The Bachelor's Perfect Match

by Kathryn Springer

  “We are.” She took Chrissy’s hand and stepped out into the sunshine.

  Reese followed as she walked toward a blue midsize hatchback parked nearby. At the vehicle, he paused.

  “One thing, though,” he said.

  She opened the driver’s door and helped Chrissy climb into the back seat. “And what’s that?”

  “No questions about the fire. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Not to anyone. Especially not a reporter.” His voice sounded low and grumpy. He didn’t mean to be so harsh, but he thought maybe it was for the best. He had to set some boundaries.

  She frowned. “Okay, I got it.”

  She turned to buckle Chrissy into her booster seat. Without asking, he tossed his duffel bag into the back and climbed into the passenger seat. Katie got in and started up the engine, put the car in gear and backed out of the parking place.

  As they rode into town, he gazed at her pretty profile. She stared out the windshield, her shoulders squared, her delicate hands gripping the steering wheel like a lifeline. Just two weeks ago, he might have thought about asking her out on a date. But right now, all he wanted was to be left alone.

  * * *

  He was watching her. Katie could feel Reese’s eyes on her as she headed out onto the county road that would take them into town. A glint of sunlight struck the black asphalt. Momentarily blinded, she blinked and tried to ignore the man sitting so close beside her. Trying to remember why she’d come here in the first place.

  Focus! she told herself. She mustn’t forget that her main priority was Chrissy, not a drop-dead-gorgeous hunk from her past. Until last night, she hadn’t been sure that Reese would come home. Not until her father had told her about his motel reservation. He knew she needed to speak with Reese in a place where there weren’t lots of people around. Not many flights came into the quiet airport, so it was easy to find out when he might be landing.

  Thinking he might need a ride, she’d driven out here to pick him up. But nothing had prepared her to see him again. The shock. The resentment. The longing. Those feelings were still tied up inside her stomach like knots of rope.

  There’d been a time during high school when she would have given anything to have him notice her. Back then, she’d been happy to do his homework. Delighted that he needed her for something. She’d loved him from afar, hungering for his attention. A girlhood crush. And when his date at the graduation dance had flirted with another boy, they’d quarreled. In retaliation, Reese had taken Katie’s hand and pulled her outside the school gymnasium with him. Katie had known he was trying to make his girlfriend jealous, but she’d gone along willingly, euphoric when he’d kissed her in the dark shadows. At the time, she hadn’t cared about his reasons or the consequences. But his affection had been short-lived. The very next day, she’d learned that he’d left town without even saying goodbye to his mom. Katie had sold herself short, but never again. Now she had a child to raise, and Chrissy was everything to her.

  “Can I turn on the air?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  He reached out and twisted a knob on the dashboard, hiking the air conditioner to high. The whooshing sound seemed to taunt her.

  She glanced at Reese, longing to study the subtle changes to his face. She hadn’t seen him in seven years. Gone was the teenage kid she’d known in high school. Now he was a fully matured man. Shockingly handsome, with short dark hair and an endearing half smile that still had the power to melt her frozen heart. He’d filled out more, his chest and shoulders wider and more muscular. He had big hands and quiet eyes. As though he were keeping a dark secret hidden from the entire world.

  His eyes also held a glint of insecurity and deep, wrenching grief. He seemed to have lost his way, which couldn’t be true. Reese Hartnett had always been so self-assured. Living in the moment. Louder and bigger than life. Never caring about anything or anyone. And Katie hated that she had loved him once. Hated that she was compelled to come and see him now. No matter how much she regretted the past, it was finally time to tell him the truth.

  “How long are you in town for?” she asked, forcing herself to focus on the road ahead. His reservation at the motel was “open,” which meant he had no scheduled departure date.

  He jerked a shoulder. “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On how many questions people ask. I’m hoping everyone just leaves me alone.”

  “Oh,” she said, feeling a bit hurt and offended at the same time. “Well, I suppose your old friends will want to talk to you, to find out where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to.”

  “My friends are all gone now,” he said.

  She thought he was teasing, but the look on his face told her he was serious. He’d gone pale and a flash of pain filled his eyes. She couldn’t think of one old friend of Reese’s who hadn’t been wilder than a March hare. Most of them had left town, which could be a blessing. She hated the thought of him falling back in with a rough crowd. But right now, she thought he was probably talking about his hotshot crew.

  “Losing both of your parents and now your team members must have been difficult for you. I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.

