by Hope Ramsay
“Tagg and I are so happy,” Val said. “It was like it was meant to be. I wanted you to know that—that it’s not some quick thing with us. It’s forever.”
Sara forced a smile, but words seemed to get caught in the sudden clog that had lodged in her throat. Forever. With Tagg, her boyfriend of ten-plus years, whom Sara’d thought she’d known inside and out. True love initiated by a sudden pitch face forward into a cake, while she’d been oblivious at home, carefully laying out her wedding clothes and dreaming of her future. Maybe Colton was right. Maybe she needed to start placing blame where blame was due. “Is Tagg—here?” Please God, say no. Please please please. Not tonight. Not when she was bursting out of her clothing and looked like a sad drunk on a binge.
“He’s meeting me here in a little bit. We’ll come find you, OK?” Val at long last made her way to the door, while Sara kept smiling her frozen smile and tried to keep herself covered. “I’m sure he’d love to say hi.” Did this woman have no clue at all that Sara might possibly be affected by the fact that Valerie had stolen her fiancé? Did she really believe that they could all visit like civilized people when Sara hadn’t seen or spoken to Tagg since last summer?
Sara lurched out of the bathroom like she had a bad hip, because keeping both hands plastered over her wardrobe malfunction took work. Finally she made it outside to the table. “Family, I love you, but I’ve got a migraine coming on and I think I’m going to say goodbye.” She kissed Gabby, hugged her new future brother-in-law awkwardly with one arm, and blew kisses to everyone else.
“Sara, what’s wrong?” Rachel asked, trailing behind her to the door.
Rachel looked so concerned, she decided to tell her the truth. “I ran into Val in the bathroom. My zipper got stuck and when I tried to fix it, it ripped.” She flashed Rachel a bit of skin, as well as more than a little of her granny panties. “And Tagg’s here somewhere and I really don’t want to run into him like this.”
“How about I drive you home?” she offered. “You’ve had a long day.”
“Rachel, they need you at dinner. I feel awful leaving, but…God, Rachel, what is Gabby thinking? Or am I just a bitter old hag, jealous of my sister’s happiness?”
Rachel shook her head. “I think you’re more of a good sister with legitimate concerns. But Gabby’s grown up a lot since college. We can give him a chance, for her sake.”
“Right.” Sara thought about her dad’s philosophy about people, having watched most of the town grow up as they came and went through his office. Personality was part of who you were, and most people didn’t change much over time. Fatalistic, perhaps, as Rafe would say, but true? She wasn’t sure.
Sara kissed Rachel goodbye and hobbled out to her car. She’d had enough of this day. She couldn’t wait to get home and go to bed and let it end.
Chapter 10
Hannah, you can’t go out to the lake now with a bunch of idiots. It’s too late.” Colton glanced at his watch, which was lit up by his dashboard. Ten p.m. on a Friday night, and he’d been driving around for hours, Champ snoozing in the back seat of his cruiser. He’d even helped Mrs. Jennings get her cat out of a tree, which Champ hadn’t exactly appreciated. Not the usual way he’d spend an evening off. But he couldn’t relax. Couldn’t get thoughts of Sara out of his mind. And now he was back to dealing with Hannah and walking on thin ice to try not to mess up, but he was going to fall through anyway.
“I knew I shouldn’t have even told you what I was doing,” she said, the familiar tone of irritation evident in her voice.
“I’m glad you did, but you still can’t go.” Be calm, Colt’s inner voice said. Be reasonable. Both things he was not feeling.
“I’m going to be in college in less than a month, doing whatever I want.” He winced. “You can’t boss me. You’re not our mom or dad.”
Colton bent his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. No, he certainly was not. He was just a guy who’d had a long workweek who wanted some peace and quiet. Except he kept seeing visions of a certain redhead in front of him. One who’d always assumed the worst about him and still did, despite his efforts to prove her wrong. And that irritated the hell out of him.
