AspenTrilogy (Boxed Set)

by Cindy Stark

  He was over this town and these people. Fuck, he was an idiot for sticking around for so long.

  * * *

  Lily placed a hand on her chest, trying to breathe. This was wrong. So wrong.

  She couldn't let Luke leave, not without having a real chance to explain what had happened, not without making him understand. If things didn't work out between them because they weren't well-matched, then so be it, but she didn't want him leaving because of the vicious words Hannah had spewed.

  Lily hitched the blanket higher so she could move unfettered and hurried down the stairs. She had to stop him.

  She'd made it halfway to the bottom when the blanket slipped from her nervous fingers, tangling around her legs and onto her feet. She panicked, trying to gather it again. Part of the blanket landed between her heel and the wooden stairs, creating a slippery surface that sent her tumbling down. Her ankle twisted as she tried to catch herself, and her elbow smacked hard against an edge.

  She landed with a thud at the base of the stairs, her cheek smacking against the hardwood floor. She laid there for a moment, naked amidst a tangle of blanket, trying to assess what damage she might have taken. Air slowly eased back into her lungs.

  "Shit." This wasn't how her magical evening was supposed to end. She rolled over, but before she could sit up, she heard the sound of a truck screeching away into the early dawn.

  "No," she cried, hot tears flooding the corners of her eyes as pain radiated up her ankle.

  Luke. Her insides squeezed in on each other, leaving her with a sick feeling. With everything that had happened to him in the past, he probably believed that she was as heartless as Hannah. This was another arrow to his heart, and of course, he would be hurting like hell. She had to find him.

  She needed to talk to Hannah, too. She couldn't believe her friend had snapped like she had. What happened to the fun and carefree roommate she'd known in Salt Lake? Could a person really hide from her past like that? No doubt, Hannah had some serious issues she needed to deal with, but she was beyond Lily's reach now. Luke had to come first.

  She got to her knees, wincing as she moved her left wrist. She rotated it an inch before a sharp pain made her cry out. She must have sprained it, and her elbow hurt like a bugger. So did her cheek where it had made contact with the wood flooring.

  She had to admit, though, her heart hurt worse than any of her physical pains. She'd gone from lying in Luke's strong arms one minute to being laid out naked on the floor in the next.

  Life could be cruel.

  But she wasn't going down this time without a fight. She wouldn't give up and walk away like she'd done before. So what if life wasn't black and white, right or wrong? Maybe it was in the gray areas where all the happiness was found anyway. In time, she and Hannah might find a way to forgive each other, but she'd never forgive herself if she let Luke get away without telling him how much he meant to her.

  * * *

  The morning sun was well over the mountains as Lily pulled in front of the little house she shared with Hannah. She'd driven through the small town of Aspen and some of the surrounding areas searching for Luke's truck, but she had no idea where he lived, and the possibilities were just too vast. So, she'd gone home.

  Battered and bruised, inside and out, Lily exited her car with care, prepared for another round of abuse. Inside, she found Hannah in her bedroom shoving a pair of Lily's jeans haphazardly into a suitcase. The closet door stood open along with all of Lily's drawers. Clothing trailed from the closet, across the floor, to a jumbled pile in the center of her bed.

  Lily exhaled a huge breath, wanting to knock over her roommate, but knowing she had to pick her fights.

  Hannah tossed a black pump and a pink bra on top of the jeans. She was obviously still operating under the influence of her wild emotions.

  Lily stepped inside the room. "We need to talk."

  Hannah stayed focused on her task. "I don't have anything to say to a traitorous, lying bitch." In went a white cotton shirt and a brown sandal.

  Lily cringed, but said nothing about her friend's blatant violation. "Come on, Hannah. That's a little overkill."

  Hannah whipped her gaze toward Lily, her brows arched with attitude. "So you say." She narrowed her eyes. "What the hell happened to you? Looks like he beat the shit out of your face."

  Lily touched her cheek, the spot tender and swollen. Luke was not that kind of man. As messed up as things were, that was one thing she was sure of. "I fell."

