by Jami Wagner
“Let's make a wager, shall we?” A smug grin takes over his face. Everyone in Wind Valley is aware of Conner Brian and his wagers. In high school, he was known to never lose. Unless I feel like streaking, getting blackout drunk to the point I get an embarrassing tattoo of a lovebird on my bicep, or losing a shit ton of money, I should steer clear of anything involving Conner and a wager. I’ve learned my lesson—a few times.
“No,” I say before he continues. I stand, grabbing the dart out of his hand and taking his spot behind the line. One more great reminder of why I should say no after losing three times in a row. Ethan and I are convinced Conner cheats, and that’s after we deliberately set the tape farther back than it should be. Somehow, he still manages to win. Conner flops into a chair at the table and crosses his ankles.
“You can’t say no when you don’t even know what the wager is,” he says in his best I-know-you’re-interested tone. I shake my head and focus on the dartboard.
“I think—”
The first dart flees through the air. Damn, way off. I get ready to shoot the next one.
“Hey, are you listening to me?” Conner asks.
“Nope,” I say, letting the second dart loose. Damn, off again.
“Well, shit—maybe you shouldn’t bet against me. You’re not playing so hot tonight.” He laughs. “Is your game off because of Sara?” His tone is prying, but I ignore him.
“Are you two having a fight?”
I still don’t answer and try to keep my focus on the dartboard.
“Is this a situation where she’s mad and you have no idea why?”
Ignoring him is starting to get difficult. I pull my arms back, ready to let the third dart go.
“Is she with Liam?”
Fuck!
The dart goes fast from my hand and flops to the ground after hitting the board. In two steps I’m in Conner’s face, and he doesn’t even flinch.
“Shut the fuck up. She isn’t with Liam. I’m so tired of everyone talking about Sara and Liam. She isn’t with anyone but me,” I say. My blood is boiling and my fists are clenched. If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t breathe Liam’s name around me again. If he does, it better not be in the same sentence as Sara.
“Okay, jeez, man,” he says, pushing me out of his space. “I’m trying to be the supportive friend here. All I’m asking is, are you letting her go or are we going to jump in the car, drive to Rockland, and kick some ass to get your girl back?”
My breathing picks up as his words play in my head. Get your girl back. I hadn’t even realized I lost her, but maybe I slowly am. I grab my phone off the table and hit redial. With the phone to my ear I walk away from Conner. If she finally answers, I sure as hell don’t want him around to hear our conversation.
This time, when the call makes it past the second ring, my body relaxes. She didn’t ignore me. When the next ring cuts off halfway through, my heart starts to race.
“Hey, you.” Sara’s sweet voice fills my head. “I thought you would never call.”
Never call? She can’t be serious. Before I can reply to her, her voice is replaced with loud music and people yelling. I hear some scream Sara’s name in the background and then his voice comes in loud and clear through the phone. Is she drinking?
“Hey to you, too,” I say, attempting to keep my voice calm and pretend I didn’t just hear him ask her to dance. “I actually did try calling you earlier, but it went to voicemail.”
“You did?” she asks, followed by a giggle I’ve never heard before. “Stop it! I’m on the phone!” she yells and I flinch. What the fuck is going on over there? “Logan, can I call you back in two minutes? I need to get outside where I can hear you better.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” I say and hit the end button before she can say anything else. “Conner!” I yell over my shoulder as I start for the door. “That road trip is starting now!”
I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get there or what I’m going to say, but I do know I’m not letting her go. Not today.
Chapter Sixteen
Sara
I stumble out of the sliding door to the backyard of Liam and Austin’s townhouse for the fourth time—I think. There’s a reason I keep coming out here—I just don’t remember what it is. The grass is surprisingly well kept and is a bright, healthy green for two young guys who care more about girls, music, and parties than anything else. I bet they have a landlord who takes care of everything.
For the last three hours I’ve done nothing but drink—moderately of course—dance, and meet a whole world of people I didn’t know were out here. I wasn’t planning on drinking, but then someone gave me a glass of Moscoto and it’s so good, I just keep drinking it.
Kate, one of the vocalists for Austin’s band, likes Taylor Swift just as much as I do, even though she doesn’t sing the same music. She also prefers to read and watch movies over hanging out at a party. The only reason she’s here tonight is because Liam asked Austin to invite her for my sake. Sage, the other girl I met, is a definite groupie, but still we have a lot of the same interests as well. We even made plans to do a little shopping tomorrow after we have lunch. I didn’t realize how lonely I actually felt until she invited me.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I turn at the sound of Liam’s voice.
“Yeah, it was getting a little too hot in there for me. I just came out for some air.”
“Alright.” He shrugs. “Find me if you need anything.”
I give a slight nod and then rest my arms on the balcony. This place isn’t so bad. The mountains are beautiful and everything is green. I love knowing I can walk outside and my chances of seeing wildlife are pretty high. My chances are the same in Wind Valley, but everything in Wyoming is flat. Pretty, but flat.
