Resisting Love

by Kat Bellemore

  Jules snorted and waved a hand in the air, like her sister was crazy. “Of course he is.”

  Fine, if it helped Jules sleep better at night to think that everything was perfect between her and Isaac, Leanne would let her sister keep on dreaming. She reached for a helmet that sat on a shelf above her, but she paused just before touching it. The helmet was encased with dust an inch thick, which didn’t speak to the last time someone had ridden a bike around here but to how often people actually wore helmets in Starlight Ridge. She had to remind herself that she was back home, in a town where everything went so slowly, there hadn’t been a traffic accident in four years.

  Leaving the helmet where it was, Leanne placed her purse in a basket hanging on the front, then swung a leg over the bike and pushed off. She gave Jules a little wave over her shoulder. The ride was a lot smoother now that the tires had been filled, and once she started down the hill that led into town, she didn’t even have to pedal. The sea breeze swept through her hair and she closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of finally being home. It hadn’t been the homecoming she’d expected—or wanted—but right here, at this moment, she knew this was where she was meant to be. Starlight Ridge might be small, but everyone who lived there had a purpose. Without each—

  Her thoughts fell by the wayside as she felt her bike slam into something, the handlebars burying into her stomach. Leanne’s eyes popped open, revealing that she was now flying over the handlebars and would soon be face-planting into the pavement. Leanne released the handles, bringing her arms up to brace herself for impact. The ground came at her as if in slow motion, mocking her with the inevitable, until she finally crashed into it. The drama wasn’t over yet, not until she’d rolled a few times before coming to a stop in some vegetation that grew alongside the road.

  Ow.

  Leanne lay on her back, staring up at the sky. Pain coursed through her body, and she had no desire to make it worse, so she just stayed like that, stretched out on the ground. If anyone had been passing by at that moment, they’d probably have thought she was dead.

  After several minutes, though, she struggled to sit up, not really wanting to live the rest of her life out there on the side of the road. Little bits of dirt and gravel had embedded themselves in her arms and proved to be quite resilient when she attempted to clean them out. “You think you found a new home, don’t you?” She grimaced as she moved to stand up, pretty sure that her arms weren’t the only things that were torn up. If she could just move her bike from where it lay in the middle of the road, she could get to the medical clinic on the next street.

  When Leanne turned to grab it, however, she realized the bike was in worse shape than she was. A large rock had been the source of its demise—something Leanne would have known if she’d kept her eyes open while riding—and it had bent the bike frame to the point where she wouldn’t be riding it any time soon. She doubted she’d even be able to push it home.

  It took some major teeth clenching and positive affirmations to get through the pain—You can do this, Leanne. You’ve done hard things before. Like eating pickles. Remember when you ate the tuna fish sandwich that Fredrick offered you, even though it had pickles in it?—but she managed to drag the bike to the side of the road.

  Her breaths came out as gasps, and she reached into her pocket for her phone. Jules could come pick her up, though the good deed would be accompanied by well-deserved mocking. Except her pocket was flat—no phone. Oh yeah, it had been in her purse. Her head whipped toward the smashed—and empty—bike basket, then toward the road as she searched for any sign that her purse might have flown out in the chaos of the crash. It wasn’t there. Maybe it was along the side of the road in the bushes.

  A couple of minutes later, though, she was still empty-handed.

  Great. Leanne cradled her arms as she took a minute to reassess if she’d make it to the medical clinic. Better that than having to go uphill to get home.

  All she had to do was walk one street over.

  One step. One and a half steps. Two steps. Two and a half steps.

  Yeah, this was going to take a while.

  It was on Leanne’s third step that she heard a car approaching. She hadn’t even had time to turn around when she heard the crunch of tires on gravel, like the car had stopped too quickly. A door opened, and then Isaac appeared next to Leanne.

  “What happened to you?” he asked, his brows furrowed as his gaze settled on the bike. “Did someone hit you?”

