by Sandra Owens
With nothing else to do in my new small town, I turned the car for home. Not having restaurants and clubs on every corner was going to take some getting used to, but I didn’t regret leaving Chicago. My ex-partner was still on the force, and seeing him every day, imagining his mouth on my wife, thinking of the two of them in bed together—I just couldn’t do it anymore.
When I’d discovered their affair, I’d gone ballistic. What man wouldn’t when walking into his bedroom and finding his wife and best friend tangled up in the sheets? I was supposed to be out of town, and I had been. Unfortunately for them, I’d cut out of the criminal behavior workshop a day early. Surprise!
When I started thinking of ways I could get away with killing my former friend, I knew it was time to leave. The only thing I didn’t blame him for was my wife’s suicide. That was all on me, and why she still haunted me. She begged me to forgive her, but I had my pride. I couldn’t even look at her without seeing her and Jack together.
Before that day, she had been my everything. I moved into the guest room because I couldn’t bring myself to get back in that bed, and when she pleaded with me to go to counseling with her, I refused.
From the moment I first saw Christine, I was entranced, and even though she’d taken a rusty knife and cut out my heart, I had still loved her. But I couldn’t stand the thought of touching her, and my confusion had eaten me alive. I still wanted her, yet I didn’t. It hadn’t made sense.
What had I done to drive her into another man’s arms? She tried to tell me once how and why it happened, but I couldn’t listen and had walked out of the house. There was no reason she could give me to make me forgive her. I don’t know why she put my gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger. Was it because she couldn’t stand the thought of a divorce, which I’d asked for? Or was it guilt that drove her to it? Since she hadn’t left a note, I’d never know.
Christine had never been an easy woman to love, but I’d loved her all the same. She had been high maintenance, but I’d believed I was up to the task. When she needed reassurance that she was pretty and desirable, I gave it to her. When she had crying spells for no reason that she could explain, I’d held her, doing my best to soothe her. She’d had bouts of depression throughout our marriage, but anytime I suggested she see a therapist, she’d adamantly refused. I should have pushed the issue, insisted that she go. But then she’d seem okay, and I’d let it drop. Shame on me for that.
There were times when she went on shopping sprees that could have bankrupted us if not for her father’s money. I didn’t care. That money was there for her to spend. Her father, a former senator, doted on his only child, and had accused me of wanting to marry her for her money. That burned because he refused to see that I understood her—or thought I had until she cheated on me and then took her life. I wanted nothing to do with his money and had never touched a penny of it.
When he’d died, everything went to her since her mother had passed when Christine was in high school. My wife was a millionaire several times over, and now I am. I still refuse to touch a penny and never will. After I buried her, the first thing I did once her will was read was set up a foundation in her name for college scholarships for underprivileged kids in Chicago.
Back in my apartment, I went straight to the shower. As I toweled dry, I wished I hadn’t thought about Christine. She always appeared whenever she was on my mind, and I wasn’t looking forward to going to bed knowing she’d show up. To delay the inevitable, I opened the windows and listened for my owl. When I heard his hoos, I turned on the fan and got in bed. I had sleeping pills my therapist had prescribed, and those kept her away, but I hated taking them. They made me groggy for a few hours after waking.
My therapist had urged me to contact one of the specialists in grief counseling on the list he’d given me. All of them were in Asheville, and I wasn’t willing to take time off from my new job right now for appointments that would take up half my day. I had also been hoping that Christine would stay in Chicago and not follow me to Blue Ridge Valley. If she persisted in hanging around, I was going to have to give in and make a damn appointment.
“You’re starting to piss me off, Christine,” I muttered as I drifted off.
You kissed her.
Hello, Christine. I’ve been expecting you. We really have to stop meeting like this. Isn’t there a white light or something you’re supposed to disappear into?
Are you going to kiss her again?
I hope so.
I don’t want you to.
And I didn’t want you to kiss Jack, but you did, so you lost the right to tell me who I can’t kiss.