I jolt at the sound of a door slamming behind me and peek through the sliding doors to watch the commotion. Two guys are shoving each other while another keeps trying to stand between them. A girl screams and when everyone stops moving, I clasp my hand over my mouth. Logan. No, it can’t be. Crap, I never called him back. How much have I had to drink? And how long has it been since I talked to him? I didn’t drink that much, did I? Oh, I am going to have one bad hangover in the morning if I’m already envisioning Logan. I should call him. I miss him. Where’s my phone?
“Where the fuck is she?”
Oh my god. I’m not imaging him. Logan is here. In Colorado. Crap! He’s at Liam’s apartment, looking for me. And since I can hear him through closed doors … he sounds pretty damn mad. Oh no, did something happen at the BA? To Kelsey or the baby?
“Dude, you’re not going anywhere near her with that attitude.”
“If you don’t tell me where my girlfriend is, I swear you will wish you had never met me by the time I am done pounding your face in.”
“Logan.” Everyone around us freezes at the shock in my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I tried calling, but you didn’t answer.”
“I have no idea where my phone is,” I say, giggling and taking a step toward him. “I lost it somewhere between the last time I talked to you and the time I made it out here.”
I trip myself and fall into Logan’s chest. Liam reaches out to steady me, but Logan shoves him back with the hand that isn’t holding me up.
“Don’t touch her,” he says. He’s pissed. “I think you’ve done enough already.”
“Logan, stop. It’s not Liam’s fault. Actually, it’s the opposite. He’s been helping me relax with everything that been going on. I just needed one night to think about where I’m supposed to be or what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“I should be the one you come to for those things, Sara.”
“Hey, how do you know where Liam lives, and you can’t be here for everything, Logan. You’re a whole state away. Sometimes I need someone who is wherever I am to lean on.”
“So call me next time. It’s as easy as that.”
I push out of his arms. I can hold myself up jus
t fine, I just don’t want to because letting someone else do it right now—well, and that sounds a lot easier than doing it myself.
“I don’t know why you’re making this such a huge deal,” I say, stepping away from him. “Do you not trust me to go out every now and then?”
“I trust you perfectly,” he says, turning his attention to Liam. “It’s the people around you I’m not so sure of.”
“Who, Liam?” I say and then burst into laughter before I can stop myself. “It’s Liam, Logan. What in the world do you have to be afraid of? That I’m going to let him move in with me and not tell you!”
“This is exactly what I mean. He’s telling you shit and he doesn’t even know the whole story.”
“Well, he knows enough to tell me about it. And it’s been an entire week! A week, Logan. Plenty of time for you to tell me.”
“I know.” His voice drops and that’s when I notice the audience our argument has captured. I glance around at all the faces. A few of them are my new employees, which sparks my embarrassment. I shouldn’t be here. Not just because of Logan and what it’s doing to him, but because these people work for me. I can’t be both a friend and boss here.
“I have to go,” I say to Liam.
“I’ll drive you,” he says, moving toward me.
I nod.
“I’ll take her,” Logan cuts in.
“Logan, it’s—”
“No, you’re my girlfriend. I will take you home.”
The moment the words leave his mouth, my heart drops into my stomach. My eyes go wide and I just stare at him.
“God, Logan, don’t be so intense. Being my boyfriend doesn’t mean you get to make choices for me!” I yell and run through the house. This isn’t my finest hour. And it’s one of the biggest reason I never drink. I don’t like the person I become, and no matter how hard I try, I can never control myself. The front door slams behind me just after I hear Logan shout my name.
No way in hell am I letting a man I’m supposed to be in a relationship with—meaning we’re a team—think he gets to make my decisions for me. It may be the wine talking, but if this is what it takes to be with someone I care about, I’m not so sure it’s worth it.
Logan
“You can’t just act like a crazy person!” Sara yells once I’ve caught up with her. She’s walking down the street, and she isn’t slowing down.
“The fuck I can’t! I haven’t heard from you, and when I finally make it down here, you’re out partying and drinking, which you never do by the way, so that’s awesome. You feel more comfortable drinking around some guy you just met than you do around me. That makes me feel real good.”
“Stop it, Logan. It wasn’t like that and you know it. Liam invited me because the bar has been stressing me out. He saw that I needed to relax.”
“Relax, yeah, I’m sure that is exactly what he was going to help you do later tonight.”
“Logan, jealousy doesn’t look good on you. Whatever you have going on in your mind, you need stop it and chill out. Liam and I are just friends. How many times do I have to tell you this?”
“A couple more. Maybe until I never see you in his apartment again or in his line of sight.”
“Before I left, you told me to have trust, Logan, and I did. What about you? Where is your trust in me?”
“I trust you, Sara, I just told you this five minutes ago. It’s him I don’t trust.”
“You’re going to have to start. He’s going to be working with us for a while. I mean, I’m still not sure when I’m going to make it back to Wyoming.”
Everything inside me is on high alert.
“This is a joke, right? I thought there were only a few more weeks.”
