by Linda Style
Natalia arched an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? He’s manning the Purple Jeep booth.” She peered down the line of booths. “There’s only one booth between you.”
For a moment, Serena was speechless. “Ryan didn’t sign up for it. He told me that. And…and it wasn’t on the list I saw. If I’d realized, I’d have asked for a different spot.”
Her friend shrugged. “What can I say. He’s there.”
Serena shoved a handful of hair from her face. “Seems to me he’s helping with more than advertising. I’d ask Ryan what’s up, but I haven’t run into him all week. He had to go to Phoenix for something, and he hasn’t answered my messages.”
“I guess you didn’t hear then.”
She leaned against the table, eye to eye with Natalia. “Hear what?”
“That Cole is working at the touring company.”
Serena laughed at the absurdity. All Ryan had said was that Cole was going to help with advertising. Not work there. “That’s almost funny.”
Pulling back, Natalia raised a hand. “Truth. I swear.”
Serena felt her heart sink. When she found her voice, she said, “No, I don’t believe it. Ryan wouldn’t do that. He understands how I feel.” She shook her head. “No. He just wouldn’t.” But even as she said the words, she felt an ominous dread. “I—I—Even…even if it’s true, I can’t figure what good it will do.”
Natalia shrugged. “Well, why don’t you ask him?”
Her throat closed. “Ask who what?”
“Ryan. Tell him what you heard and ask if it’s true.”
“Okay.” And she would, as soon as Ry returned from wherever he was, or if he even answered his damn phone.
“You could ask Cole. From the looks of the groupies hanging out there, he might be drumming up more business than he wants.”
Fighting the urge to look, Serena said, “Is Mac helping out at your booth?”
All three friends, Serena, Tori and Natalia, were participating in the event. This year Natalia had asked David “Mac” MacAllister to help hand out information on CPR and tips for combating emergencies when hiking. The two also planned to give CPR demonstrations twice a day. Tori had a booth to display her paintings, and Tori’s fiancé, Linc, was assisting her.
“He is right now,” Natalia said. “But he can’t stay all day. He was talking with Cole earlier. They seem to have hit it off.”
“Oh?” Serena said, interested, but trying not to appear so. Trained as a Navy SEAL, Mac had been discharged after being injured in Iraq. On return to the States he’d studied physical therapy and boned up on the skills he’d learned as a med tech on the battlefield. Now he flew with Natalia on search-and-rescue missions as her EMT—and he was Ed’s partner at the Blue Moon.
“Did I tell you Mac’s mother is here, too?”
“No, you didn’t,” Serena said absently. Her brother hadn’t been honest…or at least not forthcoming about Cole actually working there. If he had been, she would have been prepared.
“Damn, I wish Ryan had said something.”
Her friend’s eyebrows arched.
“Not that it matters,” Serena added. “That’s all in the past. We were kids, and I put Cole out of my mind a long time ago.”
“Hi, there, ladies,” a woman’s voice trilled.
Natalia snorted.
Both Serena and Natalia smiled and waved at Martha and Maxine, who were walking by. The two fiftyish women ran a small flower shop in Sedona and had lived in Spirit Creek for years.
“Maybe they’re kindred spirits,” Serena said, returning to what Natalia had said.
“Martha and Maxine?”
“No, Mac and Cole.”
Natalia appeared puzzled. “Why do you say that?”
“Because of what you said earlier about Mac being such a loner, and because I know Cole doesn’t have many friends in Sprit Creek, either.”
Her friend laughed. “Kinda like you and me when we met.”
“I wasn’t thinking that, but yeah, I guess it is.” She didn’t like thinking about it. At least, the outcast part. She and Cole had both felt it. Had formed a bond because of it.
Living in the trailer park on the outskirts of Spirit Creek with hippie parents, Serena had grown up enduring the sting of disapproval. To feel accepted in the community had taken her nearly two years after she’d returned and opened the café. And she wasn’t even sure she’d made the grade yet with some of the old guard.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to be back here,” Serena said. “People might not mention the accident, but I guarantee you no one has forgotten. It has to be terribly awkward.”
