Frigid Affair(23)

That statement was enough to silence me.

"I had to lie about my name, even to the guys I was staying with. I couldn't take the chance that they knew you."

By this point my knees were shaking. No longer was I angry that I was some kind of mistake. What this guy was implying was that he'd known me before the fire. I stopped thinking about the theft, or what my neighbors were accusing him of. I had to know how he knew who I was. "Why? Who the hell are you?”

He paused, took in a deep breath, and then finally replied in a sorrowful tone. “My name is Jensen Weatherly.”

Right when he said it I knew there was something familiar, though it took me a few more seconds to put two and two together.

Jensen Weatherly. I kept repeating it in my head. How did I know this name? Why was he telling me as if I was suppose to know?

When the truth hit me I almost lost my ability to remain standing.

It wasn’t his first name that I recognized. It was the last.

I struggled to respond. “Alice Weatherly? Is that why you’re here? Are you related to the person who drove onto the tracks that caused the train wreck?” It wasn’t possible. It had to be a coincidence. But if that was so, how in the world would he have known who I was? Why did he make the trip to see me? Why would he lie about his name? What the hell was he doing in Alaska?

His eyes were pained as he struggled to talk about it. “Amantha, she was my wife.”

I dropped the wood and brought one hand up to my mouth. “No. That’s not…”

“Just let me explain. Give me five minutes. Please. I came all this way. I need you to hear me out.”

I began shaking my head, as well as other extremities. “No.” I pointed. “You need to leave, right now. I want you off my property.”

“Amantha, I can’t.”

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Get out of here.” His visit was a waste of time. I hated him. He’d lied to me, repeatedly. He’d made me think I was some weak victim, when there was probably nothing wrong with me.

How could I have been so na?ve to think a saint of a man would fall from the Alaskan sky during a blizzard?

I was fighting the tears from falling down my face. He’d taken advantage of me. I’d probably never understand why he’d come, but I wasn’t sure I even wanted to.

This hurt.

This was like waking up after a good dream to your house being blown to smithereens by a tornado.

Now more than ever, I needed to get him off my property. He couldn’t know about Christopher. That child was mine, and I wouldn’t let some con-artist anywhere near him.

“I think you need to hear me out. Don’t you want closure?”

Since running away to start over I’d assumed I had enough closure, at least to get me through the rest of my life. I’d lost everything, only to start over with Christopher. This man, whoever he was, posed a direct threat to my livelihood. If he discovered his child was only yards away, the consequences could be devastating for me. “I’m not going to ask again. If you don’t turn around and start moving I’m getting my gun. You’ll never be anything more than a liar to me. Never.”

He threw up both hands, his pained eyes never leaving mine. “Fine. I can understand why you’re angry. I’ve been beating myself up for two years about it. I tried to visit last year, but you weren’t here. Your cabin was closed up. I thought you might have moved away.”

“Where I went was none of your business. Like I said before, we’re done here.”

He began backing away. “I get it. I know I f*cked up, but in all fairness, you didn’t give me much choice when I found you in that house. I refused to let you die, not before I made sure you were okay.”

“Oh, is that what guys like you call what you did?”

“I saved your life!”

“You lied to me from the moment you opened your mouth. I let you into my home, my pants even. Clearly you let me believe the lie to make that happen.”

He kept shaking his head, coming off as if I didn’t understand some big picture. I had my own dire reasoning for making sure he exited promptly and never came back.

“I’m sorry, Amantha. I really am. I wish I regretted feeling you in my arms that night. You’ll never know what it was like to be with you; to be with anyone.”

After he said it he left without further explanation. I was too flustered to consider it had meaning, not that I would have even contemplated retracting my threats. This was no longer about me and my wellbeing. My son was my world. My whole life revolved around him. Biological father or not, that man wasn’t going to step foot in my home and think about taking him away from me. I’d commit murder before I let that happen.





Chapter 10


It took me nearly five minutes to realize he hadn’t appeared out of nowhere. If Easton, or Jensen, whatever his name this time was staying close, there was only one place it could be. There was snow on the ground, and since my neighbor’s house was about a quarter mile down the mountain, I figured he’d come from there.

I wasted no time locating my cell phone and turning it on. Then with shaking fingers I called my neighbors. They were in Florida for the winter and would want to know one of the so-called fireman were back for more goods.

Eve picked up on the second ring. “Amantha, is that you? Is everything okay?”