“There are, but—”
“But you want to stay here, with Liam.”
“That’s not even it. I want to be here for The Silver Tap. I wasn’t there in the beginning of the BA. I didn’t get to watch it grow and succeed. I can do that here. I want to take pride in this place before I leave some guy in charge of it.”
The way she says some guy makes me feel a bit better.
“I trust Liam more than I should, but I still—”
“Whoa, you trust him? After a couple weeks?”
“Well, yeah, I—”
“It took me years, Sara. Years before you wanted to be alone with me. You never even chose me to run the BA, your father did. Send Liam to the BA, and I’ll stay here with you.”
She stops and my hands find her shoulders. I rub my thumbs over her bare skin. I want her to nod her head and smile and agree with me.
“I can’t do that to him, Logan. His life is here.”
“You can’t do it even for us?”
“That’s not a fair choice to make.”
“Sounds fair enough to me. Either you want me here, or you don’t.”
Sara looks up and a tear slips from her eye. She walks away again, turning a corner until we arrive at my truck. I open the door for her and once she’s buckled in, I glance back to see Conner trailing behind us at a good distance. I take my time walking to the driver’s side and we sit in silence until Conner gets in. Even then, no one talks until we’re at Sara’s apartment. Conner stays in the truck while I walk Sara to the door. She still doesn’t say anything after she unlocks the door. She sets her purse and keys down on the counter and looks at me. She shrugs. What the fuck do I do with that? Before I can make up my mind, she turns for her bedroom. I take that as I sign I should go, even though every part of me wants to stay.
“Logan, stop. You can’t just leave. We need to talk this out.”
“Talk? You haven’t spoken in the last thirty minutes. How much longer do I have to wait? Your silence isn’t fair to me, and the fact you can’t tell me you want us more that you want The Silver Tap … well, it doesn’t look good in my eyes,” I say, praying she starts talking now. But she doesn’t. “Call me when you know what you want.”
“We can’t fight like this. This isn’t us.”
“I know, I just … the thought of losing you terrifies me,” I say, pausing to give her one last chance to talk to me. When her response is to look away, I turn for the door and it takes everything I have to hold my head high and not turn around to go back to her. If she doesn’t want me, I’m not going to bust my ass trying to change her mind. We’ve been at this long enough she should know what she wants by now.
Clearly, it isn’t me.
Chapter Seventeen
Sara
I can’t believe Logan came down here acting like a caveman. The way he treated Liam at the party, like every word was a warning. He wanted people to know I was his, and I want that, too. Every time Logan acts that way, I can’t resist him. But tonight was different. Something different in his eyes —I can’t determine what it was exactly, but someone once told me that fear can make a person mad. And the look I saw tonight … I’m almost positive it was screaming fear all over.
As much as I’m scared of what made him feel this way, I’m even more angry that I need to talk to someone about what happened tonight and that someone should be him, but I can’t because he’s right. Something has changed since I’ve been here. I’m not sure Wyoming is the place for me anymore. There is only one other person I can even consider calling right now. I scramble to my couch where I dig through my purse. It’s late and I’ll probably wake the baby, but I’m calling Kelsey anyway.
“Sara, what’s wrong?” she answers after one ring.
“Logan showed up here tonight,” I blurt out. I’m too worked up to ease into the conversation. I hear the baby crying in the background, and I know Kelsey will understand that it’s best to just cut to the chase. “He came here for me and I wasn’t here.”
“Where were you?”
“At Liam’s.”
“Liam’s, like his apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“No! Oh, wow, no. His roommate was having a party and he invited me.”
�
�Well that was nice of him. I bet you needed a break.”
“Exactly, but all Logan saw was me choosing to relax with Liam and not him, then he asked me to send Liam to Wyoming so he could come here to Colorado with me and I said no.”
“What? Why would you say no? Does this mean you and Logan aren’t dating anymore?”
“I don’t know. I just panicked and blurted out something about liking Rockland in a different way than Wind Valley. And then he stormed off and told me to call him when I got my life together.”
“You like Colorado better?”
“No, I just … he was all weird with Liam and Logan said something to make it sound like he owned me or something. Maybe I’m just overreacting.”
“Oh, that’s intense, but jealousy does things to people they never thought they would do.”
“Yeah,” I say. Kelsey isn’t helping as much as I thought she would.
“Do you want to hear a secret? It’s probably going to make you feel like shit, but it will explain a lot.”
“Oh no, what is it?”
“Well, Ethan told me Logan has been looking into finding his sister. Last I heard, it wasn’t going well.”
“He is?” My heart breaks thinking of how this conversation has never come up.
“Yeah, it’s insane. I can’t imagine not knowing my real family.”
“I have to go.” I tap the end button and lean back on the couch. That was the fear I saw. The fear of his real family not wanting him. I’ve always thought of Logan as family, and I should have chosen him, I know I should have, but I didn’t and now he probably thinks no one wants him. If only he knew how wrong he is.
Logan
“You want to talk about it?” Conner asks after we’ve been driving for a while.
