Fighting back a yawn, she got out of her car and climbed the steps to the community center, planning to tell Olivia exactly that before the meeting.
Her friend was waiting for her near the receptionist desk in the lobby.
“Katie, you’re a lifesaver,” Olivia said as she approached. She looked pale and more fragile than ever leaning against the wall behind the desk. “I don’t know what we’d do without you stepping in on the committee.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that.” Katie hugged her purse close to her body. She never said no or reneged on a commitment, so the thought of letting Olivia down almost made her physically nauseous.
“Can it wait?” Logan came around the corner at that moment and Katie took a step back. Logan was big, with the broad, strong body of a man who made his living doing physical labor all day. He could be intimidating, but Olivia’s presence had softened him a great deal since his return to Crimson. Now the expression on his face was downright scary.
“I’ve got time,” Olivia said gently, laying a hand on his arm.
“You need to get to the hospital.”
“The hospital?” Katie stepped forward, swallowing around the worry that crept into her throat. “Is everything okay with the baby?”
“Yes,” Olivia answered at the same time Logan said, “We don’t know.”
Olivia waved away his concern. “It’s a routine appointment. My doctor wants me to go in for a blood test and some monitoring they can’t do in his office.”
“Plus IV fluids,” Logan added.
“She thinks I’m dehydrated.” She smiled, but it looked strained. “The morning sickness isn’t getting better.”
Logan took her hand. “And it lasts all day.”
“But it isn’t an emergency.” Olivia stepped forward, swayed and leaned into her husband. “Really, Katie. I’m tired and weak. It’s not life threatening.”
Logan glowered. “Not yet.”
“You two go on.” Katie gave Olivia a quick hug and patted Logan awkwardly on the shoulder.
“But if you need something—”
“It can wait.” Katie felt embarrassment wash through her. She was worried about needing a nap when Olivia could be in the middle of a real crisis. “I’ll drop off dinner to your house so that it’s there when you get home.”
“You’re doing so much already,” Olivia said, pursing her lips.
“But we’d appreciate it.” Logan shrugged when his wife threw him a disapproving look. “What? You need to eat something besides crackers and I know she’s a great cook.” He turned to Katie. “I’m parked on the next block. Would you stay with her while I pull up my truck?”
“Of course.”
He gave Olivia a quick, tender kiss on the top of her head and jogged toward the front door.
“He worries too much,” Olivia said when the door shut behind him.
“He loves you.” Katie linked her arm in her friend’s. “Does Millie know you’re going to the hospital?”
“Please don’t say anything,” Olivia answered, shaking her head. “I promise I’ll text if we find anything serious.” She squeezed Katie’s hand. “I love this baby so much already. I know it’s wrong to become attached so early in the pregnancy. So many things can go wrong, and I’m not exactly a spring chicken.”
“Don’t be silly.” Olivia was in her early thirties and Logan a couple of years younger than Katie. Although an unlikely couple, they were actually perfect for each other. “Have the tests and I’m sure the news will be good.”
“Of course. You’re right.”
They walked out of the community center just as Logan pulled to the curb. He jumped out of the truck and came around to open Olivia’s door for her. The love in his eyes as he looked at his wife made Katie’s heart ache.
“Thanks, Katie,” they both said as Olivia climbed into the truck.
Katie waited until they’d disappeared down the block then turned back toward the community center. Tori Woodward stood on the sidewalk in front of her.
Katie smothered a groan. The last thing she needed today was a run-in with her former friend. “Hey, Tori.” She went to step around the other woman. Tori, as always, looked Aspen chic in a pair of designer jeans with elaborate stitching on the pockets, a silk blouse and strappy sandals. Katie glanced at her own utilitarian clogs, part of her standard work uniform. The pair she wore today were bright purple, shiny like a bowling ball and totally clunky in front of Tori’s delicate sandals. “I’ve got a Founder’s Day Festival meeting right now. Good to see you.”
Tori moved, blocking Katie’s way again. “Of course you do, Saint Katie. I see you’re still using the same martyr routine to ingratiate yourself with people. Does anyone have a clue as to who you really are?”
Katie’s head snapped back at Tori’s words. “This is who I am,” she said, wishing her voice sounded more sure.
“Right. You’re also the person who would ruin her supposed best friend’s chance at love.”
Katie swallowed. It would be simple to think Tori was talking about present day and the change in Katie’s relationship with Noah, but she knew that wasn’t the case. “You’re the one who cheated, Tori. You made that choice.”
“Noah would have never found out if you hadn’t given him that note.”
“The note he received wasn’t signed.”
“Don’t play dumb,” Tori said with a snort. She lifted her Prada sunglasses onto the top of her head, her green eyes boring into Katie’s. “You were the only person who knew about my fling with Adam.”
“You can’t know that for sure. And if you were so committed to Noah, you wouldn’t have fooled around with someone else.”
“I was eighteen and stupid, I’ll grant you that. Mainly stupid to trust you with my secret. You had a crush on Noah even then. It killed you that he was in love with me.”
