Broken(52)

The moment she saw the look on Cade’s face, Jocelyn knew she’d been found out.

Kyla.

Why couldn’t her friend keep her big mouth shut?

Steeling herself for the confrontation she’d hoped to avoid while here on the ranch, Jocelyn raised her chin defiantly in the face of his anger and crossed her arms over her chest. She hoped the attitude she projected was one of nonchalance even though she felt like a frightened little girl on the inside.

Judging from the red hue shading his face and the vein throbbing in his forehead, Cade was a little more than upset.

He was pissed.

Without warning, he grabbed her forearms and gave her a shake. “I could throttle you, do you know that?”

“Take your hands off of me! You have no right to manhandle me like this.” She struggled against his tightening grip.

“I’d like to do more than this to you. When I think of how all these years I believed… You lied to me!” He let go of her arms abruptly.

The movement took her by surprise and she stumbled back and righted herself so she wouldn’t fall on her butt. She gasped at the sight of his rage. The Devlin temper was legendary in these parts, but she’d never seen Cade quite like this before.

This was beyond rage, and that old fear reared its head, robbing her of speech.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” He took a step forward as though he were going to grab her again, but thought better of it.

Jocelyn opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“Fine. You don’t have to say anything to me, but I have plenty to say to you. Do you realize how many sleepless nights I’ve spent wondering what I did wrong to drive you away? Woman, you had me so twisted on the insides, you nearly robbed me of my manhood. I hated you for what I believed you did to me, your father and my family.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

His narrowed gaze and flaring nostril told her he didn’t believe her. It was probably best if he continued to hate her, because she didn’t think she could even be the woman a man like him deserved. “Sorry? You should be, especially when I could have been there for you. Why? Why couldn’t you come to me, Jocelyn?”

She bit her lip to hold back the sob. His anger she could take, but the compassion and pity, she couldn’t. “What exactly would my telling you have accomplished? It wouldn’t have changed the fact that some lowlifes nearly destroyed me.”

“But I could have helped you through a difficult time. Even now, I still see you’re hurting from it. Every time I or one of my brothers even comes near you, you freeze up. I should have known something was up, but instead I hurt you even more didn’t I?”

She lifted her shoulder in an act of nonchalance. “You didn’t know.”

His sensual lips flattened, showing his displeasure. “But I should have known—been there for you.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Cade. What’s done is done and it’s in the past. You and I have been over for a long time.”

He shook his head vehemently, sending his dark blond locks flying around his face. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. We’re not finished by a long shot.”

She threw her hands up in the air, frustration making her body tremble. “I don’t have the strength to deal with this, Cade. Why couldn’t you let the past stay where it belongs? So what if I lied to you about my feelings and reasons for staying away? A lot of time has passed and I’m not the same innocent girl I once was.”

“That isn’t true. You may bear more scars, but you’re still the same Jocelyn I always knew…and loved.”