by Zoe York
“Not really.” As much as he’d love to talk about the mysterious woman with his buddies, it wasn’t the time, and with a glance toward Beth, who watched him carefully, he realized it also wasn’t the place. “Can I talk to you for a second, Sam?”
“Me?” The dark-haired bar owner pointed to her chest and pushed her chair back. “Of course. I’m going to be right back,” she said to the group. “So don’t even think about drinking my beer.” She looked directly at her boyfriend, and owner of the Springs resort, Trent, when she spoke. He responded by giving her a friendly smack on her bottom and a wink.
“No promises.”
The group’s laughter followed them as Rhys led Sam to the corner of the deck before going back inside.
“What’s up?”
“I have a bit of a situation.” Rhys glanced toward the window. Although he couldn’t see in, he knew Kari could see them. “Do you still have that empty room upstairs?”
Sam shrugged. “Actually, I do. I haven’t rented it in a while. Why? What’s up?”
“The call out I just had…well, she needs a room. And the Springs is kind of out of the question.” Sam nodded knowingly, and he knew she would trust his judgment. “It would only be for a night or two.”
“That’s fine.” Sam’s smile was warm and she was totally accepting of his explanation, as he knew she would be.
“Great,” he said. “I’ll take you to meet Kari. Her car broke down and she should only need the room for a few days until her car’s fixed.” As he spoke the words, he couldn’t help but hope it would take longer than a few days. Maybe he’d have a chance to get to know her a bit better if she stuck around.
“Of course.” Sam interrupted his thoughts. “Is she inside?”
He nodded and went to make the introductions.
The room wasn’t much, but at least it was clean and cheap, at least compared to what the resort up the hill was sure to cost. Kari knew expensive when she saw it, and there was no way she would have been able to afford even the most basic room at that fancy hotel. Especially with only eighty dollars in her purse. No, she thought as she wandered over to the window, the accommodation at the Grizzly Paw would be much more affordable.
That was, as long as she didn’t have to stay longer than one night. At seventy-five dollars a night, which she was pretty sure was a special rate because Rhys Anderson had brought her in, she wouldn’t be able to afford more than one nights’ stay, and that didn’t include food or the gas she’d need to get out of Cedar Springs. She didn’t even want to think about what the repairs would cost.
She let out a deep sigh and opened the window to let the breeze in. The view was amazing. She looked out over the lake. A few ski boats pulled wakeboarders behind them, and the odd canoe and kayak floated by, but mostly the water was empty. It sparkled in the late afternoon sun and Kari felt the pull to stick her toes in to see if it was as refreshing as it looked. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to get outside and take a walk?
But first there was something she needed to take care of. She dug her prepaid cell phone from the depth of her tote bag and powered it up. No one knew where she was and it would be better if she kept it that way, but because she didn’t have any type of plan before she ran off, it also meant she didn’t have any money. And by the way things were shaping up, she was going to need some. Without a lot of options left, she dialed the number she knew by heart and held her breath.
When the familiar voice on the other end answered, she exhaled.
“Mom?”
“Karina? Is that you? Where are you? Everyone’s been worried sick.”
She doubted that very much.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“Karina, where are you?” Her mother’s voice turned soft, and for a minute Kari thought maybe her mom did care. Maybe, after all these years, she finally believed her about Brice’s continual mental abuse and would finally stand behind her only daughter and support her decision to leave.
Kari sank onto the bed. “I’m in a—”
“Brice will come and get you just as soon as you let us know where you are.”
Kari bit her lip. She should have known.
“I know the two of you can work this out, honey,” her mother continued. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”
“We’re divorced, Mom.”
“Karina.” She could almost hear her mother wagging her finger at her. “You love Brice.”
“No.” Kari sat on the bed, and tried to roll some tension out of her shoulders. But it was true. She’d loved him once. When they’d met, Brice was charismatic and charming. He wined and dined her, told her how beautiful and amazing she was. She’d fallen hard and fast, hardly believing the fairy tale she was in. But that’s all it had been. It didn’t take long for the shine to wear off.
