Why did it have to end?
He kissed the top of her head, and that broke her heart.
Neither of them moved for several minutes, but Teal knew she had to sneak him out of the house. For now, she was just going to enjoy the feeling of him surrounding her.
No one was going to take that away from her. She loved him so damn much.
****
Several days later, Jaxson opened the door to find Bethany on his doorstep.
“Mrs. Larson.”
“Bethany, please. I won’t be a Larson for much longer. We’re already filing for divorce, and everything will be finalized.”
“I thought you were going to settle old problems with your husband.”
Bethany laughed. “Oh, I did, I attempted to. My husband and I, we’ve had an interesting marriage, and a stressful relationship, but we have always found our way back to each other.” She shook her head.
“Not this time?”
“Not this time because the truth is he played the role of the victim. But it turns out that he has a different family. A mistress he’s been screwing for the past ten years, and he even has two other children. All of the late-night visits and crap, and he was cheating on me all of these years.” Bethany snorted. “But I’m the bad guy. I think, I think I knew. In some weird way, I didknow. He was different, and our relationship wasn’t what it used to be. He told me he only wanted one child, which is why Teal is an only child.” She waved her hands in front of her face. “I know I’ve got to tell Teal soon, but I, I don’t want her to be upset with her father. She has been through so much. I wanted to thank you for taking care of her.”
“She is a wonderful woman.”
Those were not the words he wanted to say, but he said them anyway.
Bethany pulled out a checkbook. “I wanted to know if I owed you any money for taking care of her while I was away. Any expenses, or food, your time.”
“No, I won’t take your money.”
She stared down at her book. “Right, of course.”
“Bethany.” He didn’t know what he was going to say or do. What was there to say or do? What could he tell her? That he’d fallen in love with her daughter? That Teal was all he could think about? The only woman he had ever felt this way about?
“Thank you for everything. The house has only been on the market for a few days, and I’ve already had multiple interests. One man in particular. He’s just gotten out of a messy marriage, and he’s wanting to find a place to just live. Kind of a woman-hater if you ask me.” Bethany pushed some hair off her face. “I heard that your house has also gone up on the market. That you’re moving away as soon as possible.”
“My house has already sold,” Jaxson said. He hadn’t told Teal.
Life had been busy. He wasn’t going to get to see out the school year, but neither was Teal. Her mother had already started the transfer for her to return to her old school.
Gripping the back of his neck, he hated the feeling of guilt that surrounded him.
This wasn’t good. It was never a good feeling.
Bethany held out her hand. “To moving on, and it’s been a pleasure to know you, Jaxson.”
He took her hand but knew deep in his heart, if she knew what he’d done, she wouldn’t be shaking his hand.
She left, and he had no choice but to close the door. Stepping into his sitting room, he saw three boxes lined up, and he had three more open.
The kitchen was already packed up. Most of his bedroom was.
There had been a rush on the house. The woman who had purchased his place had said she needed a place to escape. He didn’t know the full story, but she just wanted the safety of her own home and to make a new life for herself.
It felt right giving her the house. At the same time, it felt wrong leaving his woman. Teal was his. That protective feeling never went away.
His doorbell rang, and he stepped away from packing away to answer. He didn’t check who it was before he opened the door.