  "Really?"

  Lily frowned. "Yes, really. I slipped and tumbled down the wooden stairs at his lodge after you lied to him, and he left."

  Hannah smirked and continued to shove things into the suitcase. "Good." Lily had the sinking feeling that Hannah would have been even happier if Lily had accused Luke of physically harming her.

  Emotion slammed her pulse against her throat, and she waited until she'd inhaled and then slowly exhaled before she spoke again. "I'm not sorry I've spent time with Luke, but I am sorry that it's hurting our friendship. That was never my intention."

  She paused long enough to glare at her. "Whatever."

  "Seriously, can we talk about this?"

  Her friend turned to her and placed her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to speak, but bit down on her lip instead. Fresh tears pooled in her eyes, twisting the knot of guilt Lily wanted to ignore.

  Hannah tried again. "Out of all the people I know, I would think you would be the one person who would know what it's like to be betrayed." Her voice cracked with raw emotion. "I thought you'd have my back. That's the only reason I returned to this hellhole. Because you were coming with me. Otherwise, I would have been happier living on the streets."

  "Hannah—"

  "I never should have listened to you about coming back." She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "But it's all worked out real well for you, hasn't it? You have a job, the hottest guy in town. Even my parents love you more than me. You've succeeded where I never could. This whole town hates my guts...including my own family."

  "No, Hannah. God." Lily twined her fingers, trying to figure out how to make this all better. "How can you say that? Your parents obviously worship the ground you walk on. So does your brother. I'd give anything to have what you have."

  "Take them, they're yours. Oh, wait. You already have." Hannah laughed, the sound smacking of the deranged.

  "That's not fair. I'm not trying to take anything from you. I'm truly grateful that you've given me a place to live."

  "And look how you show your thanks."

  "Come on. When you offered me a place to stay, you didn't mention the extent of the issues you had with this town or the fact that you expected me to hate everyone and everything while I'm here. I got a job to carry my own weight, and I've been as nice as I can be to your parents because I'm grateful to them for taking me in. I haven't done anything wrong."

  Hannah directed a sharp, piercing gaze at Lily. "You slept with Luke. The one person I hate the most. I could take you showing me up to my parents and to the rest of the town, but not taking Luke's side. Not after what he did."

  Here they were, back to what Luke had supposedly done to Hannah. "He said you lied about what happened, and I think he's still paying the price for that lie."

  Hannah stared at her, venom shooting from her eyes, and for a second, Lily wondered if she should have come armed in case she needed to defend herself. "Stop making him out to be a prince. Stop taking his side. This is exactly what happened eight years ago. Everyone took his side. He's a lying, cheating—"

  "Hannah." Lily spoke in a raised voice. "You're better than this. The Hannah I know doesn't need to disparage another to build herself up. She's kind and loving, and not this person I'm seeing right now. If you lied about what happened between you and Luke, you need to come clean. It will help both of you."

  "It's this town. It messes with me." She inhaled a hysterical breath. "No, Luke lied. He lied. He should have taken me with him. He ma
de me feel worthless for…" She shook her head. "He deserves everything he gets."

  "Are you sure, Hannah? Eight years is a long time to pay a price, especially if he didn't do anything to you."

  "Oh, he did. He humiliated me." She stopped, her eyes going wide as though she'd said something she hadn't meant to. Lily knew she'd been just a few words away from confessing.

  "If he didn't hurt you, you need to clear his name."

  "He did hurt me." She put a shaking hand over her mouth.

  Lily raised a brow in question.

  Hannah exhaled, her expression growing cold, less animated, and Lily knew she wasn't going to divulge any further information. "Doesn't matter now. I'm finished with this place, with Luke, with the whole fucking town. Consider our friendship over." Her mouth quivered. "You need to leave."

