Prologue
13 years prior
While playing catch with the guys
before school started, Blake Darwood took a few steps back anticipating Ulfred
Miller was going to over throw the ball. He didn’t realize until the ball
soared in the air that he would need to move a few more steps back.
“Hey, Blake! Look out behind
you.”
Since Blake was not paying attention to where
he was jogging, he didn’t have time to stop before he collided into Veronica Klark.
Her smaller body was no match for his almost six foot frame. The impact alone
sent her tumbling to the ground, resulting in Blake falling over her and onto
her arm. Veronica let out a sharp gasp and struggled to get up from under Blake.
She squirmed underneath him, and Blake rolled to his side. Sitting up on the
grass, he looked over at Veronica who was now holding her right arm.
“Ow, ow, ow,” She cried, before
biting down on her bottom lip.
“Gee, I’m sorry. Are you okay? I
didn’t see you there.”
“Well, that’s for sure. Ow,” She
whimpered. “I think my arm is broken.”
Blake gave her a skeptic look
before responding.
“Oh, come on, you didn’t fall on
it that hard.”
“No, idiot, you fell on it. You
really need to watch where you’re going.”
As she tried to stand, Veronica
clutched her arm close to her body to keep the pain from jolting through
it.
“Hey, I said I’m sorry. Let me
help you to the nurse.”
“No! I don’t need your help. I
think you’ve done enough.”
With that, Veronica turned
stiffly and stomped off to the nurse’s office before classes started. While Blake
watched Veronica enter the building, Miller moved from across the yard and
picked up the ball.
“Don’t worry about it, man. You
know how girls are. I’m sure she’ll be in class before the bell rings. Freshmen
are nothing but babies anyways. Come on, let’s go.”
Blake’s gut twisted with the worry that he may
have broken her arm. Still, he tried to put the guilt aside and followed Miller
into school.
As the day went on, Blake didn’t
see Veronica in the halls. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact
that he was a junior and she was a freshman. Other than lunch, each class
stayed in their designated area.
After school, all his worrying
came to a head when he walked out the front doors to see his parents waiting
for him. Mayor Richard Darwood leaned against the hood of the family car with
his arms crossed, and his mother, Carol Darwood sat in the front seat looking
straight ahead. Lowering his head, Blake climbed in the back seat of the car without
saying a single word. When his father slid in the car and pulled away from the
curb, his mother turned and spoke to him in a gentle voice.
“You want to tell us what
happened, son? We received a call from a pretty upset father today.”
“It was an accident. I told her I was sorry.”
Looking at him in the rearview mirror, his
father shook his head.
“I thought I taught you better
than that. I would have at least expected you to make sure she was all right.”
Leaning his head back on the leather seat,
Blake closed his eyes as he pleaded his case. “I tried, but she was too upset.
I didn’t want to make it worse.”
“Well, here’s what we’re going to do. The
three of us are going to go over to the Klarks’ house. Your mother and I are
going to talk with the Klarks, and I want you to apologize again to the girl
and see if there is anything you can do to make up for your rudeness.”
“Yes, sir.”
When they arrived at the house,
the Darwoods were met by a burly African-American man. He stood at the front
door with his arms behind his back as if he was standing at-ease and waiting
for an assignment from his commander. Eugene Klark could make anyone think
twice about crossing him. As the Darwoods walked up the front steps, Eugene
opened the screen door.
“Mayor, Mrs. Darwood.” With a
slight nod, he welcomed them into his home. Blake followed his parents in, but avoided
making eye contact with Veronica’s father.
Blake’s mother seemed the least
intimidated by Eugene.
“Thank you, Mr. Klark. You have a wonderful
home. How’s your daughter?”
“Please call me Eugene and thank
you. Won’t you please have a seat?”
Eugene ushered the Darwoods into
the living room where they were met by Darlene Klark. She entered from the
kitchen with a pitcher of lemonade and cups on a tray.
“Hello,” Darlene gave a warm
greeting and placed the refreshments on the coffee table in front of the guests.
She then joined her husband as he sat. She was situating herself when she
noticed Blake still standing in the doorway. She smiled.