“I was happy for you,” Katie argued, shaking her head. She felt her breathing start to come faster, bile rising in her throat. “But it wasn’t fair to him.”
“He wasn’t himself that year,” Tori shot back. “When his dad got sick, Noah couldn’t focus on anything else.”
“He was going to ask you to marry him.”
“Exactly,” Tori practically hissed. “I would have said yes. We were going to be happy together. Noah was my first, you know.” She shook her head, gave a bitter laugh. “Of course you knew—you were my best friend. I thought you understood I needed to make sure he was the one.”
“I never understood why you needed to sleep with another guy.” Katie crossed her arms over her chest. “It was wrong, just like it was wrong of you to ask me to cover it up.”
“So why didn’t you just tell him instead of letting him find out the way he did?”
Katie almost blurted out the truth. How she couldn’t stand to be the one who hurt Noah, had been afraid Tori would turn it back on her. Katie and Tori had become friends freshman year of high school, when Tori’s family moved to Crimson—her father had worked in one of the exclusive hotels in Aspen, and Tori acted as if that made her better than the local kids around Crimson. She’d been a snob, yes, but she’d also been beautiful, gregarious and so confident.
It had felt as if a spotlight suddenly shone on her when Tori chose her as a friend. Now it seemed clear Tori had liked Katie because her low self-esteem made her easy to manipulate. It was her mother all over again. Tori made small digs about Katie’s weight or lack of style, and like a puppy eager to please, Katie would do more to make herself indispensable so Tori wouldn’t drop her.
“You don’t know it was me who left the note.”
“All this time, and you’re still denying it? You haven’t even admitted it to him. What’s Noah going to think when he finds out his perfect Katie-bug was the one to break his heart?”
<
br /> Katie swallowed around the panic lodged in her throat. Yes, Tori had cheated, but Katie remembered how angry Noah had been at the anonymous note that had led him to find his girlfriend with another guy. “Why are you doing this? Do you want him back? Is that why you’re here?”
Tori closed her eyes for a moment, as if she was debating her answer. “No. I’m way past wanting to be the wife of a forest ranger.” She tapped one long nail against her glossy mouth. “Although I wouldn’t mind a roll in the sheets for old times’ sake. If Noah had mad skills in the bedroom back then, I can only imagine how he’s improved over the years.”
Katie felt herself stiffen. When Tori’s gaze narrowed, she realized she’d walked right into a trap.
“You’ve had sex with him.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“That’s why I’m going to tell him.” Tori leaned closer. “You betrayed me, and no one gets away with that.”
“It was ten years ago.”
“Doesn’t matter. In this town I’m the one who crushed Noah Crawford’s already broken heart and you’re the angel who picked up the pieces. But we were both responsible for his pain. I’m tired of everyone looking at me like I’m some sort of Jezebel.”
“No one thinks—”
“Noah does. His friends do. Hell, my own mother reminds me every Christmas about the one that got away. Maybe I deserve it, but I’m not the only one.”
Tori had started dating Noah sophomore year of high school, and Katie thought he’d always loved her more than she deserved. When Tori alienated most of her girlfriends besides Katie, she’d become more dependent on Noah’s attention. But she’d always wanted Katie to tag along, almost as a buffer or proof to Noah that she wasn’t the mean girl other people made her out to be. Katie knew she was, and as her feelings for Noah had grown, it became more difficult for her to watch the way Tori strung him along.
Maybe she’d taken advantage of the knowledge she had to break them up. But she’d believed it was the right thing to do. He’d been wrecked that summer, and holding tight to his relationship with his self-centered, shallow girlfriend wasn’t going to make his grief over his father’s death any easier.
But would Noah understand her motivations and why she’d never revealed that it was she who’d typed that note?
“Don’t do this,” she whispered. “I was a good friend to you and that note wouldn’t have changed the outcome of your relationship with Noah.”
The other woman pursed her glossy lips. “I won’t say anything,” she said after a moment.
Katie started to breathe a sigh of relief but Tori added, “Yet. But I’m here the whole summer. And I may change my mind. You’ll never know. Any day, any moment I may decide to throw you under the bus the way you did me.”
Katie shook her head. “I’ll deny it. You have no proof.”
“You won’t,” Tori answered confidently. “If he confronts you, I know you won’t lie. The little bug doesn’t have it in her.”
Oh, that nickname. Noah had started calling her Bug after he heard Katie’s mother chastise her for something she’d eaten at the bakery. Katie had been so embarrassed, feeling fat and sloppy. But Noah had put his arm around her shoulders and whispered that she was no bigger than a little bug, and next to his height and bulk, she’d actually felt petite.
Over the years it had become a reminder of their “buddy” relationship. Hearing Tori speak the word made her want to run home and inhale a pan of brownies in one sitting.
“I’m going to my meeting,” she said after a moment. “I’m sorry you’re still angry. But you need to figure out where that animosity should really be directed. It isn’t at me.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Tori adjusted her sunglasses back on her face then walked away, her sandals clicking on the sidewalk as she went.
