Chapter Ten #2
It didn’t matter now. None of it mattered. All he knew for sure was that his heart ached with a deep pain he’d never felt before. He had a feeling it was going to take a very long time for him to get over loving Angelique.
ONCE DANIEL WAS GONE, Angelique sank down on her sofa and began to cry. His words of love had been such a shock. Oh, she’d known that he cared about her, just like she cared for him. But she hadn’t realized the depths of his feelings for her.
And she was in love with him. Although she had insisted to him that she wasn’t, that had been a lie. She loved him like she’d never loved a man before, but it scared her. She was so afraid of getting hurt again.
It was better to keep herself safe by not reaching out to embrace his love rather than to grasp hold of it and then be hurt. She cried for several long minutes and then got up from the sofa and got ready for bed.
She wanted to escape the emotions that filled her head and heart. She wanted to escape into the sweet oblivion of sleep and hopefully she would sleep without dreams.
THE NEXT MORNING, she was meeting her sisters for breakfast at the café. The heartache she felt still resonated through her as she dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a hot pink T-shirt.
Once it was time, she left her shanty and headed toward the swamp entrance. Dominique and Monique were already at her car, waiting for her.
They greeted her brightly, and then they all got in the car and Angelique drove toward town. The topic of conversation was Angelique’s store.
“You do realize you’re going to have to hire a couple of people to work for you,” Monique said from the back seat. “There’s no way you can work all the hours you’ll want to be open by yourself.”
“Yeah, I figure I’ll need at least two, maybe three, other people to work for me. I’m going to post on social media and put an ad in the paper. Then hopefully in the next week or so I’ll have some people to interview,” Angelique replied.
It was a relief to talk about the store and nothing more. The last thing she wanted to talk about was anything that had to do with Daniel or love.
“You should order some cute T-shirts with a logo on the front for your employees to wear,” Dominique said. “Purple shirts would be nice.”
“That’s a great idea,” Angelique replied. “I’ll definitely check into that.”
They continued to talk about the store until they arrived at the café.
Once they were seated in a booth and as they waited for their orders to arrive, Monique filled them in on who had been in the dress shop and who had bought what.
“Laura Sanders came in and bought the cutest hot pink pants and a blouse that was hot pink and red. She’s going to look great in it. ”
“You always know exactly what to show the customers to make a sale,” Angelique said. “Maybe I should hire you to work in my store.”
“Ha, sorry, sis, but you couldn’t afford me,” Monique retorted with a giggle.
The conversation remained light and easy as they ate. Still, Angelique couldn’t help but think about Daniel and what had happened between the two of them the night before.
There was a deep sadness inside her and she didn’t quite understand it. She’d made the choice to step away from Daniel. It wasn’t like she wanted the love that he’d offered her…did she?
“Angelique!”
She suddenly became aware that Dominique was talking to her. “Yeah?”
“Where did you just go? I’ve called your name three times,” Dominique said.
“Sorry, I just zoned out for a minute,” Angelique replied.
“I was asking what Daniel had to say about the investigations,” Dominique said. “Anything new?”
“No. Things have pretty much stalled out, but I know he’s working hard to get a solve,” Angelique replied. “I just saw him last night. He stopped in to give me an update.” A wealth of emotion suddenly rose inside her and she quickly looked down at her plate as tears misted her vision.
“Hey, Angelique…what’s going on?” Monique asked softly.
Angelique shook her head and drew in a deep breath. “I can’t talk about it right now,” she managed to say.
“Then are we ready to go?” Dominique asked.
“I’m ready,” Monique said and Angelique echoed it.
Dominique waved for their tab and minutes later the three left the café. “Okay, spill it,” Dominique commanded the moment they were back in the car.
“Yeah, tell us what’s going on with you,” Monique said. “You’re obviously upset about something.”
Angelique hesitated a moment before replying. “He told me he’s in love with me,” she finally said, and tears once again pressed hot and seeped down her cheeks.
“Who? Daniel?” Dominique asked.