“You always think about stuff like that. You should’ve been a social worker.”
Serena scoffed. “Like I need more dysfunction in my life? I have my family for that. Besides, fixing people isn’t my strong suit.” Not if her brother was any indication.
At the other end of the street, where the stage had been erected, one of the local jazz groups started tuning up. The discordant sounds of guitar strings, a fiddle, piano scales and the bleat of a saxophone reminded Serena of the times she and Cole had sat under the stars, listening to music with nothing more pressing than being with each other. Now, as back then, the pungent scent of pine hung like dusky perfume in the crisp autumn air, reminding her all too quickly of another long-ago night in the backseat of Cole’s old Chevy.
“Ryan will be fine, Serena. You’ve got to stop taking his screwups as a personal failure.”
But it was personal. And there was nothing she could do about that. “He’s my brother. I need to be there for him…for support, if nothing else.”
“They say people have to hit rock bottom before they’ll decide to do something. Maybe not helping would be the best thing in the long run.”
Though Natalia hadn’t said the words, Serena knew what she meant. “Ryan isn’t a druggie.”
Natalia looked up at Serena from under her eyebrows. “Okay. What is he?”
“He’s—he has…some issues. And he has to take pills for the pain.” She swallowed her sudden anger. But Natalia didn’t make her angry. The increasing frustration over her inability to help Ryan did. “He has no one but me. That’s all.” She hauled in some air.
“You’re doing it again,” Natalia said as she tucked a strand of coal-dark hair behind one ear.
Both Natalia and Tori thought Serena was overprotective of her brother, that she made excuses for him. They thought he needed an intervention. Serena wasn’t wearing rose-colored glasses where Ryan and his problems were concerned. Her friends just didn’t know the whole story. “I realize I am. But that’s just the way it is.” She’d made a promise long ago, and she’d never go back on it.
“Okay. I’ll butt out and mind my own business.”
Serena waved and smiled at Mayor Carlson as he went by. “Lookin’ good, Serena,” he said, and flashed her a thumbs-up.
“I swear,” Natalia said. “That old lecher would be on you in a nanosecond if you gave him the slightest encouragement.”
The comment made Serena cringe. “Ew. That’s disgusting.”
“Natalia, can you come over here for a moment?” a woman requested.
Serena looked over, but didn’t recognize the chubby older woman nearby.
Natalia leaned in and whispered, “That’s Mac’s mother, who’s going to be here for two weeks. She’s decided Mac and I should be dating.”
“Not a bad idea,” Serena said.
Natalia rolled her eyes at Serena, then raised her disposable cup. “Thank you very much for advice I don’t require.”
Serena grinned. “Ditto.”
They both laughed then. Watching her friend walk away, Serena thought about Mac and Natalia hooking up. If that happened, she’d be the only one of the three friends who was…unattached.
She started to get out some more cups, then heard raised voices, one—a woman’s—louder than the other. “No, let me go.”
Everyo
ne nearby turned toward Cole’s booth, where Ellen Fletcher, one of their former classmates, stood, eyes wide, lower lip quivering. Her husband, Dan, stood next to her, yanking her arm. “El-len,” he said menacingly through gritted teeth. “Dammit. I said, let’s go.”
Serena saw the man dig his fingers into his wife’s arm…saw the fear in Ellen’s eyes. Everyone knew about Dan Fletcher’s bad temper and that he’d been thrown into jail more than once because of it. Still, his wife always took him back. Probably because she was scared to death not to.
When Dan yanked his wife again and then shoved her forward, Serena bolted from her booth, marched directly up to Ellen and put an arm around her. Smiling, she said, “Ellen, I haven’t talked to you in ages. Come on over to my booth. I’ll get you some coffee and we can chat a little.” She eyed Dan. “You don’t mind, do you, Dan?”
