He crossed the room and leaned down to help her to her feet. “What are you looking for?”

She shrugged off his hand and wiped her hair from her eyes. “The check. I’m looking for the check!”

“What check?”

“The check you wrote me.”

He frowned and reached into his pocket for the folded, worn piece of paper. “This check?”

She lunged for it but he held it higher out of her reach.

“Yes! I’ve changed my mind. I’m cashing it.”

He put his hand out to ward her off and shook his head in confusion. “Sit down, Kelly, before you fall. And then tell me what on earth is going on here. You wait this long, throw the check in my face and tell me to take my money to hell with me and now you’ve changed your mind? Are you crazy?”

To his utter surprise, she slumped down onto one of the small chairs that accompanied the two person table in the kitchen and buried her face in her hands. To his further dismay, her shoulders shook and quiet sobs erupted from her bowed head.

For a moment he stood there, unsure what to do. He’d never been able to stand it when she cried. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach and he dropped down to one knee to gently pry her hands from her face.

She looked away, seemingly discomfited by the fact he was witnessing her breakdown.

“What’s wrong, Kelly?” he asked gently.

“I lost my job,” she choked out. “Because of you.”

He reared back. “Because of me? What the hell did I do?”

She whipped her head up, her eyes flashing. “Your standard line. What did I do? Of course you did nothing wrong. I’m sure this was all my fault, like everything else that went wrong in our relationship. Just give me the check and get out. You won’t ever have to be bothered with me again.”

He stared incredulously at her. “Do you honestly expect me to just walk away now?” He shoved the check back into his pocket, his lips thin as he controlled the urge to lash out at her as she had done to him. “We have a hell of a lot to work out, Kelly. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. The very first thing we’re going to do is go to the doctor so you can get a decent checkup. You don’t look well. I can’t be any more blunt than that.”

She slowly stood and stared him in the eye. “I’m not going anywhere with you. If you won’t give me the check, then get out. We have nothing more to discuss. Ever.”

He fingered the paper in his pocket and then lifted his gaze to meet hers once more. “We’ll discuss the check after we go to the doctor.”