You Only (Cameron Farms Book 1) - Melanie Jayne Page 0,27

in the nighttime sky as they discussed their days.

“I know that you’re driving, but would you like a little more?” Hale pointed to his glass. She always limited herself to one small drink when she was alone.

Finn shook his head. The quiet between them continued.

“Do you ever wonder what our life would have been like together?” Finn’s question cut through the calm of the evening.

She felt her stomach drop. “No,” she answered immediately then paused. “Wait, that’s a lie. Yes I have, but I don’t like to.” She looked away from him, scrambling to control her breathing.

“Why’s that?”

She snuck a look at him and he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at his hands in his lap.

She chose her words carefully. “At first, when I did, the pain was so strong that it would make me sick to my stomach. I learned to avoid thinking about us so that I didn’t have to feel that ache.” She stilled the swing and watched him. Sweat broke out along her back.

“I’ve always wondered.” He raised his eyes to hers. “It’s good to know that you weren’t such a cold hearted bitch that you never cared or looked back.” He finished with an evil smile.

Oh boy, here we go. She’d known this moment was going to happen. “So you want to go into that tonight?”

“Yeah, you’ve had years to make up a good story.” He snarled as he rubbed his hands together as if he was looking forward to a fight.

She stood slowly. “If you want to have this conversation tonight then let’s go inside. I don’t want to put on a show for anyone that might be in the barn or nearby.”

“Are you trying to stall? To put me off?” He smirked.

“Look, I know that you’re a professional arguer. I just don’t want us to get loud and draw attention. I’m not afraid of you or intimidated, but I don’t want to share my business with others.”

“Ashamed of the truth?” he taunted as he stood to follow her.

“Yes, some of it, very much.” She was going to be truthful. They deserved that, too many years had passed and she needed to try to right some of the damage that she had caused.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to have this conversation.” He followed Hale and Miller inside.

“Let’s go in the office.” She led the way down the hall. It was a sneaky move, interrupting her quiet evening, chatting away like they were friends and then lowering the boom. If he thought that he’d caught her off guard, he was going to be surprised. She had visualized this scene for years. It was finally happening.

“Think your big desk will intimidate me or stop the truth?” His tone had turned sharp.

“No. I only ask that if you get your say, I get mine.” She made sure that she sounded calm.

“Agreed.” He bit off the word.

Finn sat in the tall chair facing her desk. He crossed his ankle to his knee and appeared at ease. She took seat behind the desk and waited for this moment of reckoning to begin.

She wanted it to appear that she was waiting patiently for Finn to start, a few minutes ticked by or maybe it was only a few heartbeats. She made herself stay still. He was an accomplished courtroom attorney, so he knew the tricks to put her on the defensive. Finally, he spoke first.

“Tell me why you left. Not that ‘it’s me, not you shit.’ I want real answers tonight, Hale. After fifteen years, I deserve them.”

She wet her lips, over the years she had edited this speech in her mind until it was perfect. However, now when she needed her words, they were gone from her memory. “A great deal of it had to do with me, but some of the problem was you. I think the trial was the catalyst, it broke us apart.”

“The firm was hired and I was asked to defend the man, it was a great opportunity for me. A career making case, you knew that. I explained that to you. I know we had that conversation about my responsibilities as an attorney. It shouldn’t matter if you or I liked the man, he deserved the best defense he could afford. I did that and the jury found him not guilty.”

She smiled ruefully. “That is a lovely philosophy and a great justification for your job when you defend a murderous bastard. That you can sit in my home and smugly give