Really not in the mood to watch this and needing some time to herself while she tried to figure out how she was going to handle this, she got up and walked towards the exit, jumping out of the way when Danny tackled Duncan to ground, nearly colliding with her. Shaking her head and managing a small smile when Duncan screeched like a girl and yelled for his mother, she left the reptile park and headed for the bench she’d spotted earlier. She sat down, leaned forward and closed her eyes as she soaked in the warm Florida sun, hoping that it would help her figure a way out of this mess.

“Are you about to break my son’s heart?” Dr. Bradford asked, startling her….a bit.

“Ow!” she cried out when she fell off the bench and landed, rather awkwardly, on a few of the bricks bordering the beautiful rock garden surrounding the gates to the zoo.

“Damn it,” Dr. Bradford cursed, rushing to her side to help her to her feet. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, holding back a cringe, because she just wasn’t strong enough to get through the embarrassment of having her boyfriend’s father seeing her ass for a second time in less than a week.

He helped her up and when he gestured for her to sit down, she shook her head, deciding that it was probably for the best if she didn’t put pressure on the fresh cuts marring her ass at the moment. “I’m fine, really,” she said, pasting that fake smile that she’d been using all day back on her face.

Her hopes that he would walk away disappeared when he sat back down on the bench, folded his arms over his chest and settled in for the long haul. “Are you going to answer my question?” he asked, watching her closely and making her frown in confusion.

“Didn’t I just answer your question?” she had to ask, because she was pretty sure that she’d just answered him.

His eyes narrowed on her. “Not that. I want to know if you’re about to break my son’s heart.”

“Okaaaay,” she said slowly, really not sure where this was coming from. “Why exactly are you asking me that question?”

“Because you’ve been ignoring him all day and you’ve been acting like you’d rather be anywhere but here.”

“I’m not ignoring him,” she answered, rubbing her hands down her face at the reminder of how screwed up her life was about to become.

There wasn’t any money in her bank account to pay her credit card bill tomorrow, which meant that she was going to get hit with late fees and her interest rate was going to be raised to thirty-four percent if she was lucky. It also meant that her credit score was about to take a hit. Basically, this meant that this mistake was going to add months if not years onto her plans to pay off this debt.

It was just a depressing thought to know that the reminder of what the jerk had done to her was going to follow her for another few years. She’d hoped to be rid of the debt, rid of the memories and rid of him soon. She just wanted to move on with her life and-

“Is this about your ex-fiancé?”

“What?” she asked, taken off-guard.

“Your ex-fiancé? You remember him, don’t you? Average height, a bit of a weight problem, thinning hair, below average looks, a real loser, who left you with over fifteen thousand dollars worth of debt and emptied your bank accounts the day before he dumped you. That fiancé,” he said evenly.

“How did you-”

“You’re the first woman that my son has shown any interest in since he came back. I made it a point of knowing everything about you,” he explained with a warm smile.

“Oh,” was the only response that she could handle at the moment as the mortification that she’d hoped never to experience again came rushing back. He knew……

“I considered taking the boys and beating the shit out of him, but they would have just gotten in the way,” he said with a shrug as he looked up and met her gaze. “So, I did it myself.”

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, positive that she’d misheard him.

“He cried,” he said, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I was embarrassed for him.”

“You beat him up?” she asked, hoping that she’d misheard him because otherwise that meant that he’d-

“I kicked the shit out of him,” he admitted with a shrug. “He had it coming.”

“Ummmmm,” she said, no longer sure how she should respond.

“I gave him the option of paying you back, but as I’m sure that you know your ex, besides being a piece of shit, is also horrible with money. He’s in serious debt so I doubt you’re ever going to see a cent from him. I’m sorry.”

“I already figured that out,” she said even though having it confirmed made her feel worse, because now she knew that there was absolutely no hope that he’d act like a man and take this responsibility away from her before she-

“I paid off the debt and replaced the money as an early wedding present,” he said with that warm smile that made her feel absolutely horrible and for a good reason.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t marry your son,” she said weakly as she took a step back. “I’m going to return the money and pay back the debt with interest as soon as I can, but,” she said, pausing to lick her dry lips, “I can’t marry him.”

“Then maybe you should have told me that last night when I proposed,” Danny said, making her realize that he’d been standing there listening. “But, it’s fine, Tinkerbelle. I can take a fucking hint,” he said, giving her a mock salute as he walked off, leaving her standing there realizing that there were worse things than being screwed over by the man she’d promised to marry.

It was watching the man that she loved walking away.

Chapter 39

“Don’t walk away from me!” she yelled. “We’re going to finish this once and for all!”

“We’re done!” he snapped, not even bothering to look back when he said it, which he paid for seconds later when she broke out into a run, jumped on his back and took him down hard to the ground where the saddest wrestling match that Danny had ever witnessed took place.

“Shouldn’t you help him?” Jodi asked, gesturing towards Darrin and Marybeth just as Marybeth managed to yank Darrin’s arm behind his back.

“No,” he said since he was sure that his brother had this one coming.

“Can we talk?” she asked, reaching out to take his hand with a slight hesitation that told him that she was expecting him to pull away.

As pissed as he was, he would never do anything to hurt her. As soon as her hand touched his, he closed his hand around hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, letting her know that everything was okay. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” he said, sighing heavily as they watched his brother get his ass kicked. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” she said, giving him the out that he didn’t deserve.

“Yes, there is,” he said, not willing to take the easy way out of this one. “I overreacted and acted like an asshole. You never agreed to marry me, but I’ve been acting like it’s a done deal and that’s not fair to you.”

“Thank you,” she murmured with a small nod and a wince when Marybeth reached down, grabbed hold of Darrin’s nipple through his shirt and twisted.