She had no response to that, so she avoided addressing it at all. “Back to my career.”
“A career you could just as easily handle from here.” Ty set his empty cup down. “All you’ll be going back to is your self-imposed loneliness. You exiled yourself from everything that was familiar and dear to you because you didn’t have the guts to stay and face what is so evidently clear.”
“That my fiancé chose my bridesmaid over me!”
“No, that you chose the wrong man to begin with. You didn’t want to admit to everybody that your judgment had been so far off.”
“After what happened, I didn’t have any choice but to leave.”
“You had plenty of choices!” he shouted. “For one, you could have stayed and married Jenkins. For another, you could have exposed him and Gretchen instead of taking the rap yourself.”
“I loved him too much for that,” she fired back. She knew it wasn’t true; Ty knew it wasn’t true. But she wanted to provoke him.
It didn’t work. “That’s crap, Sunny,” he said mildly. “Just like it’s crap that your parents left here because of your disgrace.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I talked to Fran. She said your dad was offered a fantastic job in Jackson. Their leaving here had nothing to do with you. But you chose to believe it did to justify your own leaving. For the benefit of everybody in Latham Green, you’ve painted yourself as being an independent career girl with a string of lovers and a devil-take-tomorrow attitude. You started believing in that false image yourself.
“But we both know that woman doesn’t exist. That isn’t the life you want. When you left here, you weren’t running toward something. You were running away. And if you leave today, that’s what you’ll be doing again.”
Sunny was so angry she was rocking back and forth slightly. “Take your half-baked psychology and go straight to hell, Sheriff Beaumont. I can’t wait to get back to New Orleans. I’m leaving as soon as you dress and get out of here.”
“Okay,” he said with a shrug, “leave. But I’ll only come after you.”
“What for?”
He moved forward and didn’t stop until he was toe to toe with her. “Because I want you. I must be crazy, but I do. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you eating those damn strawberries. Last night you proved to be the woman I had guessed you were, the woman I’ve needed and wanted for a long time.”
“Well, I hope you enjoyed me because that’s the last chance you’ll ever get.”
He laughed. “Far from it, Sunny. You can run off today, but I’ll just chase you down. Remember when I told you that Jenkins was the greater fool for letting you walk through the church door? Well, I’m not Jenkins. I’m gonna stay hot on your saucy little tail until you’re in my life, in my house, and in my bed for good.”
For a moment Sunny was speechless. “You actually think I would live with you? Here in Latham Green?”
“Husbands and wives usually, not always of course, but usually, live together.”
“Husbands and—you think I’m going to marry you?”
He grinned confidently. “Not think. Know.”
“You are crazy.”
“I’m afraid you’re right. Most men wouldn’t want a firebrand like you around, but I kinda like the excitement. I’ve been with many women, not a single one of whom has ever gotten me out of bed by flooding the front porch with Wild Turkey,” he said, laughing.
“Go ahead, laugh. I think it’s hilarious myself that you are under the delusion that I’d ever marry you and live in this hick town.”
“This hick town did all right by you. I think it’s a great place for kids to grow up.”
“Kids?”
“Sure. I think we ought to do our civic duty to keep the Latham Green school district in business, don’t you?”
Her expression seethed with mutiny and resentment.
He cuffed her under the chin. “I know you’re resistant to the idea right now. You wouldn’t recognize what was good and right for you if it came up and bit you. But after you’ve given it some thought, you’ll come around.”
He headed for the door. “Oh, and if you do decide to leave today, be quiet while you’re packing. As you know, you kept me up most of the night.” Scratching his chest absently, he yawned broadly. “I’m going back to bed.”