Page 52 of If I Didn’t Have You

“I don’t care!”

She sucked in a breath, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I spun around just as my husband hit the mat, blood spurting across the white floor. My heart hammered in my chest as I watched him laying there, flat on his stomach. For just a second, I thought he was dead, but then he flopped on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he panted hard.

Tears welled behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Then his eyes met mine, and all the fear I felt disappeared. Resentment and anger shone bright on his face as he glared at me, and in that moment, everything I felt this morning fled.

I grabbed my things and walked out, determined to fix my life, even if he wouldn’t fix his own.

16

BEN

I watched her walk out the door, the anger on her face as clear as day. She was pissed, but her rage didn’t hold a candle to the fury building in my bones.

Spitting blood on the mat, I stalked out of the ring, my side burning from the beating I took at the hands of the very man who went to my house last night and sat in my own damn chair and ate the food that should have been meant for me.

“Ben!”

I ignored Deke’s calls. He could fuck off for all I cared. But the man didn’t listen. Grabbing my arm, he spun me around, getting in my face.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

“Other than the fact that you’re in my life?”

Huffing, he stepped back, confused by my anger. “Listen, I’m not here to step on any toes. Your wife wanted the gym space, and I allowed it.”

“You were fucking flirting with her!”

His eyes went comically wide before he burst out laughing. “You think that was flirting? No offense, but your wife isn’t exactly my type.”

“Not your type?” I snapped. Hearing that only made things worse. How could Clara not be his type? She was sexy, smart, and was probably the sweetest woman I’d ever met. And that wasn’t good enough for him?

“Listen, I mean, she’s great, but the women I tend to go after are…younger.”

“Are you calling my wife old?”

“Not at all, but I tend to go after ring bunnies.” He shrugged, his cheeks tinged red. “They’re young, and they’ll do anything to get close to the fighter. After a while, it’s hard to date a woman your own age. What you saw last night was a man desperately trying to get another invitation to your house for a home-cooked meal. That’s it.”

So, it was all fake, all so that he could eat good food, and my wife was only flirting for gym space, like she’d said.

“What about the ladies?” I gestured toward the area they had just vacated.

“Well, it’s not the easiest to have them here while I’m training Sam, but…I’m really fucking tired of eating diner food.”

I was not at all okay with letting him step foot back inside my house, but if it meant Clara got her way, I wouldn’t argue with him. And if he showed up while I was currently kicked out of the house, I’d make damn sure that one of my kids was there at all times. It didn’t matter if he said Clara wasn’t his type. I knew men, and if a woman like Clara was available, someone was bound to go after her.

“So, are we cool?”

Cool. What a fucking idiot. “We’re good.”

I shook his hand, putting a little more force into it than necessary, and walked away. With that settled, now I just had to figure out a way to get back into Clara’s good graces.

She was tired of me, didn’t want me around, and that hurt more than I cared to admit. I roamed the streets of the downtown area, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with my day now that I wasn’t on the ranch. The only thing I had to go back to was a mobile home on wheels, and that had probably already been moved, if the past influenced the present.

I found myself at the hardware store, figuring I could shoot the shit with Dick for a while. It had been months since I set foot in his establishment, and he always had a few good tales to tell.

But the moment I walked through the door, Dick and Colleen immediately ducked their heads, doing anything they could to appear busy. His son Scott also ran out the door like his ass was on fire.

“Dick, business going okay?” I asked, striding up to him.