  Leanne didn’t know what she was more startled by, that Isaac was talking to her or that he actually sounded concerned. “N-no,” she managed to say. “It was my own stupidity at fault here.” She hated how her voice shook.

  “I’m taking you to the clinic and then I’ll come back for your bike.” Isaac glanced around, like he was looking for something. “Where’s your helmet?”

  Um… How could she put this so it didn’t make her seem dumber than she already felt? “I… Well, you see…our helmet hadn’t been used for so long, it had all this dust…and no one in town uses them anyway…”

  “You didn’t wear one.”

  Leanne hesitated. “No, I didn’t wear one.”

  Isaac was quiet for a moment, though his expression had softened. “You’ve always liked learning things the hard way, haven’t you?”

  “As you know, I’m a glutton for punishment.” That had been her motto as far back as she could remember, and Isaac had finished her statement with her, followed by a small laugh.

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  It was nice to hear his laugh again, even if it had been brief. But it had also hurt, because that laugh belonged to someone who was no longer hers—someone she’d given up.

  Isaac seemed to notice her arms for the first time, and the gravel that was embedded in them. He reached out to touch them, stopping just before contact, and his lips formed an O. “That looks like it hurts.”

  Leanne didn’t respond, but instead watched, amazed, as Isaac ran over to an old, gray car and opened the passenger door for her. She could almost pretend it was like old times. Almost. “You got a car?”

  Isaac froze, his hand still on the open door. Was that embarrassment that had just flitted across his face? “It’s Caleb’s,” he finally said.

  That was weird.

  Why was Isaac borrowing a car? He didn’t explain further, and Leanne was in no position to pull more information from him. She straightened her shoulders the best she could and was tempted to tell him she’d walk to the clinic.

  It would have been more convincing if she hadn’t let out a whimper of pain after the first step.

  Isaac hurried to her side. “Where does it hurt?”

  The pain radiated through every limb, and it was difficult to pinpoint the origin. “My arms and shoulders. And my legs, I think. A little bit of my back as well.”

  His lips quirked up at the corners. “So…everywhere?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  Isaac moved to place an arm around her waist, but paused. “May I?”

  Leanne wasn’t sure what he was asking permission to do, but it seemed he wanted to help, so she gave a slight nod.

  He wound his arm around her. “Tell me if this hurts.” And then he lifted her off the ground, cradling her. Her breaths stalled. “Is this okay?” he asked, his tone gentle. His lips were so close, his breath tickled her cheek.

  “I—” Her brain was mush. It couldn’t focus on anything but the way his arms held her tight. Not many people knew what kind of muscles that man had, but she hadn’t forgotten. And she could feel them now, through his shirt.

  What was the question?

  “Does this make it hurt worse?” he prompted.

  Oh, yeah. “No, it’s okay,” she squeaked out.

  Isaac walked over to the car and gently placed her on the seat. It had been like she didn’t weigh anything at all—no different than carrying a child. Had he grown even stronger while she’d been away? J
udging by the feel of his muscles, it was likely. She tucked in her feet and he shut the door, then hurried to the driver’s side.

  “First stop, the medical clinic,” she said.

  Isaac gave her a side glance, an eyebrow raised. “What’s the second stop?”

  “Starlight Chocolate Confections, of course. That was the reason I was riding my bike to town in the first place.” Leanne gave him a look that said he should have known. But then a brilliant idea hit her. “Wait, should that be the first stop? So the truffles can get me through whatever it is the good doc has to do?”

  Isaac seemed to be stifling a smile as he once again faced forward and turned the key. “Maybe the good doc should come first. Considering you can barely walk at the moment.”

  It should have been the obvious choice, of course, but Leanne hadn’t eaten Adeline’s truffles in two years, and she hadn’t been able to find any in LA that could even compare. “I know you’re right, but a heart wants what a heart wants.”

  “You’ll have plenty of time for truffles,” Isaac said, driving down the street and then turning a corner. “And I bet that Adeline will even give you a free box as a welcome home gift.”