Angelique nodded her head. “He told me he’s in love with me and wants to marry me.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Dominique asked.
“You aren’t in love with him?” Monique asked.
“No, I am crazy in love with him,” Angelique confessed.
“Then what’s the problem?” Dominique asked.
“Me… I’m the problem.” Angelique tightened her hands on the steering wheel. “You both know how I feel about relationships. I don’t want to be in love, and I don’t want him to be in love with me.”
“Oh, Angelique,” Monique said in dismay. “You can’t let your experience with Jason ruin the rest of your life. He was a piece of dirt, but that doesn’t mean Daniel is.”
“Monique and I should have hunted Jason down and beat his butt for what he did to you,” Dominique said fervently. “Or maybe we should beat your butt for being so damned stubborn about all this.”
“Angelique, if you truly love him and he truly loves you, then you shouldn’t let this pass you by. You’ll always be haunted by the what-ifs. What if Daniel is a man who won’t lie or cheat on you? What if he is the kind of stand-up man who can truly make you happy?”
“Angelique, don’t allow fear to rule your life. Don’t let your fear ruin your chance at love,” Monique said. “I always believed you were the big sister who was afraid of nothing.”
“Okay, enough,” Angelique said as she parked the car and turned off the engine.
“We just want to see you happy, sis,” Dominique said.
“I know, but I hope you both will support me no matter what decision I make,” Angelique said.
“You know you always have our support,” Monique said.
The three got out of the car and headed into the swamp. It was a quiet walk, and Angelique was grateful for the silence. Her head was spinning with all the thoughts and emotions that filled it.
When she got back to her shanty, she spent the rest of the afternoon working, which kept all other thoughts away. But the minute she closed her computer, thoughts of Daniel filled her head once again.
He’d been a constant in her life for a little over a month. She had enjoyed each and every moment she’d spent with him. The nightly visits had fast-tracked their closeness to each other.
Last night he’d looked so handsome in his jeans and a white polo shirt. She’d wanted him last night. She’d wanted him to kiss her passionately and she’d wanted him to make love with her again. It had surprised and confused her when he hadn’t responded to her obvious openness.
Why had he ruined everything with his talk of loving her? They’d had a wonderful relationship going with things being casual between them. She would have been satisfied if things had remained the status quo. Or was it possible a time would come when she wanted more from him?
She was so damned confused now. She was torn between love and fear, torn between want and the bad taste Jason had left in her mouth.
She called it a day early and got into bed. As she remembered Daniel spending the night with her, her heart squeezed tight. She had felt so safe that night. It had felt so right to fall asleep in his arms.
Could she trust him to love her forever? Could she believe that he would never lie to her or cheat? She closed her eyes and the night sounds of the swamp slowly soothed her.
She must have fallen asleep for she jerked awake suddenly. Instantly a surge of adrenaline coursed through her. She grabbed her knife from beneath her pillow and then sat up and listened.
Had her attacker come back? Was Angelique no longer alone in the shanty? Her heart beat frantically. From the moonlight drifting in the window, she could see there was nothing amiss in her bedroom.
But what about the rest of the house? Had her attacker somehow found a way in? There was still wood in the window that had been broken before, so an intruder could no longer break the glass and get to the door lock. She slowly slid out of the bed. On shaking legs, she moved to the bedroom doorway.
She hadn’t heard anything, but something had awakened her. Drawing a deep breath, she twirled out of the bedroom and into the living room.
It was darker there, but she saw nothing to give her pause. She then moved into the kitchen and there was nobody there, either. She checked her mother’s room and the smaller room and there was nobody there…nobody anywhere.
She went back into the living room and turned on the lanterns that would light up the room. She then sank down on the sofa and released a deep tremulous sigh.
It must have been a dream that had awakened her in such a state. Another attack was always on her mind. Thank goodness, tonight it had been a false alarm.
She didn’t know how long she sat on the sofa, but eventually she got up and went back into her bedroom. She kept all the lanterns lit, including the one on her nightstand.
She finally fell asleep with thoughts of being wrapped in Daniel’s arms.