“Sweetie, if you’d like to go see
Veronica that would be fine. She’s upstairs, the second door on the right.
“Yes, Mrs. Klark.”
Turning to find the stairs, Blake
wondered what he was going to say to Veronica when he saw her. He already told
her he was sorry. What more could I say? Blake
stopped at the door with purple and pink block letters spelling out Veronica’s
name. He knocked once. Since she didn’t respond, he started to open the door
slowly. With the door halfway open, he peeped in. Blake saw that she had
headphones on and was reading a book. He figured she didn’t hear him knock. Standing
patiently in the doorway, he hoped she would notice him soon.
While he stood there, he stared
at her in astonishment. He never realized how pretty she was. Yes, he had seen
her around town and school before. In the gym locker room, the guys liked to
talk about the good looking girls in school, and her name came up a few times.
But this was the first time he had really looked at her. His heart rate quicken,
and his palms became sweaty. Blake tried to wipe them on his jeans. He’d never
reacted that way from looking at a girl. His worries shifted from ‘how do I say
sorry again’ to ‘will I even be able to speak to her’. He felt as if he had
peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Feeling a presence in the room,
Veronica looked up from her book. The moment she saw Blake looming in the door
way, she scowled. Putting her book down and yanking her headphones off with her
good arm, she tossed them aside.
“What do you want? Are you here
to break my other arm too?”
Her voice came out with a sharp
crack. Blake flinched from the harshness of her tone. Still, he stepped further
into the room. The closer he moved to her pretty face, the harder Blake found
it to be upset with her snippy remark. He was too enthralled by her looks, to
let her snide words send him running.
“No, I’m not here to break bones.
It was an accident this morning, and you know that. I told you I was sorry. How
are you feeling?”
The kindness in his voice did little to warm
Veronica’s heart.
“My arm hurts. How do you think
I’m doing?”
Blake smiled down at her when he reached the side of her bed.
“If it makes you feel any better,
your parents called mine. I’m sure I’ll be grounded for the rest of my life,
and I’ll probably get some lecture about how the mayor’s family is supposed to
act in public.”
Chuckling to himself, he knew it wouldn’t be
the first or last time he and his brother would hear that speech. Veronica
didn’t seem to catch the inside joke, she sighed and pursed her lips together.
Blake tried hard to keep a straight face. He knew she was still mad at him, but
he thought the face she was making was cute.
“You still didn’t answer my
question. What do you want?”
“I think I did. I said I came to
see how you were doing. I also came to see if there was anything I could do for
you.”
Veronica’s lips pulled into a
sneer.
“Nope, I think I’m all set.”
She then carefully patted her cast before
reaching to put her headphones back on. Without thinking, Blake lifted his hand
and prevented her from placing the earpieces on all the way.
“Are you dismissing me?” He gave
her a cocky smile. He was enjoying their banter. “I was kind of hoping we could
talk. I’m not sure how long our parents plan on visiting, but I would rather not
go back down there until they’re done.”
Rolling her eyes, Veronica
dropped her headphones back on her lap. Blake sensed she was trying to be nice,
and realized he didn’t want to go away. She pointed to the chair next to her
closet.
“Fine, have a seat.”
Veronica was surprised by how striking
Blake was. After he turned the chair to face her, she found it hard not to
stare at him. He had piercing blue eyes and a very handsome face. Prior to that
moment, she never really looked at Blake Darwood. He was someone she knew would
never give her a second glance. Blake could have anyone he wanted. He always
had a girl hanging on his arm. Staring at him, she felt her heart beat quicken.
She feared she was blushing, and hoped he didn’t notice. She wondered how it
was possible that just before she looked him in his eyes, she was so upset with
him over breaking her arm. However, the moment their eyes met, all that anger
went away. Veronica felt as if her mouth was stuck together with laffy taffy. What is wrong with me? Before he sat
down in the chair, she wanted nothing more than for him to leave her alone. Now,
she didn’t want him to leave at all. Her cheeks grew hotter. Trying to breathe
normally, she leaned back into her pillows.
“So what do you want to talk
about?” She questioned, while pulling in deep, even breaths.