  Ooh, Leanne hadn’t even considered that.

  Isaac pulled in front of a small building that had a large white sign in front that simply said Clinic, accompanied by a red cross. “Give me a call when you’re done, and I can take you to Adeline’s place.”

  “You aren’t coming in?” she asked. The old Isaac wouldn’t have left her side until he knew everything was okay.

  What looked like shame crossed his face, and he turned from her, looking out his window toward the clinic. “I think it would be best if I didn’t.”

  “Yeah, of course. I understand.” Except, she didn’t understand. Not at all. Isaac was obviously concerned about her, but he was still being careful to keep her at arm’s length, not allowing her to get too close.

  Leanne watched as he drove away, his gaze straight ahead, not even a glance in his side-view mirror.

  And that hurt worse than any road rash ever could.

  9

  Isaac clenched the steering wheel, willing himself to not look back. If he did, he’d see Leanne hobbling toward the front door of the clinic, her features scrunched up in discomfort. And then he’d turn around and go back. And stay with her. Hold her hand to help her through it.

  That was something he couldn’t allow himself to do. Everyone in town was already planning their non-existent wedding, and if Dr. Bennion, AKA Patty, saw them together like that—well, there would be no stopping the rumors then.

  Even as he thought it, his stomach clenched up, though not because of the threat of rumors. It was because this wasn’t the kind of person he was. He pressed his foot on the brake and pulled over. Releasing a sigh, he hung his head. What was more important, the rumors or Leanne? Yes, he was still hurt by her actions. And angry. But staying with her was the right thing to do.

  Besides, he’d just gotten back from a therapy appointment in the city, and he’d talked the full hour about Leanne. Why go to the trouble if he wasn’t going to take his therapist’s advice and work to let the bitterness go? Isaac hadn’t been sure that was possible, but his therapist had given him the assignment of trying to see the world as Leanne did. Walk a day in her shoes, so to speak.

  Isaac had told his therapist that he didn’t think he’d look very good in her red high heels—his therapist hadn’t found the humor in it—but had said he’d try.

  The problem was, Isaac had no idea how she viewed the world anymore. He didn’t know what she’d experienced in the past two years and how it had changed her. When he had seen her on the side of the road, though, none of that had mattered. All he had known was that she was in trouble, her bike all bent and her body scratched up, and she’d needed help.

  Maybe he couldn’t be with her forever like he’d planned, but he could be there for her today.

  He turned the car around and pulled back up in front of the clinic. Leanne wasn’t out front anymore, having already made her way inside. Isaac started second-guessing himself. Maybe she was fine—she had a doctor. She didn’t need Isaac. What could he do, other than sit with her?

  He closed his eyes, imagining the world through Leanne’s eyes, per his therapist’s directions. Even though she knew the doctor well, it would be of comfort to have someone else there. Leanne was likely not the only patient, and she’d be alone for some of the time.

  Well, that settled that, though he’d already made the decision when he’d driven back to the clinic. Isaac had just wanted some confirmation—something to give him the strength he needed to walk into the clinic and seek Leanne out. It wasn’t easy when he’d been working so hard to avoid her.

  Isaac jumped out of the car and quickly walked into the clinic, not giving himself another chance to back out. His gaze swept the small waiting room. Leanne was sitting next to an aquarium that had several fish swimming through Finding Nemo themed decorations. She was filling out paperwork on a clipboard, her dark hair falling over one shoulder. Relief swept over him when he saw that no one else was in the waiting room. No one to make things awkward.

  As Isaac approached her, he noticed that her hand moved slowly as she tried to fill out all the information. It must have been painful just trying to write. “Can I do that for you?” he asked.

  Leanne started, her gaze snapping up and meeting his. “I…um…” She looked back down at her hand that held the pen, like she was getting its opinion on how long it thought it could hold out. She looked back up and gave him a tired smile. “Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you. I tried to convince Patty that she didn’t need all of this information—she’s known me my entire life.”