“Colton. Colton, did you just hear me?”
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said I promise to be back by midnight. It’s just the lake. All my friends are going.”
“Hannah, the lake on a Friday night this late means nothing but trouble.” Kids smoking weed, drinking, doing God knows what else. She was not. Going. “Don’t you have to work in the morning?”
“Yeah, but I told you, I won’t stay long. It’s summer, Colton. My friends and I don’t have much time to be together before we all leave and go off in separate directions. Don’t you trust me?”
Of course he didn’t, because he was a teenager once himself. Plus what if she was sneaking around with Aiden? But he didn’t even get a chance to formulate a response.
“I don’t have to listen to you. You’re just my brother.” The line went dead. Colton tossed his cell onto the passenger seat and stared at it until the lights went out like it was a living thing. What was it with women in his life steamrollering him before he could even get his thoughts across? Wait. Since when was Sara a “woman in his life”? Jesus.
She thought he was an arrogant ass and a know-it-all. He’d encouraged her to believe the worst about him. He wanted to believe she was ultra type A, Dr. High Achiever, hell-bent on changing the world, but the thing was, she was so much more than that. She adored her grandmother. She was hardworking. She had a vulnerable side. His sister loved her. She had amazing legs.
When she’d grabbed his arm that night in Lou’s and told him, You don’t always have to be insulting, she’d been right. He had been insulting through much of their teenage years, yes, but that was because he’d been an idiot. Now he knew better.
How much of his teasing now was because he hated that she’d accomplished so much and he was stuck here, leading a small-town life? A life he hadn’t really chosen? She was destined for bigger things. Why did that rankle him so much? Why did he use the teasing to push her away, keep her at arm’s length? And why was all of this bothering him so much?
He should have spoken to her, not about the bachelor party but about them. What it was that made him act like an idiot. About how he didn’t want it to be like that anymore between them.
A Honda Civic with a taillight out passed him and pulled him out of his thoughts. His heart rate accelerated a little. Because Sara had a Civic, and Evan had stopped her a few days ago about the light. Without having a clue what he was about to do, he started his car and pulled out onto the road.
* * *
Sara left the restaurant in her old but reliable Honda Civic and had just reached the Angel Falls town limits when she saw a flash of red and blue lights in her rearview mirror. A glance at her dash showed she was going thirty-five in a thirty-five zone. There were no other cars on the deserted road that wound through a dark stretch of wooded park.
The police vehicle accelerated until it was directly behind her. No question it was on her tail. She had no choice but to pull over. Being on the border of Angel Falls and Richardson, she had no idea which police department was responding. It brought her a sense of relief to know it wouldn’t be Colton, who’d definitely be off duty by now.
The relief was short lived. Her heart tripped as she considered she was alone in the middle of the woods. What if she was about to be maimed and beaten by a cop poser? It was pitch-black, and the opportunities to stow a body would be endless.
Footsteps fell on gravel, and a bright light shone in her face. “Your taillight is out, ma’am,” said a too-familiar voice.
Colton. What was worse—a cop-posing killer or him?
Lord, would this day never end? Hadn’t she had enough of him for one day?
She held her hands in front of her face to shield her eyes. “I thought you were off tonight,” she said.
“Technicall
y, I am,” he said.
“So you’re out in your car during your time off cruising around, looking for trouble?”
“And it looks like I’ve found her.”
He put his hands on the car window and bent over close enough that she could smell the zingy scent of that woodsy cologne he wore. And feel his body heat—and the intensity of his gaze as it swept over her. She shivered a little—but it was just from the evening air. Surely.
“So. The taillight,” he said, pulling out his tablet to write her up.
With everything else going on this week, she’d forgotten all about it. Surely he wasn’t really going to write her up, was he? Well, it was Colton, so anything was possible. “I’ll get it fixed this weekend, OK?”
“This is your second warning,” he said. “Evan told me he stopped you a couple days ago.”
