by Elena Aitken
Jason took one look at the enraged cop in front of him, and the cocky look slid right off his face. “Officer Anderson? I…you…we were just—”
“You need to…” The words died on Evan’s lips as he glanced to the girl in the hot tub.
It wasn’t Morgan.
He released his grip a little and let that fact sink in. It wasn’t Morgan. Evan took a breath. He needed to pull himself together. “I’m getting more than a little tired of paying you visits, Jason.”
“I’m sorry, Officer Anderson. I didn’t realize the music was so loud.” Behind him, the girl who wasn’t Morgan was climbing out of the hot tub and wrapping herself in a towel.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong, Officer.” The girl, who he now recognized as Jess Johnson, Morgan’s friend, came to stand next to Jason. She handed him a towel, which he took the second Evan let him go. “We were just hanging out.”
“I’ve had a number of noise complaints, Jason.” Evan focused on the boy because it was the only way he could calm the temper that had exploded inside him at the idea that some teenage boy had his hands all over Morgan. “Turn it down. Now.”
Jason, with Jess in tow, ran off to turn the stereo down. Evan took a deep breath and began making his rounds, checking for alcohol or drugs. Either the kids had seen him coming, or they really weren’t doing anything wrong as Jess had insisted because he found nothing more than a few bottles of beer, which he made a show of pouring out. He turned toward the fire pit that was set back into the yard at a distance. He could make out the silhouettes of a couple by the flames. They obviously hadn’t noticed the commotion or the fact that the music had stopped.
Evan made his way across the grass and once again, heat flared through his veins at what he saw.
Morgan couldn’t believe her luck. Sure, she hadn’t been thrilled that her dad had bailed on her. Not at first anyway. But later, when they took Jess’s little brother’s old bikes out of her garage and snuck out to Jason Sinclair’s house, it had all been worth it.
Jess was right. Trent was totally into her.
It was clear from the moment they got there that it was a couples party. There were a few other kids from school who Morgan only vaguely knew, Jason of course, and Trent. But they were all couples. Except for her and Trent.
“At least not yet,” Jess had whispered to her before taking off with Jason to go to the hot tub.
She wanted to call after her friend not to ditch her, but she didn’t want to look like a total loser. Besides, Trent had already noticed her and had waved at her. She stood at the door like a moron for a minute before finally working up the courage to walk into the kitchen where Trent was getting some drinks out of the fridge.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Yeah. I didn’t think I was going to, but…” She didn’t want to talk about her dad. “It worked out,” she finished with a shrug.
“Cool.” He reached into the fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. “Want one?”
Morgan had never had a beer before, and she didn’t particularly want one now, but something about the way Trent held it out to her changed her mind.
“Sure.”
He nodded and smiled and Morgan was absolutely sure her heart was going to explode in her chest. He was so cute and maybe Jess was right. Maybe he was into her. “You’ve never been to Jason’s before, right?”
She shook her head, even though they both knew she hadn’t.
“Let me show you around.” Trent took her hand as though it were the most normal thing in the world and led her through the kitchen first into the living room, and then out the sliding doors onto the most amazing back deck. There were a few more kids she recognized from classes, and a few she’d met. But it was definitely not like any party she’d ever been to before.
“This is so nice,” Morgan said before she could think about how stupid it sounded. “I mean, this deck is huge and the backyard…well, it’s…never mind.”
She blushed and was glad for the dim lighting outside so Trent couldn’t see how embarrassed she was.
“No,” he said. “I totally agree with you. This deck is huge. His backyard is killer. You should see my yard—it’s nothing like this.”
“Ha.” Morgan laughed. “I don’t even have a yard.” It was the first time she’d ever laughed about her living situation. Usually she tried not to bring it up at all because it was completely mortifying to live over an auto shop.
“That’s right,” Trent said. “But I bet you have a super cool apartment.”
She stared at him with an open mouth. He wasn’t making fun of her. “You think it would be cool to live over Junky’s?”
Trent nodded and grinned. “Totally. All the access to cars and stuff. It would rock.”
She laughed again and instantly felt relaxed with him. “I suppose if you’re into cars and all that stuff,” she said. “But yeah, it’s not really that bad. My mom’s tried really hard to fix it up.”
It was the first time she’d actually considered the fact that her mom had been trying her best to make her feel at home over Junky’s. The thought had come out of nowhere and she shook it off. The last thing she wanted to do was think of her mom with Trent standing next to her.
“Hey.” Trent leaned in, so she could hear him clearly over the music. “Do you want to go throw some logs on that fire? I can’t believe no one is sitting out there.” He pointed out into the yard where a neglected bonfire was burning down.
Growing up in the city, Morgan hadn’t spent much time camping or around bonfires or anything like that, but standing there with Trent, the idea was appealing. Very appealing. “For sure.”
With the music from the party as a backdrop, it felt as if Morgan and Trent were in their own little world next to the fire. Trent put a pile of logs on, and used a poker to stoke up the flames until the bonfire was once again roaring. With the heat coming off the logs, it wasn’t remotely chilly, but Trent sat close enough that their knees touched.