“Well, you loved him once,” her mother continued. “You can do it again. And a divorce is just a piece of paper; it can be torn up.”
“No.” Kari let her shoulders sag. “It can’t.” Nor did she want it to be. The very last thing she wanted was to be associated with Brice Callahan in any way.
“Well, you didn’t have to run away the way you did.” The familiar bite in her mother’s voice returned. “It’s not like you were in any kind of danger or anything.”
Yes. She was. It didn’t seem to matter how many times Kari told her mother about Brice’s escalating threats, the way just the night before, he’d had his police officer buddy come around under the pretense of warning her about some local break-ins, when what he was really telling her was that she wouldn’t be safe. It didn’t take a genius to read between those lines. No. She wasn’t safe. It was only a matter of time before Brice acted out on one of his threats. Isn’t that why she’d run? His last voicemail had been different. Edgier. Her instinct said to run.
“You’re always so dramatic.” Her mom broke through her thoughts. “Brice has been nothing but good to you, honey. If you would just come home, you could work out whatever it is that’s got you all upset this time and I’m sure before long, things will go back to normal.”
“No. They won’t.”
Nor did she want them to.
“Why did you call, Karina?” Her mother’s question startled her. “If you have no intention of coming home, then why did you bother?”
The words hit her in the chest. As much as she knew—had known for years—that her mom cared more about Brice, or more accurately, his money, than she did her own daughter, Kari still held out hope that underneath the woman’s greed, a mother still cared about her only child. “I thought you might want to know I’m safe.” Kari didn’t bother mentioning that she was also hoping her mom might be able to help her out with her money problems. Even she could see there was no point.
Laughter floated up through the open window and reached Kari’s ears. After Sam had shown her up to the room, she’d extended the invitation to join her and her friends on the back deck. With the phone still up to her ear, Kari made her way back to the window and looked down. There they were. A group of people, her age, people she’d probably be friends with in another life. A life that didn’t include her past.
“Where are you? I hear laughter. Are you at a party, Karina? You know how Brice feels about—”
“I know how he feels.” Her voice was tight and controlled. “And I don’t care.” She pressed the button to disconnect the call before her mother could say one more word. She didn’t want to hear it.
Kari tossed the phone behind her and continued to look out the window. Officer Anderson—Rhys—was sitting among the group. He’d changed from his uniform, but Kari recognized the dark hair, the strong shoulders and the overall presence of the man. He had that commanding presence that so many men in uniform seemed to innately have. Was it the uniform? Or the man? She didn’t know. Brice’s officer friend, Roger, had that, too.
Only, when Roger had come to her newly rented condo to warn her, or more like threaten her, his presence had been suffocating. As if he sucke
d all the oxygen from the air simply by being in the room, he hadn’t made her feel protected…safe. Not like Rhys did. In the short time they’d spent together, Kari felt as long as he was next to her, everything would be okay. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that way.
Chapter 2
With a much-needed day off, Rhys had intended to spend his day on the water fishing, or at the very least, pretending to fish while he napped in the boat. And after a restless night, a nap in the boat was exactly what he needed. But before he could gather his bait and tackle, he had something to take care of. And that something was the reason he hadn’t been able to get much sleep the night before.
It was a beautiful day, and he could use the exercise. So he left his cruiser parked at home and strolled the short distance to Main Street. No doubt Sam would be up and getting things ready for the lunch crowd at the Grizzly Paw, and as much as Rhys enjoyed almost everything the pub had to offer, coffee wasn’t one of those things. He slipped into Dream Puffs, the town bakery. Maybe he’d grab one of those delicious breakfast sandwiches while he was at it.
“Hey Rhys. Not working today?” The baker called her greeting.
“Nope, I’m going fishing. It’s way too nice to do anything else.”