*
When the parents came to check on
them, they were both laughing and getting along like they were the best of
friends.
“Are you ready to go home, son?” Seeing
his parents standing in the doorway, Blake’s face dropped. Sighing, he stood
and put the chair back against the wall.
“I guess so.” He then turned to look
back at Veronica. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled back at him. “Okay, goodnight.”
As he headed for the door, his
dad gave him a puzzled look.
“Tomorrow? You’re coming back
tomorrow?”
“Yes, I told Veronica that I would bring her
homework over. The doctor wants her to stay out of school for the rest of the
week.”
After the Darwoods said their
goodbyes to the Klarks, they headed home.
The following day Blake couldn’t
wait to leave school, so he could drop Veronica’s homework off. He could do
nothing but think about her all day. The night before, once he was home and
getting ready for bed he thought of a plan to ask her out, and dropping her
homework off would be the best time to put his plan into motion. Blake stopped
by Mrs. Middlerow’s Flower Shop on the way and he picked out a white rose. Once
at the Klark’s house, Mrs. Klark let him in. Veronica wasn’t in her room like
the day before. Today, she was sitting under a blanket in the living room. Her
face lit up when he walked in the room. Blake hoped it was from seeing him and
not from the rose. Seeing the gift, Mrs. Klark brought a small vase to place the
rose in. After setting the flower aside, Darlene left the room. Blake waited
until they were alone before he spoke.
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m okay. I decided not to take
any more of those pain pills, they made me feel weird.”
Looking over at her rose, Veronica smiled
again.
“Thank you for the rose. It’s beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. I can’t stay long;
my dad told me I had to come straight home after dropping your homework off.”
He gave her a sheepish grin, and she laughed
out loud.
“I’m sorry. So he ended up
grounding you? If you like, I can call and tell him it was an accident and I
forgive you.”
With a simple gesture of his
wrist, Blake brushed her offer aside.
“It’s not so bad and it’s only
for this week. Well, having to wash the dishes for the next two weeks sucks,
but besides that, I just have to come straight home after school for the next
week.”
Hesitating for a moment, Blake contemplated if
he would ask her out or not. But when she looked up at him with her light brown
eyes, he knew he had to at least try.
“Veronica, I was wondering, once
I’m off of punishment and when you’re feeling up to it, maybe we could go out.
You know like ‘I’m sorry for breaking your arm kind of thing’.”
“Like a date?”
“Well, I guess you could call it
that.”
“Oh.”
Blake watched as Veronica thought about his
question. He wasn’t sure what ‘oh’ meant. She did like him, didn’t she?
“I think you’re going to have to ask my dad
first. I’ve never gone on a date before.”
That made him feel a little less
confident in himself, but Blake said his goodbyes and headed out to the garage
where Mr. Klark was working on his car.
“Hi, Mr. Klark. How are you
today?”
Standing up from the car, Blake took a step
back from the man who towered over him.
“I’m good, Blake. Thank you for dropping
Veronica’s homework off.”
“Not a problem. I’m heading home,
but I wanted to ask you something first.”
“Sure.”
“Well, I was kind of wondering if
once Veronica is feeling up to it and I’m not grounded anymore, if I could take
her out? You know as an ‘I’m sorry kind of thing’.”
Mr. Klark looked unhappy with
Blake’s request, and he pondered the question for a few moments.
“That sounds more like a date.
You know Veronica is only fifteen.”
“Yes, sir, I know. I promise not
to have her out too late.”
Letting out a snort at Blake’s adamancy,
he turned to go back to working on his car.
“I’ll have to think about it. Come
back and we’ll talk once you’re off of punishment.”
“All right, sir. Thank you. Have
a good night.”
A year and a half later
On top of Hideaway Hill, the spot
where they shared their first kiss, Blake and Veronica waited for the Memorial
Day fireworks to start. It was the perfect location. You could see the whole
park, but no one could see you. Blake claimed the hill to be his favorite spot
in all of town. He could spend hours up there thinking, and no one ever came to
bother him. It also happened to be the most practical place to view the
fireworks. Since it was still early in the year, a slight chill hung in the
air. He and Veronica were wrapped in a blanket passing the time by kissing. It
was a little past dusk and the fireworks were going to start at any minute. Moving
his hand over her soft skin, Blake broke from their kiss and his lips began to
glide down her neck.
