Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Since she’d bumped into Hayden at the school, he’d been the one constant she could count on. They had kissed at the movies, and it had been wonderful. There was nothing awkward about it, and had they not been in public, she might have rekindled one of their old make-out sessions. They had never lacked chemistry back when they were teens, and they definitely had it in spades now that they were adults. The urge to straddle him the other night, like she’d done so many times back in high school, was there, encouraging her to just give in and let herself be free.
Her cheeks flushed hot as she imagined herself crawling onto Hayden’s lap and kissing him. She stopped and looked around the bar to see if anyone had noticed her blushing. She couldn’t go there.
Not yet, even though her body had no problem remembering how the teenage Hayden used to make her feel.
But at what expense?
Was he still afraid of Colt’s reaction? Crow’s?
Devorah shook her head. They were adults. What people thought shouldn’t matter anymore. And Hayden had said he wished he had done things differently back then, but what did that mean?
She could easily see herself with him, more so if the circumstances were different and she didn’t have Maren to worry about.
Devorah might not have been sure of many things, but one thing was for certain: Hayden wasn’t going away, and it was up to her to trust him again.
“He wants a part two,” she said to herself.
The door opened and voices carried. She thought she heard Hayden’s, but when he didn’t come through the door, her heart dropped. He’d told her he’d be by later, to check out the Lazy Lamb’s new bartender. The thought excited her until her mind took her right back to earlier, when he’d described the house he planned to build.
It was huge. Big enough for a family, and she got the sense that he anticipated her spending some time there. Part of her wanted to, but she told herself she was being unrealistic. Reality had an ugly way of reminding her she was married and had a life a thousand miles away and a daughter she had to think about. The other half of her thought it would be nice to be with Hayden, to see what it would be like to have a relationship with him. She had deep feelings for him and enjoyed all the time they spent together. Devorah even looked forward to when he’d show up randomly at Crow’s place to surprise her.
And then there was Conor. The young boy without a mother, someone who was so easy to mother. Devorah already cared for him more than she thought she should and feared that if she and Maren left, he would be devasted. Could she do that to him? Although she could barely function as a human these days, and it probably wasn’t smart to bring Conor and Hayden into her messy life.
Could she leave Crow and Colt behind again? There was a feeling, deep in her gut, telling her Colt and her father wouldn’t allow it. They weren’t going to let years go by without seeing her and Maren.
Not now.
Not now that they knew what kind of man Chad was.
The bar door opened again, and Devorah paused to see if it was Hayden letting the sunlight shine through. She shielded her eyes and said, “Bar’s open,” repeating the words she’d heard Colt say each time the door opened. She needed to remember a few things about being out in public. Smile and greet everyone, and if anyone said anything about that stupid-ass video, she’d remind them of who was doing the pouring.
“Devorah?”
Her head jerked, and she paused at the sound of her name as she held the dish towel. She waited for the door to close, needing the sun out of her eyes so she could see who had called out to her.
Laila Dixon, Devy’s onetime best friend, stood there. Slowly, Laila set her purse on the bar top and slid onto one of the stools.
Be nice. Colt’s and Hayden’s voices played in her head.
“Hi, Laila.” Laila hadn’t really changed in the years Devy had been gone. She still had icy-blond hair, curled in all the right places to make her hair stand up, to add height to Laila’s barely five-foot stature. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean, and she wore pink, which had always been her favorite color.
“Hi. Look, I want to apologize for the other night. I knew who you were, but seeing you for the first time in”—Laila waved her hand—“I don’t even remember how long it’s been—”
“Too long,” Devy interrupted. She stepped closer to the bar, somehow needing to be closer to her former best friend.
“Yes, too long. Anyway, I’m sorry for being rude.”