"We should go," I said shakily.
"Doc," Jett began. I probably could've held out a little longer if he hadn't decided at that moment to rub his thumb over mine. The need that stabbed through me was so blatantly painful that I couldn't stop myself from ripping my hand from his.
"Don't," I whispered around the knot in my throat as I yanked my hand from his. I didn't know what the hell was happening to me, but I was just seconds from losing it completely. Every nerve, every cell in my body told me to run and to keep running. Jett was clearly confused by my reaction, but there was nothing I could do about it. I reached down and snatched up my bag and took a big step backward. When Jett made a move to roll his chair forward, I repeated my plea, though the word came out nothing short of strangled. "Don't."
"Sawyer?" I heard Isaac call from just outside the barn.
I managed to call out, "In here," but I couldn't tear my eyes from Jett's. He looked hurt and disappointed, which made no sense. None of it made any fucking sense. I wanted to explain that to him. To tell him that it had nothing to do with him, but that would've been a lie. It had everything to do with him. Just not in the way he would've suspected. So I did the one thing that I did know how to do.
"I'm sorry," I choked out and then I turned my back on him and did what I did best.
I ran.
CHAPTER SIX
JETT
Don't.
That one word continued to ring in my ears over and over, and each time it did it made the knot in my stomach grow tighter. I still didn't understand what had happened in the barn. When I'd realized Sawyer was a vet and not a medical doctor, I'd been prepared to unleash hell on the man for duping me. But then he'd gotten hurt, the poor creature he'd been trying to help had been traumatized, and I'd felt like an ass because it had all been my fault.
I could literally count on one hand how many minutes I'd spent talking to the sexy veterinarian since meeting him and yet he managed to tie me up in all sorts of knots every time I was around him. I still couldn't believe that I’d blurted out that comment about people thinking I was going to kill myself. I didn't know what I’d hoped to gain from telling him that.
I’d spent the better part of the week since arriving in Pelican Bay contemplating my escape. Since I couldn't literally just walk out the door, I'd landed on forcing Maddox and his little makeshift family to send me packing. That had meant continuing my bad behavior from the moment Maddox and Isaac had shown up on my grandmother's doorstep. I'd started the week off by staying in my room and refusing to interact with anyone, but when I’d realized that was only shooting myself in the foot and prolonging my stay, I'd shifted gears and insisted on spending less and less time in the room. I wasn't proud of my childish behavior, but I’d figured the more in-your-face I was, the quicker I'd be heading home to the little ramshackle farmhouse my grandmother had left me.
From the moment I'd rolled out of my room and into the kitchen a couple of mornings ago, I'd stuck to my plan to make Maddox and Isaac regret taking me from my home. It hadn't taken much because my mere presence had made both men tense. The kid, the one they were raising together, always made himself scarce, which I’d felt shitty about, but I’d figured the sooner I was out of there, the better off everyone would be. Since everyone was so certain I was a danger to myself, I was never left alone, and I'd use that fact to my advantage. Whenever Maddox and Isaac had things to do, I’d insisted on taking a walk, or in my case, a roll, around the center. That meant someone always had to drop what they were doing to accompany me. Dallas and Nolan ended up having to help keep track of me, which had meant they couldn't do their own work, whatever that was. I’d spent hours upon hours of the last couple of days rolling aimlessly about the center along with whatever shadow was assigned to keep an eye on me. Nolan and Isaac had both tried to draw me out of my shell with random conversation, but a few well-placed words had taken care of that and now most of my jaunts around the property were done the way I liked them.
In silence.
Or they had been until Isaac and I had chanced upon Sawyer treating the zebra. I didn't really care that it had been a vet who'd patched me up, it was more about the fact that he'd pulled one over on me. Threatening to report him had all been an act, though. I'd wanted to get under Sawyer’s skin like he'd somehow managed to get under mine.