be able to arrive before an attacker could sail over.
Nathaniel’s name on the top telegram seemed to reach up and slap Tom, and he quickly moved it to the bottom of the pile. For a brief instant, he thought about letting it drop into the water to be swept away by the waves.
But he straightened his back and glanced to the side of the house where Victoria was attempting to hang recently laundered clothes on the line. She had a pair of his father’s trousers in her hand, dangling between her thumb and forefinger as though she couldn’t bear to touch them. The garment dripped enough water to form a small stream. Hadn’t she used the wringer to dislodge the excess water? If the sagging, dripping garments already pinned haphazardly to the line were any indication, she’d neglected that important part of the laundering process.
“Mighty fine woman there,” Jimmy said, following Tom’s gaze. A grin cracked his leathery face.
“That she is.”
“Eh?” Jimmy cupped his ear and leaned toward Tom. “What did you say?”
Tom didn’t have the heart to repeat himself, especially louder. In fact, he had to look away from Victoria before the pain in his chest overwhelmed him.
“A real beauty.” Jimmy whistled softly between his missing front teeth. “You’re a lucky one, Tommy.”
Lucky? Not him. He was about as unlucky as any man could get. His conversation with her the night of the storm had been a wake-up call. Her words still blared in his mind just like the deep moan of the fog signal. How are we supposed to really get to know each other if we aren’t honest and open about our pasts? If he couldn’t be honest with her now, then they had no hope for a healthy long-term relationship.
He didn’t deserve her, and he never would. He was a broken man with a broken past. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to forgive himself and move on. It