Apparently she didn’t like that because she disappeared. Half-awake now, I sighed, pumped up my pillow, and listened to my owl.
9
~ Jenny ~
Crap. Five minutes to closing, and Chad the Persistent showed up. Apparently he didn’t care that I had a new boyfriend. I was meeting Dylan at Fusions for a drink as soon as I was done here. The last thing I needed was a confrontation with my ex-boyfriend, emphasis on the ex. All the tables were empty, and there was only one couple left at the bar finishing up their last drink.
Dylan had surprised me by stopping in for dinner and asking if I’d like to meet him after I got off. I’d given Dylan a lot of thought after he’d kissed me two nights ago. A whole lot of thought. Even though we’d pretended to be a couple the other night, he would be a fun guy to hang out with. The man made me laugh, and that was pretty awesome.
I’d told him my dream of going on a world tour, and unlike Chad the Jerk Who Refused To Go Away, he’d seemed to understand why I’d want to do such a thing. The last thing I wanted was to ruin my good mood by getting caught up in an argument with Chad.
Before he could start in on me, I went to the table in the back corner where Brandy was filling salt and pepper shakers. I slid onto the chair across from her. “I need a favor.”
“Sure.”
That was typical Brandy, agreeing without even knowing what I was going to ask. She was such a sweetheart. “I don’t want to deal with Chad tonight. Would you ring out the couple at the bar so I can slip out the back?”
Big brown eyes peered back at me. “I thought he was your boyfriend.”
“He was and now he’s not, but he’s refusing to believe I broke up with him.”
She glanced over at the bar. “He’s watching you. Go on and get out of here. I’ll take care of everything. Susan’s still here, and Angelo’s cleaning the bathrooms, so if he tries to cause trouble, we’ll deal with him.”
“Thanks. You know I love you.”
She grinned. “Love you back.”
Without glancing behind me, I walked into the kitchen. In the back room I got my purse out of my locker, then jogged to my car. When I arrived at Fusions, I saw Dylan’s car and parked next to it. I lowered my visor. Ugh. My hair was a mess of curls. I fished my brush out of my purse, tamed my wild hair as best I could, and then applied some lip gloss. The black T-shirt with Vincennes above my left breast couldn’t be helped as it would take me too long to go home and change. Maybe I should start keeping a spare outfit in my car if Dylan was going to make a habit of inviting me out for a drink when I got off work. A girl could hope.
At first I didn’t see Dylan when I walked into the lounge, but then he stood and smiled, waving me over to a booth. Mercy, that man’s smile slayed me every time.
“Hey,” he said when I reached him.
“Hey back.” I slid onto the leather seat across from him. A full bottle of Green Man beer sat on the table, so I guessed he hadn’t been waiting long.
“What would you like?”
“Same as you.” I wasn’t a big drinker, sometimes a glass of wine or a beer. Much more than that, I’d be dancing on the table. Instead of waiting for a waitress, he went to the bar and got my beer. “Thanks,” I said when he slid it over to me. He lifted his bottle, holding it toward me. I picked mine up and clinked it against his. “To my new friend.”
He grinned. “To the possibility of more than a friend?”
Now he had me confused. Weren’t we just supposed to be having a pretend relationship? Be seen together a few times so that Chad got the message? Not that I wasn’t interested in more, but I had no clue where Dylan was coming from. Maybe he was only flirting and didn’t mean anything by the question.
“Well, you did ask me to be your pretend girlfriend.” If I wasn’t mistaken, he seemed disappointed in my answer.
“That I did.”
There was something about this man that made me feel all marshmallowy inside. What I really wanted was someone to have fun with until it was time to go see the world, and I suddenly wanted that someone to be Dylan. Only one way to find out if he was interested.
“Okay, let’s back up a minute. I’m just a small-town mountain girl, easily confused. Exactly what did you mean when you said, ‘To the possibility of more than a friend?’ I think I understand…well kind of, but maybe you should clarify things for me.”
