Wounded Hearts

Chapter Fifteen

Laura covered her head with her pillow to try to block out the sound of Ronan knocking on her door. She knew it was Ronan because she had recognized the sound of his truck pulling up in the driveway. She was not ready to see him yet. She had been crying all night and she was sure she looked terrible. His temper had frightened her yesterday and him ordering her out of his house had hurt her worse than any pain that Mason had ever dished out. She loved Ronan. One hundred percent, with all of her heart and soul, loved that man, but she had realized in that moment that they would never work out.

She was smart enough to realize that the necklace must have belonged to Amelia and his reaction led her to believe that he was still deeply in love with his dead wife and while Laura could compete with a flesh and blood woman, she could not and would not compete with a ghost.

The knocking stopped suddenly and Laura listened hard and heard the sound of keys in the door.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed as she jumped out of bed. What was it with men and keeping their damn keys to her house?

"Laura?" Ronan's deep voice called from downstairs. Laura pulled on her yellow, knee length, terry cloth robe over her tank top and short shorts that she had slept in and walked down the stairs to the living room.

She cursed when she realized just how good Ronan looked. He was wearing dark jeans and a blue t-shirt with a flannel shirt pulled over his arms. His chestnut hair was the same thick careless mess it always was and his grey eyes looked well rested. She looked at herself in the small mirror on the wall and fought the urge to run back upstairs and bury herself under the covers.

Her green eyes were red and swollen, and dark bruise like circles surrounded them. Her face was pale and her blond hair was a mess of tangles around her face. She wrapped her robe tighter around herself and glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Though she was disappointed when her words lacked the angry edge she had hoped would be there.

"I need to talk to you." Ronan replied. The sight of her had guilt tearing his heart in half. He had hurt her badly and that had been the last thing that he had ever wanted to do.

"You could have called." she replied.

"I did. About fifty times actually." he said glancing over at the phone. Laura shifted her feet uncomfortably and looked at his chest to avoid looking at his face.

"What do you want, Ronan?" she asked.

"I'm sorry." he said with a sigh. "I know that doesn't make up for the way I acted yesterday but I really am sorry."

"That was Amelia's necklace wasn't it?" Laura asked leaning against the back of the couch to put a few more feet of distance between them. Ronan rubbed the back of his neck and nodded.

"Yeah it was. I lost it when I saw it on you Lauran and I pray that you can forgive me for that."

"I can't do this Ronan." Laura said matter of factly even as her throat filled with emotion. Ronan's eyes filled with confusion.

"Can't do what?" he asked.

"This." she replied pointing back and forth between them.

"You mean us?" he asked. She nodded and he felt his heart shatter apart in his chest.

"Laura, don't do this, please. I know I screwed up, honey, but I love you. I love you so much and I don't want to lose you."

"No you don't Ronan. You love Amelia and I can't compete with a ghost." Ronan crossed the room to her and dropped to his knees in front of her. He took her hands in his and looked up at her with his grey eyes pleading for her to listen to and believe him.