“Blake?”
Veronica’s voice came out low and raspy as she
sucked in a breath of air. Her velvety voice sounded like music to his ears,
but he knew what she was about to say.
“I know, sorry. I’ll stop.”
Blake began to pull his hand away. Veronica
reached for it and threaded her fingers with his. They were close enough so
that he could see her smiling at him. Her lips, which glistened, looked a
little swollen from their kissing.
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
Leaning forward, she kissed him softly on the
lips. Blake felt his heart beat faster from her touch. He brought his free hand
up and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.
“What is it, Vee?”
“I want to.”
He gave her a perplexed look as
he repeated what she said.
“You want to…” Realizing what she
meant, his blood raced.
“Are you sure? I told you we can
wait.”
Giving Blake a smile that took his breath away,
Veronica nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She then leaned in to kiss his lips again. Her
lips felt so smooth against his, he let a low moan slip from his mouth.
“I love you, Blake.”
“I love you too, Vee.”
As the fireworks began to illuminate
the sky above them, Blake and Veronica made love for the first time on Hideaway
Hill.
Chapter
1
Present day
Walking down the familiar street,
Veronica noted some of the changes that had occurred to Main Street since the
last time she traveled the main road of her home town. It was dusk, but she
didn’t feel the need to hurry to get to her next location. No, here she could
honestly say she felt much safer walking alone at this time of night. What
could really go wrong? She was in the small town of Surpatch, Iowa. It was the
place she called home as a child, and the place she was to call home again,
after being away for so many years. Thinking of everything that changed since
she left her safe place brought a shiver to her, but she quickly pushed those
awful memories out of her mind. She promised herself that this would be a fresh
start; the past was the past, and as her father used to say, ‘there is no point
in crying over something that couldn’t be changed’.
She came to a stop in front of
Gilligan’s Watering Hole. She had another flood of memories. When she was growing
up, Gilligan’s by day was a place the locals came for lunch. After school, it
was a teenage hang out. At dinner time, it was the place to go to grab a bite
to eat with either family or friends. And on the weekends, the adults hung out,
danced and drank after a long work week. The building took a rather large portion
of the street block. Veronica could hear the laughter and excitement coming
through the walls. She and Arthur had just moved back into her parent’s old
house, and they decided to go out for dinner. To beat the dinner rush, Veronica
decided she would make her way to Gilligan’s while Arthur unpacked a few more
boxes. Although, she didn’t see anyone that she recognized, yet, she knew most
of the locals had already spread the word that she was moving back home. In
small towns like Surpatch, there are few secrets. It had taken a little
convincing on her part to get Arthur to come with her. He wasn’t the biggest
fan of small towns, and when he learned the location of Surpatch, he really had
his doubts. Sitting between Webster City, Iowa and Kamrar, Iowa, Surpatch is
the second biggest town in the Hamilton County area. The population had doubled
in the last three decades, but with a little more than two thousand people
populating the town, it was still rather small. After she accepted the job as
assistant librarian, she knew word of her homecoming would spread fast.
Veronica pulled the door to
Gilligan’s open and was met by the overwhelmingly delicious smelling food. It
made her stomach growl in anticipation. As she stepped through the door, she
noted that not much had changed. The floor was still a dark wood with deep
scuffs from the weekend dancing. The old arcade video games were still in the
corner along with two dart boards and a pool table. The black vinyl stools that
stretched along the width of the eighteen foot counter seemed to be in the same
condition. To the right, the booths where she and her family sat when she was a
child, and where her friends hung out when she was in high school, seemed to be
the only thing that was different. The wooden benches were replaced with black
cushioned high back benches. She remembered how after sitting on the old ones
for more than an hour, one’s butt would go numb. The rest of the room was filled
with bar chairs and mini tables.