She gave him a smile and Rhys knew if she wasn’t stuck behind the counter, the older woman would have wrapped him tight in a hug. It didn’t seem to matter how old he got; Suzy Crosswell would always think of him as the little boy who used to come into the shop with his mom and sneak cookies. Not that he minded. It was one of the things he loved about Cedar Springs. There was history in a small town. Not like the city, where everyone was just a number. A replaceable number.
Suzy handed him his coffee. One sugar, no cream. Just the way she knew he liked it. “It is a perfect day for it,” she said. “And you might as well enjoy the weather while you can. You never know when things will turn.”
“Hopefully not for a while. I don’t know about you, but I think I could take full advantage of an Indian summer.” He pointed to the display. “Just in case I get hungry out there. Oh, and maybe a breakfast sandwich. A guy needs a little protein, you know.”
“Of course.” Suzy smiled and called the order to her assistant before she used her tongs to grab up the muffin and slide in an oatmeal cookie alongside it. “Anything else for you today?”
“That should do it.” He handed her money but she shook her head. “Come on, Suz. You know you can’t hand out freebies all day.”
“And I don’t.” The older woman put her hands on her hips. “Don’t think you can come in here and tell me how to run my business, young man.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He laughed and shook his head. “You know better than anyone, Suz. I’ll tell you what, if I catch something, I’ll bring it by for you.”
“That’s a big ‘if,’” a female voice behind him said.
Rhys turned to see Beth and her eleven-year-old daughter, Jules, sitting at a table.
“I didn’t see you there, Beth.” He moved to kiss her on the cheek the way he always greeted her, but didn’t miss Jules’ narrowed eyes watching him.
“Hey, Jules.” He refrained from ruffling her hair, only because he remembered how much she’d hated it last time he’d tried that. But she seemed to hate pretty much everything about Rhys. “What are you two ladies up to today?”
The question was aimed toward the girl, but when she didn’t answer, Beth rolled her eyes and addressed Rhys. “I have the day off, so I thought we’d head down to the beach and enjoy some sun before school starts next week.”
“School? That must be exciting?”
Jules looked at him and with an exaggerated sigh, pushed up from her chair. “Really? Have you like, ever been to school?” She turned to her mom. “I’ll be at the beach. I want to get a good spot before they’re all gone.”
“Jules.” Beth attempted to call her daughter back, likely to chastise her for her behavior, but the girl slipped out the shop door. “I’m sorry,” Beth said. “I don’t know why she’s like that with you.”
Rhys laughed and tried to let it roll off his back, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t bother him a little bit that Jules seemed to have a hate on for him. Especially considering she was Beth’s daughter. “I didn’t know eleven-year-olds had so much attitude.” He sat in the girl’s vacated chair. “I thought they reserved that for the teen years.”
“If that’s true, I’m in so much trouble.” Beth smiled and it lit up her face.
“I’m pretty sure I know why she doesn’t like me.” He covered her hand with his own and gave it a squeeze before he released her and picked up his coffee. She was just as gorgeous as she’d been when they were kids. Blond, blue-eyed, and with the outgoing personality to match, she’d been a catch back then and time certainly hadn’t changed that. There’d been a time Rhys thought he’d end up with Beth Martin, and now that they both found themselves back in Cedar Springs, maybe that time had come around again?
He’d been entertaining that thought for a few months, but beyond a little flirting, hadn’t pursued it. He told himself he was giving her time to get settled in, but something else stopped him from asking her out. Something he wasn’t sure he could pinpoint.
“Have you seen Samantha today?” He changed the subject. “I was about to head over to the Grizzly Paw and check on things.”
Beth narrowed her eyes momentarily, reminding Rhys of her daughter. But he blinked, and her expression had returned to normal. “You’re going to check on the woman you brought in? But you’re not on duty today.”
“I’m not.” He took a sip of coffee, completely oblivious of the jealousy vibes radiating off Beth. “But there’s something…I just thought it would be good to follow up. Make sure her car’s been looked after and all.”