If looks could kill…But Serena counted on the fact that he wouldn’t do anything where anyone might see him. Cowards were like that. “C’mon, Ellen,” she said, then nudged her former classmate toward the booth.
They hadn’t walked two feet, when Dan said loudly, “Ellen.”
The woman waited a second and then faced Serena. “Thank you,” she said. “But I really can’t. I have to go.”
“Hey, Dan,” a male voice called out, and within seconds, Cole was standing next to Dan, pounding him on the shoulder like a long-lost brother. “How are you, man? It’s been a really long time.”
Serena seized the opportunity and nudged Ellen again, and this time Ellen went along toward Serena’s booth.
As they were walking, Serena noticed three cheerleader types standing by Cole’s table, gawking and whispering behind their hands. And she heard Cole speaking to Dan and heaved a sigh of relief. Then again, Dan had probably been like that when he’d hung around with Cole. The thought occurred to her that maybe Cole had stepped in for that very reason. He’d always been protective. Of his grandmother, his mother, his friends. Her.
At the booth, Ellen’s fearful expression was telling, but she said, “It’s not what you think, Serena.”
Serena went behind the table and prepared the woman a cappuccino. “It’s not like what?”
Averting her gaze, Ellen said, “I know what you think, what everyone thinks. But everyone is wrong. Dan is good to me.”
Denial. Typical. Serena knew firsthand. “You can tell yourself whatever you want,” Serena said. “But the problem doesn’t affect just you. It affects your children…and if you let it continue, it will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
Ellen brought her cup to her mouth with both hands and Serena spotted bruises on her wrists.
“Think about it. You can get help. I’ll help you. There are others who can help you.” Like the sheriff. As she said the words, Serena realized Ellen had tuned her out, her gaze now on her husband.
“I have to go. Thank you for the coffee, Serena. It was really nice.” Then Ellen got up and walked over to Dan. He looked at Serena and grinned, as if triumphant. Then he gave her a two-finger salute, wrapped his arm tightly around Ellen’s waist and led her off.
In his place, Serena found herself gazing into Cole’s blue, blue eyes. Her breath caught, her heart raced and she needed everything she had in her to pull her eyes from his.
That was when she knew she’d been lying to herself. She hadn’t put the past behind her at all.
CHAPTER THREE
COLE GRITTED HIS TEETH and steeled his resolve. But he still felt as though a roll of barbed wire was twisting in his gut.
He knew what Dan Fletcher was capable of and had immediately felt protective of Ellen, who had been the only kid in the school to come to Cole’s aid when some of her friends were picking on him. Ellen and Celine were first cousins, and they’d been as close as sisters. He sighed. One more person whose life had been affected by his reckless actions.
If he’d only stopped to think…
Swamped by guilt, he reached down to get a poster to tack onto the canvas behind him. Because of that one horrible night, that one idiotic, teenage chip-on-his-shoulder decision, he’d lost everything. To even think of his own losses was unconscionable, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.
During the year he’d spent in jail, and afterward while living in Illinois, Nevada and California, wherever he’d been with his job, he’d done a lot of soul-searching. He’d tried to become a better person, donating both time and money to charities and causes to help disadvantaged teens. Once, he’d been involved with MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and through them, had talked to students about how one decision made under the influence of alcohol could ruin so many lives.
But not until he’d come home to help his mom had he realized how much he needed to face the people he’d hurt—and in some way to make it up to them.
As if he ever could.
Karl and Marley Masterson had lost their only child. Celine had been one of Serena’s childhood friends and Ryan’s girlfriend. She’d had a bright future. But because of him, Celine was dead and Serena’s brother had been through years of pain and suffering. For all intents and purposes, Cole’s mother had lost her son, too. And the list just went on and on.
And to almost everyone, the year Cole had spent in jail hadn’t been long enough.
Today, for just a moment, when Serena’s eyes caught his, he’d felt as if she’d looked into his soul and hated what she’d seen. He’d wanted to turn away, but he couldn’t have dragged his gaze from her if someone had been shooting at him.