Scanning the room, she noticed as
heads began to pop up and watch her enter the building. The loud talking began
to quiet to mumbles as the patrons confirmed her suspicions. Some waved as she
walked further into the Watering Hole. Waving back to those she recognized, she
smiled. When her sight fell on that familiar face, her smile faulted. Veronica
stopped in the middle of the room and stared into those blue eyes, the eyes
that she had once loved, and the eyes that had eventually been the deciding
factor for her to flee the small town. Veronica knew it would happen sooner or
later. She just hoped it wouldn’t have to happen her first night back in town. Off
to the right with two other individuals sat Blake Darwood. She could tell by
the look on his face that he was not surprised to see her. She willed her lips
into a faint smile as her feet started to move towards the table, before she
was able to give it a second thought. She would have rather walked the other
way. She hoped no one saw her stop dead in her tracks a few seconds ago. However,
if she was aware of Blake’s presence, everyone else was too.
Surely, in a bigger town it may
seem weird for the mayor to be out having a beer, but not in Surpatch. The
Darwoods had run the town almost since the day it was founded. As a child, it
was Blake’s father, Richard Darwood, who had been mayor, and in the last three
years, it had been Blake. Though he was rather young, he had taken on the task
that the town’s people had happily passed onto him when his father decided to
retire.
Veronica’s feet brought her to a stop in front
of Blake. No one spoke for a moment. It seemed as if they were both too busy
surveying one another. Parker, Blake’s younger brother, broke the silence.
“Hey, Vee! I heard you were
coming back to town. It’s been a long time.”
Breaking eye contact with Blake, Veronica
turned her head ever so slightly to greet Parker, and if memory served her
right, Hayley Mowers.
“Hi, Parker, Hayley. How are
you?” Giving them both a warm handshake, she noticed that they had on matching
wedding bands. Looking at the couple, Veronica could tell they were happy.
Parker, who looked like a younger version of his dad, had brown hair and blue
eyes. He had definitely grown into a nice looking young man. He was only a year
younger than Veronica, but she always thought of him as her younger brother. He
used to follow Blake and her all over town.
“We’re good.”
Parker wrapped his arm around his wife, and
Veronica tried not to laugh as Parker tried to kick his brother under the table
inconspicuously. Leave it to Parker to try to help with the tension in the air.
Blake grunted when his brother’s foot came in contact with his shin. As Blake
stood, he reminded Veronica of why other ladies’ heads would turn when he
entered a room. Standing at six foot one, his shoulders were broad like a
football player, and even though he was in a shirt and tie, she could still see
all of his thick muscles pressing against the fabric. Blake, with his straight
jet black hair, blue eyes, and strong chin could have any woman he wanted. Only
a fool wouldn’t do a double take as he walked by. Reaching out his arms, Blake
stepped forward to embrace Veronica.
“It’s good to see you, Veronica.
Welcome back.”
To any of the on lookers, it
would have appeared to be two friends reuniting, but Veronica could hear the
edge in his voice. She could still hear the hardness and guard he had put in
place all those years ago.
“It’s good to see you too. I see
news travels fast.”
Laughing, Blake took a step back
and sat back in his seat.
“Well, of course it does.”
He looked across the table at his sister-in-law
and Hayley began to blush.
“What? Oh, don’t act like if you
didn’t hear it from me than someone else would have eventually told you.” She
then turned to look at Veronica. “I work at the library too. I don’t think you
saw me when you came for your interview, but once Sherry told me you decided to
take the job, I kind of let it slip to a few other people.” Her blush deepened
as she tried to bury her face in Parker’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. I knew it wouldn’t
take long for the word to spread. It’ll be nice to have a friendly face at
work.”
Behind her, Veronica heard the
door open and close again. She secretly hoped it wasn’t Arthur who had entered.
Although they had been dating for a few years and were now engaged, she failed
to explain the long history she and Blake shared. She was quite relieved the
hug Blake gave her was quick and he was now seated again. She could only imagine
how Arthur would have reacted if he had walked through the door a few moments
before. Walking up behind her, she tried not to jump or wince at the tight hold
Arthur placed on her upper arm.
“There you are. I thought you
would have gotten us a seat by now. Who are your friends?”