“You must be really bored tonight if you’re lying in wait in the woods for people on your night off. Why don’t you go pull some cats out of trees or something?”
“The law’s the law. And actually, I just spent an hour doing just that.”
“Well, I’m sure you have to go write up a report about it. So how about letting me go home?”
He inhaled deeply. His mouth twitched. “Have you been drinking?”
He shone his beam into the car. His gaze flickered from her bare legs to her wine-stained cleavage. Suddenly remembering the gaping patch of flesh on her side, she slid her hand down to cover it.
“I had one glass of wine, and most of it’s on my top.”
“Are you sure you didn’t have more than one glass and that’s why you spilled it? With your rough first couple of weeks and all, I wouldn’t want you drinking and driving.”
“I’m a doctor. I don’t drink and drive.” What was with this guy?
“Calm down, I believe you. Hey, I need to ask you something. Will you come sit in my car for a minute?”
“Because you’re going to write me up for a ticket? Your grandma would be ashamed. Absolutely ashamed.”
“I’m not going to write you up for a ticket.” He leaned over the driver’s window, his arm muscles taut, and stared directly at her. “Champ’s in my back seat and he’s getting all worked up. But the real reason is I just need to talk with you. Please.”
Oh. Just like that, her anger deflated. The fact that Champ was there would’ve probably gotten her to move, but the please definitely did it. “OK, I’ll come,” she said, then opened her car door. Because maybe it was finally time to stop assuming the worst about Colton Walker.
* * *
Colton knew he should stop this and allow her to go on her way and go back to his calm, quiet life. But he couldn’t. Because it seemed to him that since she’d come back, calm and quiet had fled on foot screaming. Plus he had things to say that were sitting there festering, especially since their conversation earlier. Things he couldn’t stop thinking about.
He opened the passenger door of his cruiser and waited for her to get in. His gaze flicked quickly up and down her. Her hair was down, and her outfit and heels showcased her pretty legs. She stirred him, as always, against his will.
“Why are you walking like that?” he asked.
“Like what?” she asked. She held both hands over her left hip and lurched a little in her heels. “Not used to the heels,” she mumbled.
She sat down in the seat. Champ stuck his nose through the bars. She rubbed his snuff with her index finger, which made him push against the bars even more and bark. Even the dog wanted more of her attention.
Sara looked nervous, glancing up and down the street for traffic. “No one can see us talking,” Colton said, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Colton, you’ve lived in this town a long time, just like I have. When has anyone not seen everything?”
“That time I kissed you,” he said quietly. “No one saw that.”
That quieted her fast. He could hardly believe he’d said it himself. The silence hung over them, palpable as a heartbeat.
Sara leaned closer, close enough that he could see the little golden flecks in her green eyes. Her eyes had always fascinated him, but he’d never given in to the temptation to look for too long, first because of Tagg and now…well, she’d mostly been too angry at him for any civilized discussion.
“No, no one saw, except Mrs. Mulligan.” She shifted her weight. “But even that turned out to be a big joke to you. Like everything else.”
He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “Let’s get one thing straight. That kiss wasn’t a joke.”
“Oh yes, it was.” She pointed a finger at him accusingly. “You never even showed for our date the next week.”
He shook his head adamantly. “You don’t even remember that you’re the one who stood me up.”
“I didn’t stand you up! I waited at the museum in the dark until eight that night. Then I came to your dorm.” She shook her head back and forth, like she was trying to fling the memory out of her head.
His heart lurched. Jolted. He stared at her in disbelief. “You went to the museum?”
“Of course I went. I-I was excited about it. I thought you meant it. I didn’t know you were just playing a joke on me.”
He gazed out the windshield, breathing heavily. Trying to get his shit together. Gripping the wheel like it was his last hold on reality. Because what she’d said…It couldn’t be true. Because that would change…everything.
He finally turned to face her. “Tagg told me you’d gotten back together. That’s why I didn’t show. When you knocked on my door that night, I figured you were just coming to tell me what I already knew, that you were back with him.”