“Of course.”
Suzy’s assistant delivered his breakfast sandwich in a paper bag and with a nod, Rhys stood. “Well, I should go.” He grabbed his coffee. “And you should probably get to the beach. Don’t want to keep Jules waiting on my account. She really wouldn’t like that.”
Beth laughed and shook her head as she stood. “No. We can’t have that.” Rhys was treated to the view of her lean, tanned legs in her cut-off shorts as she bent down to pick up her tote bag. The years had definitely been kind to Beth, and he was fairly sure that under that tiny tank top she wore, there’d be a bikini top. Still, despite the natural reaction his body had to her, something was missing. “Want to walk with me?” She straightened and flipped her long ponytail over her shoulder.
“Of course.”
The Grizzly Paw was situated at the end of Main Street, right on the water’s edge, only a short walk away. They didn’t touch as they walked, but Beth’s hand swung close to his and Rhys had the urge to take it in his own, more out of reflex than anything else. He knew Sam, Archer, and all the rest of his friends thought he should make the first move with Beth and rebuild the relationship they’d had in high school. But they weren’t kids anymore. And there’d been a reason it hadn’t worked out when they were sixteen either. Instead, he dug into the bag and ate his breakfast sandwich as they walked.
“Hey.” Beth interrupted his thoughts. “Dylan and Trent are having a wine and cheese reception at the Springs in a few weeks. It’s sort of a thing for the employees. It’s not a big deal, but it’ll be nice and I was wondering if you…”
Rhys stopped walking as they reached the entrance to the Grizzly Paw. A flash of movement in an upper window distracted him from the conversation. Kari. She pulled the window up, stuck her head out—eyes closed—and inhaled the fresh mountain air. She looked so at ease, so unlike the nervous woman he’d met the night before.
“Rhys?”
Startled, he turned to Beth. “Sorry, I…what were you saying?”
Her pretty mouth pressed into a hard line. “I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the wine and cheese thing. Of course, Jules will b
e there, too, but she’s technically an employee of the Springs, so she’s not going to want to hang out with her mom.”
“Makes sense.” He glanced back up to the window but it was closed, the Briceain drawn. “I totally get it.” He tried to focus on Beth again.
Had he scared Kari? Questions ran through his head, the way they had all night when he’d lain awake and thought of the mysterious woman. Maybe she thought he was watching her? Why would she—
“Rhys?” A smack on his arm brought him back to the present again. What was wrong with him? He never lost focus so much. Beth was going to think he lost his mind. “Will you?”
“Yes.” He nodded, unsure of what he was agreeing to. “Of course.”
The annoyance on her face was replaced by her friendly smile again, as she obviously heard what she’d been waiting for. “Great. I know I’ll see you before then, so I’ll touch base later. I should run.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which was their custom, before she turned and jogged toward the beach.
Rhys took a moment to process what had just happened before he gave up completely and headed up the stairs into the bar.
He’d been with that woman again. Kari recognized her from the group that had been on the deck the night before. She’d been sitting next to Rhys. Not that it should matter. But somehow, it did. The moment she recognized his voice from the road beneath her, she’d slammed the window and retreated back into her room.
It was a reflex. She’d spent so much time hiding and running from Brice and his oppression, she hated the scared little kitten she’d become. It wasn’t her. She’d been fighting too long to get back to the woman she used to be. Before Brice. She could be that woman here, in Cedar Springs. Brice didn’t know where she was. No one did. His threats couldn’t reach her here.
She stood from the bed, straightened her too-short tank top and grabbed the white cotton blouse she’d laid out. She’d tried to shake out the wrinkles, but it was pointless. After being stuffed in her bag for two days, there was no hope for it. Instead of tucking it in the way Karina would, she tied the tails in a knot around her midriff. The effect was a sliver of bare skin peeking out between the top and her shorts. They were long, boring golf-style shorts that landed just below her knees. She’d always hated them.