Thankfully, she’d averted her eyes. But his heart still thumped painfully against his ribs because she had. He knew what people thought of him, but the contempt hurt worse coming from Serena.
“No one wants you here, Germaine,” someone suddenly said from somewhere on his left. He turned and saw Dan Fletcher walking toward him sans wife. Dan’s military-short hair had grayed a little over the years, but the hard dark eyes were still the same. “Why don’t you just leave now and be done with it.”
Blood rushed hot through Cole’s veins. His first instinct was to punch the guy, but he held back. Instead, he pulled together his reserves, smiled and said evenly, “I like it here.” He crossed his arms and spread his feet. “I like it a lot. What I don’t like are guys who beat up on women because it makes them feel more powerful, when, in fact, they’re just too chicken to take on someone who’s equal.”
Dan stood there immobile for a moment, his expression blank, as if he hadn’t realized what Cole had said. Then his face turned beet red. Veins bulged in his neck. Sputtering, he raised a fist. Cole squared his shoulders. Dan snarled, then shoved a finger in Cole’s face. “Watch your back, Germaine. Don’t sleep too deep at night.”
Standing his ground, Cole said simply, “Duly noted.”
Rage still in his eyes, Dan whirled, as if looking for someone else to punch, then faced Cole again. After he sputtered some more, he growled through his teeth and stomped off.
Cole plastered on a smile and started to greet the half-dozen gawking tourists who seemed to be waiting to see what else might happen, as if they were viewing some kind of reality show.
When one of the bands onstage at the end of the street began to play, Cole heaved a sigh of relief. Music always helped him get his mind on other things. Things that didn’t relate to how much some people might want him gone. Things that didn’t relate to Serena and how much he wanted to talk to her. Touch her. Kiss her. A fantasy that died.
No, he didn’t want to think about any of that, and yet, he couldn’t think of anything else.
THE REST OF SERENA’S DAY passed without incident. She had been so busy she’d had to flag down Peter, of the high-school students who worked at the café once in a while, to help her ring up the sales. Ryan assisted her sometimes, but lately he’d disappeared whenever she needed him. But between her and Peter, they’d managed, and she’d loved watching all the people file by. A couple of guys wearing shirts with the name of a rock band came up and asked about Ryan
. She didn’t know how Ryan knew them, but figured they were in town for the festival or might even be musicians. Ryan had played the guitar in high school and once had visions of forming his own band, so maybe that was how they’d met, because he still liked to hang with the local musicians.
“How long do you want me to stay?” Peter asked when the number of customers started to slow.
It was 6:00 p.m. and getting dark. Serena didn’t stay open late, as many of the booths did, because coffee drinks didn’t sell well in the evenings; beer was the preferred beverage. “We’re over the rush, so go ahead and leave,” she said. “Will you be at the festival for a couple of hours, just in case?”
“Yeah, I’ll be hanging out by the music.” Serena gave Peter his money and told him she’d call him on his cell if she needed him again.
An hour later, as she was beginning to close up, Tori appeared.
“Where are the pups?” Serena inquired. She’d spent a lot of time babysitting Tori’s golden retrievers, Bruno and Cleo, before her friend had met the love of her life, Lincoln Crusoe, and he’d moved in with her. “I haven’t seen them in forever.”
“Linc dropped them off at Animal Farm before he drove over here. I want them to get used to the place so when we go to Paris later this month, they’ll be fine.”
“Paris?”
“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you?”
Serena’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly caught herself. “That’s…wonderful. When did all this happen?” It used to be that when something important occurred in her friend’s life, Serena was the first to know. But since Tori had fallen in love, all that had changed.
“We only made the decision a couple of days ago. Linc has decided to go to law school and finish the degree he’d started years ago, so we figured it would be wise to take a trip now, before he gets too busy studying.”
“Oh.” That made sense. “So, why are you leaving the dogs with Travis? You always leave them with me.”