“Tagg told you…”
“Tagg was my best friend. I’d felt guilty enough for kissing you. But when he said you two had made up…there was nothing I could do but accept that. So I got drunk and slept with Tiffany Downing.” Because he’d been nineteen and stupid and heartsick.
Silence filled his cruiser, thick and dense, like an invisible fog. Even Champ lay quietly on the back seat, surely sensing that something grave was going on. Colt had done it now. Spilled his guts. What had he been thinking, pulling her over like this? And how the hell had he never known that they could’ve actually had a chance together?
Jesus.
Sara rubbed her temple. She looked…upset.
Oh God. One kiss. One lie. One missed opportunity from ten years ago.
“I stayed away after that.” He’d pretended it didn’t matter, that there were plenty of other fish in the sea, and a hell of a lot of them wanted him.
He tried to push his feelings down, somewhere deep and dark where he’d pushed everything regarding Sara for years. “I told myself I hated you. You chose Tagg. He was everything I wasn’t.”
She was sitting forward now, hands resting on the armrest between the seats. Champ had given up on getting any attention and had fallen asleep with his paws up in the air. Colton had an urge to curl his hand over one of hers, but he didn’t dare. He’d already crossed enough lines tonight.
Her face was tilted upward, her eyes big and round. She looked stunned and upset, things he had little idea how to deal with in the context of relationships. He understood sex. Wanting. Desire. But not this.
He sat back in his seat and blew out a breath. Closed his eyes.
After all this time, he couldn’t deny his feelings. He could tell himself she was the most annoying woman on the planet, that she was uptight and anal. But she was so much more in ways he was just beginning to discover. Truth was, those long-buried feelings from years ago still mattered. They still fucking mattered.
* * *
Sara was aware of Colton’s big body, ramrod straight, the tension rolling off him in waves, his long fingers curled around the steering wheel. For a moment their gazes locked, and for the first time she wondered if there had been a toll for him all these years.
Had it hurt him when Tagg and she got back together? Had he thought of her, of
what could have been? Or had he simply moved on over time? Everything about him suggested the latter, except the way he was looking at her now.
His gaze was…piercing. Electrifying. As if he saw straight through her. And it did things to her, made heat flare through her in big, unwelcome waves.
“You’re nothing like Tagg,” she whispered. She was coming to believe Colton wasn’t anything like what she’d thought he was.
He cracked a little smile. “I take it that’s a good thing?”
“Tagg and I weren’t right for each other. What happened was for the better.”
For the first time in a year, she was able to say that. It still hurt, but not the way it had.
“You’re still pretty torn up about it? Your breakup with him? I mean, it’s only been a year, and that would be natural after all those years together…”
“I’m not in love with Tagg anymore, if that’s what you’re asking.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he was asking, but he seemed to look relieved.
She should be focused on what he was saying, but she didn’t want to talk about Tagg. Instead her mind went back to their past. She’d known he’d slept with Tiffany What’s-Her-Name that long-ago night, and she’d been repulsed. Angry. She’d stood there humiliated, feeling again like that nerdy teenage girl he’d poked fun at. She’d vowed never to trust him again. Instead she’d gone back to Tagg, accepted his assurances that he loved her and believed his promises of a happily ever after.
Yet Tagg had been the one who’d lied. Not Colton. Tagg.
Colton got out of the car and opened her door. Watched her walk out in silence, his gaze drilling into her back.
She felt like she should do something…Say thank you? Or run the hell out of here as fast as her legs could carry her?
Should she tell him she was sorry for misjudging him all these years? It hadn’t really sunk in, any of it. That the wild, carefree persona he played so well was not who he was at all.
Things suddenly got awkward. For one thing he was still staring at her, and God knew what he was thinking. Hopefully not about the gaping hole in her clothing, which she’d forgotten to cover, which she tried to rectify now.
