“Fine. I’ll talk from here then.”
“I can’t imagine what you think we have to talk about.”
He fidgeted, jamming his hands into his jeans pockets and then taking them out again. “I want to…er…apologize.”
“Apologize? For making my life hell?” She shook her head. “I’m very sorry to inform you that your apology is not accepted.”
“I’m sorry. Really. I was desperate, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Seriously? “You ruin my life and that’s all?”
“I know it’s no excuse. I’ve really fucked up. Chad and Catie were willing to give me another chance in Bakersville. So were some of the others. I even thought I might be able to work things out with Evie. But I had this debt hanging over my head, and even though I had the promise of work in town, Donetto wouldn’t wait till I saved up the cash. When I recognized you—”
“You saw an opportunity, didn’t you?”
He nodded, the look on his face sheepish. “Yes. I did.”
Amber let out a sigh. She was tired of standing. “Are you done?”
“No. Can we talk for a few minutes?”
Her fear had subsided. What was the harm? The man obviously had no intention of leaving until he’d said his piece. “Fine. Come on in. But the door stays open.”
“Works for me.”
Amber pulled a chair out from the desk. “Sit down.” She plunked down on the edge of the bed.
“I want to tell you something. About all the talk in town about me.”
“Why tell me anything?”
“Because I truly feel bad about what I’ve done to you. I want you to know that I’m not such a bad guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid that’ll take a bit.”
“I know that. You see, all that stuff about Evie being pregnant with my kid, it wasn’t true. Evie and I never had sex.”
“Look, I didn’t know you then. I still don’t really know Evie. This is none of my business. And I’ve got my own problems, thank you.”
He nodded. “I know you do. And I’m sorry for my part in them. But for some reason it’s important to me that you know the truth about me.”
“Fine,” Amber relented. “Then why did she say it was your baby?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea. It broke me up that she’d cheated on me. I was sitting around, minding my own business, trying to figure out what to do. I mean, I loved Evie with all my heart. I couldn’t just walk away. Then her dad came at me with that gun. I’ve never been so fuckin’ scared in my life. At least, up to that point. You know, before Donetto.”
“So you left town.”
“Hell, yes. What else could I do?”
“You could have stayed and cleared your name. Her dad went to jail. You weren’t in any more danger.”
He stood and paced a few steps and sat back down. “There was nothing left for me there. The woman I loved had betrayed me. I was a mess. So I came here to San Antonio, got a job on a ranch—that’s where I met Bernie; the ranch was his cousin’s—hung out at Rachel’s a few nights a month to blow off steam. Everything was fine, till I got mixed up with Paul Donetto.”
“And why did you do that?”
“I was greedy. Plain and simple. It seemed like easy money. I was doing okay working at the ranch, but I didn’t have much left over for savings. I wanted a big nest egg so I could come back here and try to work things out with Evie. I’d heard through the grapevine that she’d lost the baby and hadn’t gotten married. She was working as the librarian. So I thought maybe… Anyway, all I was supposed to do was drive a small pickup and deliver some stuff to a warehouse. I had no idea what was in the truck. It had a tarp over it when I got it. And I was smart enough not to ask any questions.”
“And?”