She knew it was best not to try
to pull out of his grasp. The less movement she made, the less attention would
hopefully be brought to the ironclad grip that was most likely going to leave a
bruise on her arm later.
“Sorry, darling, I was just
catching up with some old friends.” She tried to ignore the snicker that
flashed on Blake’s lips at the mention of “friends” as she spoke.
“These are the Darwoods. Well, a
few of them at least.”
“Ah, the Darwoods, so you must be
Mayor Blake Darwood. I saw your picture hanging in the town hall on our last
visit. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Letting go of Veronica’s arm, he reached out
to shake Blake’s hand.
“I’m Arthur Stentson, Veronica’s fiancĂ©.”
There was a smugness in his tone,
but Veronica knew that was just the way Arthur talked. He believed that every
man who came in contact with her would fall madly in love with her. He liked to
let others know that she had chosen him and only him.
Although Blake’s eyes showed it
was taking everything in him to restrain himself, his voice came out calm and
cool.
“Arthur, it’s nice to meet you
too, and welcome to our town. This is my brother, Parker and his wife, Hayley.”
As he spoke, Blake never took his
eyes off of Veronica.
“Would you like to join us?”
Arthur placed his hand back securely
on Veronica’s arm and shook his head.
“Thank you, but not tonight.
We’ve had a long day. Veronica raved that this would be the best place in town
to grab a bite to eat. We haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping, and
we’ll probably be turning in early tonight.”
As Blake responded his lips
pulled into a tight grin, and Veronica wondered what Blake really wanted to
say.
“Well, if you’re looking for good
food then you are in the right place.”
Blake then turned his attention back to
Veronica and said, “We’ll need to catch up soon, Veronica. Arthur, it was nice
meeting you, and I’m sure I’ll see the both of you around town.”
“Yes, I’m sure we will, Mayor
Darwood. Veronica, shall we?”
Veronica nodded and waved with
her free arm as they turned to find an empty booth.
Blake couldn’t believe it. For the
last forty-five minutes, he had trouble taking his eyes off of the booth where
Veronica and her fiancé sat. Veronica
Klark was the girl that had taken him years to get over. Yes, he had been the
one who finally called it quits after their four year relationship, but he knew
that was where they were headed. Veronica had applied and was accepted to go to
the University of Alabama; he wanted her to attend the Iowa Central Community
College like him. She was the one who chose to leave him. For the last few
months of the relationship, they did nothing but argue. After their last big
fight, weeks before she went away, he knew the break up was imminent. He also
knew he needed to beat her to the punch. He couldn’t let her be the one to
decide when it was over. Before the fatal words could slip from her lips that
hot August afternoon, while they sat in his car, he beat her to it. He remembered
that day so clearly.
“Veronica,
look, this isn’t working out between us.”
She turned towards him with a look of surprise.
As she thought about what he was saying, he watched as a stern look replaced
her look of shock.
“Blake,
what are you talking about?”
He could hear that edgy tone in her voice, but
he pushed forward.
“I’m
just saying, I think it’s time for us to see other people. Truthfully, I’ve had
my eye on a few girls back on my campus. And well, I think it’s time for us to
grow up and move on. The whole high school sweetheart thing was cute and all,
but I’m two years older than you and I should have moved on a while ago. I
would really like to date a more mature woman.”
Blake watched her expression change, he could
see the anger rising. Most girls would have probably cried, but not Veronica.
She never cried. It was some weird thing that her father instilled in her when
she was a child. He had asked her about it plenty of times, yet, she always
gave the same answer. ‘There’s no point in crying over something you can’t fix.’
He was always able to tell when she was close to tears. She would take a deep
breath and close her eyes as if to push the tears back. When she would finally
opened her eyes, she was calm again and her eyes were clear. This time,
however, she seemed a little deflated. Slouching in the seat, she didn’t appear
as confident or mad as she was before she closed her eyes. She turned and
looked out the window, refusing to make eye contact with him.
“Blake,
if that’s the way you feel, then take me home.”
Without saying another word, he turned the hot
car back on, wiped his sweaty hands on his shorts, and drove her home.
