Control your temper, Raoul cautioned himself. Don’t scream or punch the walls or drive off in a rage. Just calm the hell down. He inhaled and exhaled several times. “And you didn’t tell me all this at the time… because?”
“Because you would have felt responsible for me, and you would have dropped out of school.”
I feel like hurling the contents of my stomach. “Which is precisely what I ended up doing.”
She threw her hands in the air with disgust, causing flour to flutter all over the place. “How was I supposed to know that?”
How about because I told you I loved you every pathetic chance I got? “Let me get this straight. My father knew that Valcour was pressuring you to get to him, and he did nothing to stop it?”
“He didn’t know then. He found out later. That’s why he always liked me, I think. He was a self-sacrificing kind of guy, and he probably saw some of that in me.” She shrugged. “It’s probably why he lied about the divorce papers being filed. His small way of making up for problems he felt that he had caused, no matter how indirectly.”
“I just don’t understand why I was kept out of the loop. Why didn’t he trust me enough to tell me? Why didn’t you?”
“It seemed best at the time.”
Best for who? Not me. Your leaving me was definitely not the best thing for me. “So, the financial hole this ranch is in started when my father came to my assistance? So, the oil vultures have been after my father all this time? So, you and my father were in cahoots, never deigning to let poor ol’ Raoul know what was going on? So, everything I ever thought about my dad and you was a sham?”
“Let me explain—”
“No, let me explain. You stood outside just two hours ago preaching to me about respect and trust and how you couldn’t enter a relationship without those two essential ingredients. Well, screw you, Charmaine. You and your hypocrisy.”
She gasped.
But he didn’t care. He was on a roll. “What kind of respect and trust did you show me? You didn’t think I could handle the truth back then when we were kids. You didn’t think I could handle the truth these past ten years. And you sure as shootin’ didn’t think I could handle the truth this past week while you’ve been living under the same roof with me.”
“Are you two havin’ a lovers’ spat?” Tante Lulu asked during the short spurt of silence between his outbursts.
They both turned to look at the old lady standing in the dining room doorway, staring at them with concern.
“No!” he and Charmaine shouted at the same time.
Raoul turned his attention back to Charmaine. Wagging a finger in her face, he warned, “Stay away from me, Charmaine.”
With those words, he stomped out of the house and to the barn, where he saddled a horse and rode off at a fast gallop, needing to let off steam.
It must have been the wind that caused his eyes to tear up.
Chapter 13
And then she got mad…
Charmaine bawled her eyes out for a long time… about five minutes.
Hurt and disappointment riddled her body and mind to the point where she shook and actually felt sick to her stomach. He said he loved me… well, he said that he thought he might still love me. Same thing. But that didn’t sound like love spewing from his lips. More like hate. Just like a man! First hint of trouble and he’s out of there.
Then anger took over. How dare he call me out for doing the noble thing? Who the hell does he think he is? St. Rusty?
Then determination kicked in. He’s gonna be sorry. Yes, he is. Stay away from him? Hah! He’s not gonna know what hit him. Thinks he can tell me what to do. Hah! Just watch me.
“Tante Lulu,” Charmaine said, coming into the kitchen where the old lady was still writing out a grocery list. “Did you by any chance bring that belly dance outfit with you?”