Page 117 of Omega's Refuge

“Thanks.” Her voice was brusque. “You can just put it on top of the other ones.”

I grimaced. “Won’t it just fall again?”

“I don’t have much farther to go. I’m sure it will be fine.” Despite her words there was the sheen of sweat on her face. It was obvious she was struggling trying to carry three boxes at once. ButI got the feeling she’d rather die than admit that to anyone. Especially me.

Despite my feelings about her, it felt wrong to make her carry three boxes when I could help. “How about I carry this one to wherever you’re headed?”

“No, really,” she said breathlessly. “It’s okay.”

“I insist.” I turned, facing the direction she’d been headed before she dropped the box. “Where are we going?”

“Well, I was headed to the laundry shed.” Her voice was stilted. She started walking again. “Seth was going to help me but he was running late and I got impatient. I figured I’d just handle it myself.”

Why does that not surprise me?

“Lead the way,” I said brightly.

She started walking again, and I fell into step beside her. The silence was awkward as hell, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. It was hard to make polite conversation with a person who’d tried to destroy my relationship with Rex.

There was only the sound of our feet on the gravel road for a bit, then she cleared her throat. “I… I wanted to apologize to you, Tanner.”

Shocked, I glanced over at her. Her face was flushed and she kept her gaze straight ahead. There was a prideful tilt to her head, but her next words seemed to contradict her body language. “I was wrong to tell Steve where you were that day.”

I couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth, but I was grateful. Never in a million years had I expected an apology from Mrs. Rodwell. I had to say something. “It… it’s okay. I mean, it was a shock at the time, obviously.”

Her jaw clenched. “Yes. I’m sure.”

Since she was being so open, I decided to do the same. “Do you really believe I’m such a horrible partner for Rex?”

She grimaced, shifting the boxes in her arms. “No.”

“But you still tried to get me to break up with Rex and go back to Steve,” I murmured.

She sighed. “You probably won’t believe me, but it wasn’t really personal.”

I chuffed. “It felt personal. Steve ambushed us and caused a lot of drama.”

“Yes. I didn’t realize what a hot-head he was.” Her voice wobbled. “When Rex told me what happened to you, well, I felt sick. Horrified.”

“But,whydid you tell him where we were and about the baby? If it wasn’t personal, why did you try to split Rex and me up?” I frowned. “You had to know that sending Steve over to the apartment that day, knowing about the child, would be a volatile situation.”

We’d reached the laundry shed and she dropped the boxes she held onto the ground with a thud. Breathing hard, she stood with her handson her hips, watching me warily. Her brown eyes held both guilt and stubbornness.

“I simply felt your boyfriend had the right to know about his unborn child.” She grimaced. “But I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just see things differently from you. I believe in my heart that you should be with the father of the child, and that the two of you should raise the baby together.”

“You know nothing about Steve. You know nothing about how awful our relationship was.”

“Still, he’s the baby’s father.”

“He didn’t want children. He said that to my face.”

She sniffed. “Be that as it may, he’s still the father of that baby. He’s the one who should raise it.”

I shook my head, feeling frustrated. “That’s ridiculous and antiquated thinking.”

Annoyed, I moved into the laundry shed and placed the box I held on a long table that was on the far side of the room. There were four commercial sized washers and dryers, and two of the machines were rumbling nosily. Mrs. Rodwell joined me in the shed, carrying one of the other boxes. I went out and grabbed the last box, and once all the boxes were stowed on the table, I faced her.

“I appreciate your apology,” I said gruffly. “But if I’m honest, it doesn’t mean much since it’s obvious you feel you did nothing wrong.”

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