  That was it then. Maybe things between them had gone too far down the dark alley of despair to ever find their way back. A spear of regret sliced through her. The price of sleeping with Luke would be her friendship with Hannah. Deep down, she'd known it, and there was no going back now. "You're right. I am sorry this has hurt us. It shouldn't take me long to pack."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Despite her painful wrist and ankle, Lily had everything in boxes or suitcases by the time early evening rolled around. Although her car was packed, it didn't seem like much—most of her possessions were in the storage unit in Salt Lake. For all Lily knew, that unit might be her home until she could secure a job. At least she'd earned a little money and would have food to eat.

  Hannah had left shortly after Lily had started packing, which was probably for the best. The less contact they had at this point, the better. Some things could not be repaired.

  Lily stacked her last box in her little Honda and shut the back door, glancing at the cute house that had been her home for such a short period of time. Maybe this town did mess with people's heads. It seemed to tease everyone with what they wanted but couldn't have.

  It had driven Hannah to insanity, had made Luke think he could move beyond his reputation, and it made Lily crave a slower pace in life, a life that might have been shared with a warm-hearted, sexy cowboy.

  Hannah's mom had been kind enough to give her Luke's father's phone number. Lily could only hope his father would give Luke the message she'd left for him and that Luke would try to contact her. It was the best she could do, but his dad hadn't given her much hope. He'd said Luke had left town and didn't know when he'd be back.

  Maybe he just needed time.

  Lily climbed into her car and started the engine. Although it was getting late, Betty had agreed to meet her in town in just a few minutes to give up her key to the office. Her boss hadn't been happy she was leaving, but what choice did Lily have? This wasn't her town. She couldn't stay, especially not after what had happened with her and Luke, and with Hannah. Her small-town fairytale was at an end.

  Betty stood in the parking lot outside her office, frowning as Lily approached. When she was within arm's reach, she pulled her into a big bear hug. "You poor thing."

  Lily wanted to cry, but restrained. She couldn't dump her tears and fears on the woman who'd been so kind to her. "I'm sorry. I've really enjoyed working for you, and I hope I’m not leaving you in the lurch."

  "Shh…" Betty shook her head, her expression full of concern. "Don't even start worrying about me."

  "I really wanted to get that marketing plan launched for you. I know it's going to be fabulous."

  "It will. I'm sure it'll do amazing things for my business." Betty nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at my house?"

  "I can't." Lily could no longer keep her own tears at bay. She'd fallen madly in love with this little town, and she was going to miss it desperately. "Promise you'll call and let me know how it goes?"

  "Of course, I will." Betty grabbed her hands. "This is such a terrible tragedy. All these years I truly believed Luke was a good guy and that Hannah had lied, but look at you." She shook her head. "You should reconsider pressing charges. I hate to see anything bad happen to him, but a person needs to pay for his crimes."

  Lily's brain spun, trying to make sense of Betty's words. "What?" She took a step back, dropping Betty's hands. "Why would I want to press charges against Luke?"

  Pity reflected in the older woman's eyes. She gently touched Lily's cheek. "Oh, honey. I know women like to protect the men they love, but this just ain't right."

  "No," Lily gritted out through clenched teeth. "No. Luke did not do this to me. Who told you that?" She didn't need an answer though. Hannah had done it. Hannah with her vicious lies.

  "Everyone in town is talking about it. His parents are mortified. He's apparently left Aspen to avoid prosecution."

  Lily blew out a heated breath. "This is so messed up." The temperature of her blood increased with each beat. "Look at me, Betty." She waited until Betty's gaze was solidly fixed on her. "Luke did not hit me."

  Betty shook her head as though to disagree.

  "This is another of Hannah's lies. Luke didn't hit me. I slipped and tumbled down some stairs. I had a blanket and it got caught beneath my feet and tripped me." She circled in the air near her cheek. "This is one-hundred percent me, okay?"

  Betty nodded, and Lily started to believe she might be getting through to the woman. "Hannah did not like me seeing Luke, and she made up this lie after she saw my bruise this morning at our house. Luke left because he lost faith in me, in his town." Her voice grew more emotional with each word. "He left because of what I did, not the other way around."

  "Okay, honey." She wiped a tear from Lily's cheek. "I believe you."