He didn’t see her again. A week
or two later he heard that she left for college, and a few months after that,
her parents packed up to move closer to her. They claimed they missed her too
much. Blake decided it was for the best. It hurt like hell that she left him,
but if he and his town weren’t any good for her, then he knew he did the right
thing. But if it was the right thing, why
after nine years is my stomach doing somersaults, and my pulse beating like a
jack hammer in my ears, just by the sight of her? And why do I keep staring at
her booth? Taking another sip of his beer, he replayed her walking through
the door. Being one of the very few African Americans growing up in Surpatch,
Veronica by far was the prettiest. As a teenager, she was beautiful and as an
adult, she was stunning. When she entered Gilligan’s, it seemed as if the whole
room had ceased to exist. As she moved closer, he took in her slender frame. She
stood at five foot six, and her caramel skin seemed to have a glow, like she
had her own personal sun shining on her. Her dark brown hair hung straight down
past her shoulders. The dimple in her right cheek flashed when she smiled, and
her hazel-brown eyes always reminded him of honey.
Though he greeted her as an old
friend, he had a hard time keeping the pain from his voice, the same pain that
tormented him after all these years for doing the right thing. He had always
wondered how he would react if he ever saw her again. He also questioned if
would he know for sure that he was over her. Was the hurt that he felt from her
breaking his heart all those years ago still there? He could honestly say ‘yes’. Why did she move back to Surpatch? And why did she have to bring that
Arthur guy with her? For him, it was nothing more than salt in a wound. Banging
his beer bottle down on the table, he felt Parker jump next to him.
“Are you all right?”
Blake stood up. “Yeah, I just
need some fresh air.” Without looking back at his brother, Blake headed for the
door. Before he was able to make it to the outside, Lindsay strolled in.
“Hey, you! Sorry I’m late. I
needed to drop off the yarn for the blanket Mrs. Campbell is making for Jessa’s
baby shower. What’s wrong? Are you leaving?”
Blake looked down at Lindsay. She was his on again-off again girlfriend.
For the time being, they were back on. He liked to have a date when Parker and
Hayley were out with him. He hated being the odd man out. “Hey, no, nothing’s
wrong. I was just stepping out for fresh air. Want to join me?”
“Sure, let me just put my purse
down.”
Stepping out into the night’s air, Blake took
a deep breath and leaned against the brick wall. Main Street was rather quiet for
such a nice night. He was relieved that no fellow townsmen were walking the
streets. He was in no mood to hold a conversation with any of them. Opening his
eyes as Lindsay exited the building, he looked up at the stars.
“Are you sure everything is okay?”
she asked, as she wrapped her slender arms around his waist, and rested her
head on his chest.
Before he could respond to her
question, the Watering Hole’s door opened and Veronica and Arthur stepped out.
Making a right as soon as they exited, the couple didn’t see Lindsay and Blake
standing off to the left-hand side. Blake bit the inside of his cheek at the
sight of Arthur sliding his arm around Veronica, as the couple headed towards
the house she once shared with her parents, and now shared with him.
“Is that Veronica Klark? I heard she
was moving back to town. I-oh. Now I understand.”
Lindsay pulled herself from Blake and gazed up
to meet his stare.
“Veronica. That has you in this mood.”
It was more of a statement than a question;
however, Blake still felt the need to answer. “It’s not what...” Lindsay put
her hand up and Blake stopped talking.
“Look, I get it. I’ll be inside if you want to
join us in a little while.”
Blake
hung his head in shame as he watched Lindsay step back inside. He knew she
wasn’t mad, just a little hurt. He tasted blood in his mouth from biting the
inside of his cheek. With a quick glance at the Watering Hole’s door, he pushed
himself off the wall and headed towards his house. It was the end of the fiscal
year, and he knew he still needed to work on the budgets for next week. That
was the excuse he gave himself for being a jerk to Lindsay, and blowing off
their date night. He would have to send her flowers in the morning.http://www.amazon.com/Hideaway-Hill-Elle-A-Rose/dp/1480203831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403919746&sr=8-1&keywords=Hideaway+Hill
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