Denton stopped at the door and knocked. She tossed a shirt in her suitcase without looking at him. "If you came to tell me what a fool I am, don't bother."
He opened the screen and walked in. "I came to apologize. I didn't realize you were serious about him."
Denton apologize? She resumed packing and answered in a dry tone. "Yeah, neither did he."
"Do you want me to talk to him?"
She glanced up sharply and let her gaze rest on his split lip. "It doesn't look like you're all that adept at talking to him either.
He shrugged and touched his lip. "I was way out of line. He was protecting you." He stared absently at his hand, as if he was mulling that idea over.
She tossed a shirt in the suitcase and gave him a disgusted look. "You were being a jerk - as usual. I don't know what's gotten into you. You used to be considerate. In the last year you've changed considerably, but in the last few months you've been unbearable." She shook her head. "I'm tired of being put down by you."
He glanced up, slowly focusing on her face and words. Finally he spoke, his voice calm. "We've been doing that to each other, you know."
She stared at him. "I haven't been putting you down."
"Not in words, but how do you think it made me feel when you defied me in front of everyone?"
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He wiped his mouth again. "This young man - he loves you."
She eyed him doubtfully a moment and turned back to her packing. "He doesn't have room for love. He's too full of southern pride."
"You've got a little too much pride, yourself."
"Maybe."
"I'll go explain to him about us." He reached for the screen door.
"No. Leave him alone. It isn't any of your business. I got into this on my own and I'll handle it myself."
He let his gaze fall significantly on the suitcase. "How? By running - again? You can't keep running all your life. Sometime you're going to have to learn to stand up for what you want instead of letting your father take care of everything for you. I thought maybe you'd started to do that when you dropped me and came out here."
That was strange language coming from Denton. She crammed the last shirt into the suitcase and held it down while she snapped it shut. "I'm not running away. I'm accepting the inevitable. I don't belong out here. Maybe it's best this way. Anyway, since when did you get to be such a mother hen? Not more than an hour ago you were helping him sling mud at me?"