  Lily hadn't even realized she was still crying. She swiped the rest of the tears away. Hannah was not going to get away with this again. "I have to stop her, Betty. This will kill Luke. He's such a good person, and no matter how things are between us, he doesn't deserve this."

  Betty shifted her stance, glancing down the street. "Hannah's truck is still at Sparrows."

  "She's here?" Lily followed Betty's gaze, and sure enough, Hannah's blue truck was parked on the corner near the bar.

  "Lord help her," Betty said, as Lily marched down the street, scarlet anger coloring her world.

  Lily pushed through the front door of the bar like an old west cowboy might in search of a showdown.

  It looked like the bar had sprung for a live band that weekend, but they played the same eighties music. Lily recognized a few people from the first night she'd gone there. From her perspective, it contained a fair amount of Aspen citizens, which was exactly what she wanted.

  Hannah sat at the bar, a shot glass and a full beer mug in front of her, flanked by Scott and Milo.

  Lily walked up to her and shoved her shoulder. "You bitch." She yelled loud enough to be heard over the music. Her reputation would never recover from this, she was sure, but what did she care? She wouldn't be there for long. "Just who the hell do you think you are messing with people's lives like this?"

  Hannah turned, shock darkening her features. She wobbled on her stool and then placed a hand on the bar to steady herself. It was obvious she was well on her way to drunk, if she hadn't passed it already. "Don't you call me a bitch, you whore."

  The band stopped playing, apparently more interested in what was happening near the bar than they were in their music.

  "Whoa, ladies." Milo held up a hand. "Calm the language."

  Lily pointed a finger at Hannah. "She's a liar. The worst kind of liar."

  Scott and Milo both raised brows. Hannah glared at her.

  "She's ruining people's lives, spreading lies and deceit. Enough is enough."

  Hannah lunged for her, knocking the wind out of her as they crashed to the sawdust-covered floor.

  * * *

  Luke hit the city limits of Aspen and slowed his truck. It almost killed him to reduce his speed. He needed to talk to Lily.

  He'd spent a good part of the day in the south end of the county talki
ng to Wayne before the reality of his situation had smacked him upside the head. For years, he'd tried to rebuild his life after everyone had listened to the lies and judged him guilty. The problem was, he was slightly guilty. He had liked Hannah, just not as much as she'd liked him. But he hadn't told her right away. He'd enjoyed having the cute little sophomore chase after him. He'd known she'd wanted to take things to the next level, but he was ready to head off to college and wasn't interested in anything serious. What he hadn't known was that she'd be so vindictive when he refused to sleep with her or take her with him.

  He left for college, and by the time he returned on break, her lies had spread like a wildfire. But he hadn't wanted to call her a liar, hadn't wanted to hurt her any worse, so he'd let it go, thinking the drama would fade.

  It hadn't, and people had judged him when they didn't know all the facts.

  He was now guilty of doing the same to Lily. She'd tried to talk to him, to explain, but he hadn't listened.

  Time and a little distance from town had improved his perception. He'd never be able to forgive her or forget her if he didn't give her a chance to explain. What she said to him may or may not change things, but he had to give her what the townspeople had never given him.

  He cruised past Sparrows, and then the little shopping area, noticing Betty standing near the sidewalk with three other women. He nodded as he passed them. All four of them widened their eyes at him, but none returned the nod. Strange.

  A sharp whistle pierced the evening air, and Luke glanced in his rearview mirror to see Betty standing in the middle of the road motioning for him to come back.

  What the hell?

  He turned his truck around and pulled to the side of the road.

  A flushed-looking Betty popped her head in his lowered window. "You need to get to Sparrows, now."

  "What's going on?"

  "It's Lily and Hannah, and Lily's out for blood."

  "Shit." He left his truck parked where it was and sprinted down the street.

  * * *

  Lily tried to catch her breath and keep Hannah from tearing out her hair at the same time. Whistles and shouts came from the crowd, and she really wanted to punch out all of them. This wasn't a display for their entertainment.