He studied me a moment and then smiled, and God help me, I smiled right back at him. Because that oh so charming boyish expression on his face was impossible to resist. Honestly I was finding everything about him irresistible.
“I don’t think you’re confused at all, Red,” he softly said. “Tell me you don’t feel the attraction between us.”
I refused to say a word, which seemed to amuse him.
“Your silence answers my question. Do you have a leave date for your world tour?”
I nodded, wondering where he was going with this. “Mid-December.”
“So about two months.” He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. “Proposition. Spend that time with me. Teach me about your town and the people, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
He meant sex eventually. I think. Maybe I was putting the cart before the horse, but I wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “I guess this is where I should say that I don’t jump into bed with the first guy that comes along.” That just wasn’t me.
“Meaning me?”
I nodded. As much as Dylan intrigued me—and I was pretty sure it would happen, hoped it would—I wanted to feel comfortable with it, with him.
“Okay, I can respect that. How do you want to go about this?”
This conversation was definitely odd. “Um, I don’t know. I’ve never negotiated a temporary fling before.” But it was kind of fun.
He grinned. “That makes two of us. Tell me how you’d like to go forward from here.”
I liked that he was asking, letting me do this at my comfort level. “Basically I want to get to know you better, for you to know me.”
“Anything else?”
“Only that you don’t push me before I’m ready.”
“To the first, that’s a fair request, and to the second…” He stared at his beer bottle as he traced the lip with his finger, then he raised his eyes to mine. “I don’t make love to a woman unless she wants it, too.”
I believed him. And the way he looked at me when he said that last part, heat flaming in his eyes, sent a shiver through me that started somewhere near my chest and went all the way down to my toes.
“So how was work?” He leaned back and stretched his arms along the back of the booth, then about charmed my panties off with that killer smile. “This is me getting to know you better.”
I blinked at the sudden change in our conversation. The man was constantly surprising me. I liked that. A lot. “Work was the same as always. Well, until Chad showed up.” Dylan went from relaxed to alert and tense in a nanosecond. I waved a hand at him. “Stand down, tiger. I didn’t even talk to him. He came in a few minutes before we closed, and I snuck out the back.”
“I think you should reconsider getting a restraining order.”
The last thing I wanted to talk about was Chad. “I’ll think about it if he keeps coming around. So, how do you like Blue Ridge Valley? It has to be a cultural shock, coming from a big city.”
“Tell me about it. The hardest thing is the nights. It’s so damn quiet.” He chuckled. “Except for my owl.”
“Your owl?” Who had an owl for a pet?
“Yeah. He’s very vocal at night. I guess he’s hunting?”
“Oh, I thought you meant you had a pet owl.” I shrugged. “I think they hunt at night. I guess it would be a lot different here than in a big city like Chicago. You’ll get used to it.”
“It’s already better than my first night here.” He paused and took a sip of beer. “So tell me where this travel bug you have came from.”
“Growing up, we always went somewhere for two weeks every year for vacation.” I twirled my beer bottle. “Sometimes the beach. Sometimes a state park. We would get so excited. When we were old enough, my parents let us help plan where we’d go.”
“Us?”
“Me and Natalie, my twin.” I still couldn’t talk about her without tearing up, but she was a big part of why I planned to take off on a world tour. It was impossible to explain everything to Dylan without including her. Everyone in the valley knew about her, and eventually he’d hear the story. I’d rather he hear it from me.
I blinked away my tears. “When we were fourteen, we did my mom’s dream trip, Ireland and Scotland. It was awesome. Natalie and I decided that one day we’d travel around the world. We wanted to see everything. The Mayan ruins, the Great Wall of China, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We wanted to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and eat olives while sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Greece.”
“I wish you could see how your face lights up when you talk about”—he made air quotes—“seeing the world. I’m glad you have someone to go with you who loves to travel as much as you.”