“Here.” Trent took her still unopened beer bottle out of her hand and with a swift turn, popped the top off and handed it back to her.
She’d never tasted beer before. The few times where friends back in Portland had experimented with alcohol, it was usually wine coolers or hard iced teas they’d found in their mom’s fridges. It was bitter and sour on her lips, but she did her best not to make a face.
But Trent noticed anyway. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s not really for everyone. I can get you something else if you like?”
“No!” Morgan shot her hand out over her mouth. “I mean, no. Thanks. I’m good.”
He grinned and slid even closer to her. “It’s nice sitting here with you like this.”
She nodded, unable to control the smile that she knew dominated her face. “It is.”
“I really like you, Morgan.” He ran a hand through his hair and it flopped over his eye. “I’m glad you moved to town. Things were boring before you got here.”
“And they’re more exciting now?”
“They could be.” He leaned in then until he was only inches away from her.
Was he seriously going to kiss her?
Morgan was sure he would be able to hear her heart beating. Or worse, that she would pass out and fall off the log bench she was perched on.
But when his lips touched hers, she forgot all of those things because there was no room for thinking. It was over almost before it began, and when Trent pulled away, it took her a moment to catch her breath.
Heat raced through her.
“I hope it’s okay that I kissed you?”
Unable to properly form a word, Morgan nodded. Finally, she muttered, “Yes.”
“Can I do it again?”
Morgan didn’t have time to answer him before his hand cupped her cheek and pulled her gently toward his lips. This time, the kiss was a little deeper, more intense. The noise of the party completely faded away until it was just the two of them an
d the crackling of the logs on the fire.
She couldn’t have said how long they were kissing, but as far as Morgan was concerned, it could have gone on forever. And it might have, too, if it hadn’t been for the deep, booming voice that startled them apart.
“Excuse me.”
Trent pulled away from her and jumped up before Morgan even realized what was happening. Her fingers floated to her lips and reluctantly she looked up into the face of…
“Evan?”
“That’s Officer Anderson, Morgan.” He didn’t smile. “I’m on duty.” His eyes flicked to the beer bottles laying discarded on the ground. “And by the looks of things, it’s a good thing I am.”
“No, Officer. This isn’t what it looks like.” Trent took a step forward, but when Evan turned to face him, he froze in place.
“It looks like you’re drinking underage and about to take advantage of a young girl.”
“What?” Morgan cried and jumped up. “No! That’s not at all what happened.”
Evan didn’t turn around but took another step toward Trent. “You aren’t twenty-one, are you, son?”
Trent shook his head.
“But you are a junior and Morgan here is a freshman.”
“No.” Trent shook his head, and his eyes widened. “Nothing was happening here, Officer. Really. I mean, we were drinking. Well, not really. I mean—”
“Evan.” When he still wouldn’t turn around, Morgan grabbed at his sleeve. What was actually happening? She’d never seen Evan mad. They’d been working together for weeks and he’d always been friendly and joking. Of course, she’d never had a reason to make him mad. Not even when he took her in for shoplifting had she seen him look like this. “Trent didn’t do anything wrong. Listen to me, please.”
Slowly, Evan turned around and stared at her as if he were looking at her for the first time.
“He wasn’t taking advantage of me. I promise,” she said quickly. “And I only had a sip of the beer, really. I didn’t like it. And it’s not like—”
He silenced her by lifting his finger and turned again to stare wordlessly at Trent.
It felt like an eternity, but finally he turned back to Morgan. “Let’s go,” he said. “I’m taking you home.” He started walking away before Morgan could say anything. She looked to Trent for help, but he only shrugged, looking as startled as she felt. “Now, Morgan,” Evan called without turning around.
“I’ll call you,” Trent whispered before she could go running behind Evan like a chastised child.
Morgan refused to sit in the front seat of Evan’s cruiser, so together with Jess, who’d changed quickly back into her clothes, she sat in the backseat like a criminal for the second time since moving to Timber Creek.
Now that they were away from the party, Morgan was feeling a little braver. “You can’t take me home.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “My mom is at Christy’s for the night and I’m sleeping at Jess’s.”
He seemed to think about it for a minute before saying, “Fine. I’ll take you to Jess’s.”
Morgan and Jess exchanged a glance, and Morgan knew exactly what her friend was thinking. “You’re not going to tell our parents, right?” She glanced at Jess quickly. “I mean, it’s not like we were doing anything wrong.”
Evan was quiet for a few minutes and Morgan was beginning to think he hadn’t heard her. Finally he said, “No. Not this time.”
Like there would be a next time. But Morgan didn’t think it was wise to say that. Satisfied, she sat back in her seat and waited until they pulled up to Jess’s dark house. The second Evan opened the back door, Jess slid out. Morgan followed quickly, but Evan stopped her before she could escape into the house.
“I don’t like to see you like that, Morgan.”
