Chapter Seventeen #2
Aaron laughed, “Oh, it’s over, friend. You see, the entire time we were talking, I had you on speakerphone with Sawyer here.
He heard your confession about killing Billy’s family and Ted.
You’re not getting out in this lifetime.
” Sawyer pulled Reid’s hands behind his back and cuffed him.
A team of FBI agents swarmed in on the three of them, took Aaron’s gun from him, and secured the area.
“The main house needs to be secured,” one of the agents barked.
“A woman was shot and is being treated on site.” Sawyer and Aaron looked at each other, panicked.
They took off for the ATV that showed up after Travis was secured.
They jumped on the vehicle and headed back to the main house.
Aaron needed to make sure that his family was safe, and then they could finally put this nightmare behind them.
Sunny watched as Aaron and Sawyer ran through the front door.
Her arm was in a sling, but she refused pain medication because she wanted to continue to feed Sadie.
She was relieved to see that Aaron was in one piece, but the anger that she felt when she realized that he had walked away from her again replaced her worry.
He strode across the room and pulled her into his arms, causing her to yelp in pain.
“What happened?” he growled and looked accusingly at Tag.
His best friend shrugged. “Your girl couldn’t take a hint and stay behind me. When Piper hit Clint in the head with a frying pan, his gun discharged, and the bullet grazed Sunny’s arm.” Aaron growled in frustration and pulled her into his side.
“Does it hurt? Why are you not at the hospital?” Sunny pulled free from his embrace, needing some space.
She so badly wanted to take the comfort that Aaron wanted to give, but she couldn’t forget that he had left her and Sadie again.
If he didn’t understand that they were a team, that they needed to make decisions together, what kind of future would they have?
“The EMTs stitched me up and I’m fine. Besides, both of us couldn’t abandon our daughter.” She didn’t miss the confusion that flashed across Aaron’s face. “Sadie needed at least one of her parents to stick around and not go off on a fool’s mission,” she spat.
“Now, wait a damn minute, Sunny—” Aaron barked, but she wasn’t about to listen to him lecture about how he was doing what he thought was best for all of them.
She knew that she wasn’t up for a fight; in fact, she was feeling completely worn down.
She needed a bath, and then she wanted to sleep for days.
But first, Sunny needed to do the hardest thing she would possibly ever have to do—tell Aaron goodbye.
“Aaron, this isn’t going to work,” she interrupted.
“I just can’t let you in my or Sadie’s life knowing that you can so easily walk away from us.
I won’t stop you from seeing your daughter; I just won’t let you hurt either of us again.
” Anger and hurt replaced confusion on his handsome face, and God, she wanted to wipe both expressions away.
But she needed to stand firm. She had to do this, not only for herself but for her daughter.
She took off the engagement ring that he had given her hours earlier and slipped it into his hand.
Aaron didn’t make a move; he just stood frozen in place, looking down at his open palm with the ring resting in the middle. Sunny turned away from Aaron.
“Pipe, would you and Tag mind if Sadie and I crash at your place for a couple of weeks? I promise we will be out as soon as I can find a place to live. I just can’t move back to my parents’ farm right now.” Piper looked at Tag, and he reluctantly nodded.
“If you and Sadie need a place to stay, then you are always welcome at the cabin,” Tag almost whispered. Aaron growled and stormed past Tag and out the front door.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Sunny?” Piper looked so worried.
Sunny pulled her in for a side hug, needing the contact.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure about anything right now.
She did know that she couldn’t give her heart to a man who might decide to up and leave at any moment.
She wouldn’t let herself be hurt again. But watching Aaron storm out of the house nearly gutted her.
She wanted to follow him out to the porch and ask him to forget everything that she just said, but that wouldn’t make things any better.
“I’m sure, Pipe. It’s time I started worrying about what’s best for Sadie and me.
Tonight showed me that Aaron doesn’t truly see us as a team.
He left us so easily and didn’t think to ask me what I thought—he decided for me.
I can’t live like that.” Sunny knew that Piper and Tag both thought that she was making a huge mistake; she could see it on their faces.
“We’ll leave for home at first light.” Tag said. He stormed out of the house to find Aaron. Sunny was hoping to wait until she got to the privacy of her room before her floodgates opened, but she wasn’t that lucky. She sobbed as Piper wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
“It will all work out, Sunny, promise. You’ll see.” Sunny knew that her best friend was trying to help, but she was afraid that this was one promise that Piper wouldn’t be able to keep.
Tag joined Aaron on the front porch, and Aaron wanted to punch something; he was so mad.
How in the hell could Sunny just push him out of her life?
A part of him felt guilty that he didn’t include her in his decision to go after Reid, but at the time, he wasn’t thinking about anything but keeping his family safe. Why couldn’t she see that?
“What the hell, Tag? You’re going to just let her stay with you? Why did you say yes?” Aaron flexed his fist, spoiling for a fight. He should have known that Tag wouldn’t give him one.
“First of all, I did what you asked me to do earlier. You wanted me to keep Sunny and Sadie safe, no matter what, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
” Aaron relaxed some realizing that his friend was right—he did ask that of Tag.
“You want her to just go off and stay someplace that might not be safe for her and the baby, or do you want her someplace where you can keep tabs on them both while you figure your shit out?” Tag asked.
“My shit? I was taking care of things—keeping them safe. She’s just too stubborn to see that,” Aaron shouted.
Tag barked out a laugh. “You both are two of the most stubborn people that I have ever met. She just needs some time to calm down—you both do.” Aaron slumped against the porch railing.
It pissed him off that Tag was right. “I’ll keep them both safe, just don’t take too long to get yourself together.
You’ve both been through so much. Let her figure out that you two are good for each other and Sadie,” Tag soothed.
Aaron nodded. “What the fuck do I do, man? How do I get her to listen to reason?” he asked.
Tag clapped Aaron’s shoulder. “You give her some time and space. Come around to see Sadie, show her that you are not going anywhere. Pipe and I will help her to see that you aren’t all that bad,” Tag teased.
Aaron winced. “Gee, thanks,” he growled. “I’m going to head home. I can’t stay here, not without Sunny. I’ll go in and kiss Sadie and grab my things,” Aaron said.
Tag nodded. “You need to fight for her, man. She needs to see that you are sticking around. When you left this fall, it nearly destroyed her.” Tag went back into the house, leaving Aaron alone on the porch.
He knew that his friend was right. Sunny needed some time to remember everything that they had come to mean to each other.
But walking away from the woman that he loved was going to hurt like hell.
He just hoped that she would listen to reason after she had some time to think, because losing her couldn’t happen.
She and Sadie were his life—he couldn’t lose them now.
Not after everything that they went through together to get to this point.