“That’s just it. I don’t.” Willing myself not to cry, I trailed my finger through the moisture ring from my beer bottle. “Natalie died.” I lifted my gaze to Dylan’s. “She made me promise to still go, to travel for both of us.”
“Saying I’m sorry is inadequate. Believe me, I know. But I am sorry you lost someone you loved.”
He glanced away, and I wondered who he’d lost. “Yeah, it was really hard, but she’s not gone.” I tapped my heart. “She’ll always be a part of me.”
“Another round?” our waitress asked, coming up to the table.
We both passed, and to change the subject before I embarrassed myself by crying, I said, “What about you? What kind of things do you like to do?”
“In Chicago I went to restaurants, the theater, museums when I had the time. My hours were sometimes long, but I liked to explore when I could. Here? Haven’t figured that out yet, aside from work. What’s there to do in Blue Ridge Valley?”
“Lots of things. I could be your guide if you want.”
He locked his eyes on mine. “I want.”
The way he said that, his voice low and husky, made my stomach flutter. “Well, there’s a car and motorcycle show at the fairgrounds this weekend if you’re interested.”
“A girl after my own heart.”
“Because I like cars?”
“Among other things. And yes, I’m interested.”
“Awesome. Saturday or Sunday? Which would work best for you? I’m free both days until four, then I have work.”
“Sunday.”
“Sunday it is.” I had my hand resting on the table, and he reached over, putting his over mine. I lifted my eyes, and my breath hitched at the way he was looking at me. As if he’d like to devour me whole.
“The other night when I kissed you?”
I nodded.
“You said it was nice. I want to kiss you again, Red. Show you I can do better than nice.”
Well, wow. “Maybe I’ll let you kiss me again.” I grinned. “You know, just to prove you can do better.”
He laughed. “That’s as good a reason as any.”
“Right now, though, it’s late and I’m tired. I should be getting home.”
“Stand by and I
’ll walk you out.” He went to the bar and paid the tab. I hoped I knew what I was doing because I sensed he was a man who could rock my world. I was busy admiring the back of him, specifically the way his butt looked in those jeans, when Chad the Absolutely Impossible To Get Rid Of slid into the booth across from me.
“I knew you were screwing around on me,” he said.
I opened my mouth to tell him off, then closed it. What good would it do? Obviously he closed his ears whenever I said something he didn’t want to hear. Dylan was headed back to the table, his narrowed eyes focused on Chad. Before he could reach us and the new police chief found himself in a fight with my ex-boyfriend, I snatched up my purse, slid out of the booth, and grabbed Dylan’s hand.
“He’s not worth it,” I said, tugging him along with me. That he came willingly increased my opinion of him. He could easily take Chad on, by either beating the crap out of him or putting him in jail. But he let me lead him away, not at all worried about losing his man card. I liked that.
“It’s time to take out a restraining order, Jenny.”
He was right, but I didn’t like it. I only wanted Chad to leave me alone.
“I just want to talk to you, Jenn.”
Dylan’s fingers tightened around mine when I stopped, and I was sure he’d finally lose his cool. Instead he looked at me and raised a brow. I understood his question. He was asking if I wanted him to deal with Chad. I shook my head before letting go of his hand and turning.
“So talk,” I said to Chad the Stupid. Because he really was, considering he was bothering me when I was with the head of a police department.
Chad shifted his gaze from me to Dylan. “Alone.”
“Not going to happen. If you have something to say, tonight’s your last chance because I’m going to take out a restraining order on you first thing tomorrow morning.”
Dylan put his hand on my lower back, caressing me with his thumb, and I understood the message he was sending. He was letting me know he was there for me if I needed him. He could easily step in and try to take control, making this some kind of male-versus-male fight over the girl. A lot of men would probably do just that. Seeing how he handled himself in an awkward situation, I liked him even more. And I was already liking him a lot before this little scenario happened.