  “Looks like it didn’t work,” he said, his lips quirking up.

  She sighed. “No. Some nonsense about needing to update records, since it’s been so long since I’ve been here.”

  He sat down next to her and took the clipboard and pen, his fingers grazing hers in the process. His heart leaped at the unexpected touch, and his hand shot backward, the pen flying from his grasp and landing across the room, next to the front desk. He hurried over to grab the pen.

  When he returned to where he had been sitting, Leanne was grinning, her expression bright. Just how he remembered it. His gaze dropped to the forms in front of him. Leanne had already filled out her name, but that was as far as she’d gotten.

  Isaac quickly filled in her birth date, known allergies (none), and her medical history. He laid down the pen and held out a hand. “If you’ll give me your insurance card, I can take this up for you.” He was startled to find that she was staring at him, her lips partly opened. “What?” he asked, a sudden feeling of awkwardness settling over him. He shifted under her gaze.

  “You just filled out things that I doubt my own mother remembers.”

  Oh.

  “I’m sure she—” He cut off when Leanne started shaking her head.

  “Just because she’s been there for all of my life’s major events, it doesn’t mean she remembers them in the amount of detail you just included on that sheet.”

  Isaac glanced down. He knew the exact date that Leanne had had her tonsils out. But that was only because he was supposed to take her to a sweetheart’s dance at school that evening, and they’d had to postpone. They had their own dance in his backyard a couple of months later.

  And he only knew the date that she’d broken her toe because it had been his couch that had done the honors, and it had happened to be the seventh anniversary of their first kiss.

  “Um…” Isaac wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Lucky guess?”

  Leanne snorted, obviously thinking his explanation was as lame as he did. She nodded to the form he was filling out. “I don’t have my insurance card on me; I lost my purse somewhere when I crashed the bike. But you probably don’t need to do that section. Patty should still have that information. If she doesn’t, she can just call my folks. My mom has a
copy of the original.”

  Grateful she didn’t push it further, Isaac walked the required forms to the reception desk. It was empty. Patty had a receptionist, but she tended to take the day off more times than not. Today was probably one of those days.

  A small bell sat to his right, and he hit it a couple of times. It took a moment for Patty to walk in from the back. “Hold your britches,” she said as she approached. When she saw it was Isaac, her eyes lit up. “I wondered when you’d show up.”

  Isaac hesitated. “You did?” He always tried to patch up his own scrapes and only came to the clinic when there was no other option. Surfing wasn’t exactly a risk-free sport.

  “Of course. If Leanne is here, you’re never far behind.” Patty held a hand out, and Isaac gave her the clipboard. “It’s nice to have her back, isn’t it?”

  He wasn’t sure what the answer was, having gone back and forth on the issue so many times, he felt dizzy. He settled for a polite smile.

  It seemed to be answer enough, and Patty fed the filled-out forms into a scanner. “You got your insurance card, honey?” she called across the waiting room.

  “Lost it in the bike accident,” Leanne called back.

  Patty shook her head. “Poor girl. I probably have the copy of the original on file.” She hopped on the computer to look for it. “When will you be sending out announcements?”

  Isaac swallowed hard. “Announcements?” His voice came out as a squeak, and he considered just turning around and running.

  “I heard a rumor that you were waiting until April, but I personally think spring weddings are overrated. Bundle up a little and have a holiday-themed wedding—that’s what I would do.” Patty squinted at her computer, then abruptly slapped a hand down on the desk. “There it is. I knew I had saved it somewhere.” She threw a smile at Isaac, like he should also be relishing her victory. “She’s good to go, so just give me a minute and I’ll take you two back.”

  Isaac returned the smile, but as soon as Patty turned away, it dipped. Isaac knew that Leanne had heard every word of that conversation, and his stomach felt as if it had slid into his shoes. How was he going to walk across the room, like they didn’t both know that the entire town was planning on them getting married? They were barely on speaking terms, let alone on wedding terms.