She stared at the officer who’d come to feel a little bit like a friend in their time working together. She was confused by this new version of Evan. He was acting as if he were her father. But he wasn’t her father and even if he was, her dad never behaved like he had. “Like what?” She crossed her arms. She knew she should scale back the attitude but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Like a teenager? Like I was having fun instead of doing community service all the time? God forbid.”
“That’s not what I meant, Morgan.” He almost looked sad and Morgan almost felt bad. Almost. “I just meant that I don’t want to see you get into a situation you can’t handle.”
“I can handle myself just fine.” She turned away from him, ready to storm up the pathway, but before she left, she spun around one more time. “And it’s none of your business anyway. You’re not my dad.”
Chapter Nine
Spending the night with her old friends had caused a shift inside Cam. She couldn’t really explain it, but when she left Christy’s house the next morning, with a promise to stop by the next day to help with the final preparations for the anniversary dance the following weekend, she felt good. Really good.
Maybe all of this time, all she really needed was some quality time with the people who knew her best.
They’d talked late into the night over more bottles of wine than they should have. But despite drinking too much, Cam didn’t wake up with a headache. Quite the opposite. She felt invigorated and renewed. And not just about herself.
The conversation had circled back to Evan more than once, and finally Cam had admitted to her friends that the old familiar feelings were still there. In fact, not only was the spark back, it was more intense than it ever had been.
She was still terrified to see where things could lead. If anywhere. After all, he’d left her once.
But she was also excited because talking to her girlfriends had given her the idea that maybe everything had happened the way it had for a reason, and maybe, just maybe this meant that after all the years between them, she and Evan were being given a second chance.
Cam laughed at herself as she drove home to change for her shift at the End of the Road. She’d felt lighter than she had in months, maybe even years. So much so that instead of grabbing a quick shower, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun, changed her clothes and grabbed her camera as she rushed out the door. By saving herself a few minutes, she’d finally have time to capture some shots of that log fence on the edge of town. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it except that it was a broken-down old fence made the traditional way with hand-cut logs. She’d driven past it on her way to work more times than she could count and every single time she did, there was something new about it that she noticed.
Sometimes it was the way the sun reflected off the grass around it, or the way the fence cast shadows as the sun set. More than once, Cam had considered stopping to take a few shots but she never had her camera bag with her. Besides, it had been so long since she’d taken any photos, she was a little afraid of how they might turn out.
But she wasn’t scared today. She was excited.
Cam pulled her car to the side of the highway, checked her camera and the settings, and hopped out. She was careful as she picked her way through the tall grass until she was close enough to capture the angle she wanted. She knew she only had a few minutes or she’d be late, so she moved quickly, changing positions and viewpoints. She was still laughing at herself, high from the effort of doing something that filled her soul, when she arrived at the bar twenty minutes later.
“You’re in a good mood,” Rhonda, who’d been waitressing for longer than Cam had been alive, or so it seemed, noticed with a smile. “Don’t tell me you and Officer Anderson finally—”
“What?” Cam almost dropped the tray she’d only just picked up. “No! That’s…why would you think that?” She didn’t bother objecting too hard. After all, she’d definitely considered the idea herself once or twice, especially in the last twenty-four hours.
Rhonda laughed. “Everyone knows you two are a thing, sweetheart. It’s just a matter of time.”
“We’re not…I mean, we haven’t been…”
“Oh
, I know the story, sweetheart.” Rhonda winked at her and finished loading her tray full of drinks. “I think everyone in town knows your story. Even Stephanie Olsen.”
Something about the way Rhonda said the other woman’s name made Cam’s radar go up. “Stephanie?”
“She works down at the Crop Shop,” Rhonda said, completely oblivious of the effect her words were having on Cam. “She’s really good too. A total miracle worker with my grays.”
“Your grays?” Cam repeated dumbly.
“Oh yeah.” Rhonda used her free hand to twirl a few strands of her hair. “You wouldn’t even know it, right? Steph really is amazing.”
“And why would she care about the history I have with Evan?” She should have known better than to ask, but she couldn’t stop herself.
The other woman grinned innocently and hefted her tray of drinks up to her shoulder. “Because she’s been dating Evan for years.”
Rhonda’s words rang in her ears, long after she’d disappeared to the other side of the bar to deliver her drinks.
Years?
Dating?
Evan said he wasn’t dating anyone. Of course, she hadn’t asked about his dating history. And it made sense that he’d have a history. It’s not as though Cam could expect him to stay single all those years. It’s not as if he was promised to her. After all, she’d left town.
Because he left you first. The little voice in her head reminded her.
Cam took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders back. “It doesn’t mean anything,” she said out loud. “Everyone has a past.”
A past, yes. The problem was, by the sounds of things, Evan may have a present.
She pushed the idea from her head. Evan was a grown man. If he was dating someone else, she wouldn’t get in the way of that. But she also wasn’t about to let anyone, girlfriend or not, get in the way of rekindling a friendship with him. And maybe that’s all it should be? A friendship.