Katie fisted her hand then pushed it against her stomach, trying to ward off the pain and dread pooling there. All she wanted was to eat and sleep right now, but she turned and started back into the community center. She had responsibilities, people depending on her, and no matter what she wanted for herself, she couldn’t stand to let them down.
Chapter Ten
Noah drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel, glancing every mile marker at Katie’s profile.
It was a great day for swimming, unseasonably warm for late June with the sun shining from a sky so blue it looked like the backdrop on one of Sara’s movie sets. He’d borrowed a small fishing boat from Crimson Ranch so he could take Katie to the far side of the reservoir where the water might be a degree or two warmer than near the mouth of the mountain stream that fed it.
The day was perfect, other than the fact that Katie had barely said two words since he’d picked her up an hour ago.
“We’re almost there,” he said and adjusted the radio to a satellite station with better reception this far into the mountains.
Hidden Valley Reservoir lay on the far side of the pass past Aspen. The dirt road that wound into the hills above the valley was maintained but still rutted in places.
“Okay” was her only response.
“You nervous?” He placed one hand on her leg, squeezing softly in the place above her knee where he knew she was ticklish. Immediately she flinched away from him and he pulled his arm away from her.
“A little.” She continued to look out the window for a few minutes, then added, “I’m tired. Sorry I’m bad company.”
“You’re never bad company, Bug.”
“Noah,” she said, her tone harsh.
“Sorry. It’s a habit. I won’t call you that.” He focused more closely on the road as they passed an SUV coming from the other direction. “I mean it in a good way, you know? I always have.”
“I don’t like it,” she snapped.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” He wasn’t sure what was going on, but if swimming took her off her game this much, was it really worth it?
“If you want to turn around, go ahead.” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with my mood today, but I understand if you don’t want to be with me.”
As he came to the opening in the trees that signaled the entrance to the state park where the reservoir was located, he pulled off onto the shoulder of the gravel road. “Listen to me,” he said, moving his seat belt aside so he could face her. “I don’t give a damn about your mood. Happy, sad, pissy for no reason. It happens and I’ll take them all. We’re friends, Katie. You’ve seen me at my worst. The more I think about it, I’ve never seen you anything but kind, generous and ready to please whoever you’re with. I can take one afternoon of a bad mood without turning tail. Give me a little credit.”
She looked at him as if she wanted to argue, then shocked him when she asked, “Do you think you would have been happy married to Tori?”
He felt his mouth drop open, clamped it shut again. “Where the hell did that question come from?”
“It’s weird seeing her back in town for an extended period of time. It makes me wonder—”
“Don’t.” Noah lifted his hand to cut her off. “I’m not interested in reuniting with my old girlfriend, if that’s what you want to know.”
She shook her head. “That’s not it. But if things had gone differently that summer, you’d have asked her to marry you.”
“I was a different person back then. Young and in so much pain.” He pressed his head against the seat back, looked out the front window to the endless blue sky above the treetops. “I had no business thinking of spending my life with anyone. In the end, Tori and I chose very different directions for our lives. Who knows if that would have made a marriage too difficult?”
“Maybe it was good that you broke up? I mean, in the long run?”
He let out a bark of laughter, surprised at the bitterne
ss he felt after all these years. “I sure as hell can’t say I’m glad things happened the way they did. But I don’t regret not having Tori as my wife.”
Memories of the pain of that summer, the sting of her betrayal when he was already so low flooded through him. The thought that people knew about what she was doing, and no one had the guts to actually talk to him about it. A stupid, cowardly note left under his windshield wiper.
As his body tensed, he felt Katie’s fingers slide up his arm. “Thank you for answering the question. I know you don’t like to talk about that part of your past.”
“Did it help you?” He inclined his head so he could look at her, watched her bite down on her bottom lip as she thought about her answer.
“Yes,” she said after a moment. “It did.”
He grabbed her hand, kissed the inside of her palm then pulled back onto the road again. “Then it was worth it.” He squeezed her fingers before placing her hand back in her lap. “And bad mood or not, we’re doing this. You have nothing to be afraid of with me, Katie.”
Her chest rose and fell as she stared at him. “You have no idea, Noah.”
“Katie.”
“We’re going to do this. I’m going to do this.” The way she looked at him, her brown eyes soft and luminous in the bright daylight, made his breath catch.
She must be talking about swimming, but he thought—and hoped—her words might have more meaning.
Best not to push her too far too fast. So he nodded and finished the drive to the reservoir.
* * *
Who would have guessed the hardest part of going swimming with Noah would be stripping down to her bathing suit in front of him?
“Turn around.” They’d launched the small boat he’d borrowed into the water and now it was tethered to the small dock down the hill from the state park’s gravel parking lot. Katie stood next to the back of the truck, clutching a beach towel to her chest.
“I’ve seen you naked, Katie.” Noah grinned at her, looking every bit the modern-day rake she knew him to be. “I think I can handle a bikini.”
A Baby and a Betrothal Page 10