  He didn’t respond, and she adjusted the flow of the vent and took a gulping breath of fresh air. They entered town and she drove down Main Street. Reese sat up straighter, but he pulled a baseball cap out of his back pocket and tugged it low over his forehead as he looked out the window with interest. They passed the Rocklin Diner, the only restaurant in town. The two grocery stores still sat facing each other on either side of the street, and then the redbrick bank and post office.

  Reese released a long sigh. “I see that nothing has changed.”

  “Not much,” Katie agreed.

  Except for maybe the two of them.

  “We got a new swimming pool last summer, over by the high school,” Chrissy said.

  “That’s right. It’s real nice. You’ll have to try it out sometime,” Katie said.

  Reese nodded but didn’t comment.

  “We don’t go to the pool in town. We’ve got our own pool at the motel. Mommy’s teaching me to swim,” Chrissy continued, her voice filled with delight.

  “Is that right?” Reese asked in a conversational tone.

  “Yep, and I’m getting good at it. I can float on my back all by myself and even duck my head under without getting water up my nose,” Chrissy said.

  “That’s nice.” Reese flashed a brooding smile that used to turn Katie’s brains to mush. But no more. No, sirree. She was over this guy.

  He glanced at Katie. “Who did you marry? Anyone I know?”

  Here it was. She hadn’t expected to talk about such personal things so soon. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Before she could respond, Chrissy answered for her.

  “Mommy’s not married.” The girl sat forward, her expression innocent.

  He quirked one eyebrow at the child. “She’s not, huh?” He shifted his gaze over to Katie. “Are you divorced, then?”

  A fist of emotion clogged her throat. Her face felt flushed with heat. And once again, that old crushing anger filled her. Anger because Reese had used her, then cast her aside. She’d meant so little to him. And yet it was not entirely fair to be upset at him for something he didn’t even know about. She was mostly angry at herself for getting herself into trouble. For ever trusting him.

  “I’d rather not talk about it,” she said.

  His eyebrows spiked.

  “Mommy’s never been married,” Chrissy supplied.

  Katie flinched. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought her daughter along on this visit. Maybe she should have met with Reese in private first. But she’d wanted to see how he acted around the child before telling him that he was Chrissy’s daddy.

  “Sit back and put your seat belt back on, young lady.”
She gave her daughter a stern look in the rearview mirror.

  Chrissy pursed her lips but sat back obediently in her booster seat and reclicked the belt into place.

  Reese hesitated, the corners of his eyes crinkling, so that Katie thought he might smile. But he didn’t.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” he said.

  Katie held her breath for several moments, forcing herself not to blurt it all out. He’d assumed because she had a child that she was married.

  “I understand you’re staying tonight at the Cowboy Country Inn. Do you want me to take you straight there, or somewhere else?” Katie asked, glad to change the subject.

  She’d come here with the single purpose of speaking the truth, but something held her back. After all, she wasn’t sure what to expect once Reese found out that Chrissy was his daughter. For all Katie knew, he might yell and scream and start throwing things. She didn’t want Chrissy subjected to anything unpleasant. It would be best if the little girl wasn’t present when she told Reese.

  “Just take me to your inn. I figured it would be the best place for me to stay. Is Rigbee’s Motel still a dive?” he asked, a slight smile curving his handsome mouth. Was he teasing her?

  “Oh, no, it’s a real nice place now. The bedbugs come at no extra charge,” Katie quipped.

  His vivid green eyes were tinged by a bit of reckless laughter. “In that case, I’m glad I chose the Cowboy Country Inn.”

  “Yes, my dad told me you’d made a reservation. Our rooms are always clean and comfortable,” Katie said.

  “Does Rigbee’s have bedbugs?” Chrissy asked from the back seat.

  Looking in the rearview mirror, Katie saw that her daughter’s expressive green eyes were round with disbelief. Eyes that looked so much like her father’s. Living in a motel, the little girl had heard all about bedbugs and cleanliness standards. It was their family business, after all.

  “No, honey. We’re just joking,” Katie said.

  “Because they’re our competition?” the girl asked.

  “Yes, honey,” Katie said.

  “Or maybe not,” Reese mumbled under his breath.

  Katie chuckled as she turned the corner and headed toward home. “We’ve had a lot of reporters staying at our place.”

  A flash of panic filled Reese’s eyes and his back stiffened.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “When you didn’t show up earlier this week, they all checked out this morning. I’m sure they’ve left town by now.”

  She hoped. The pushy journalists and their cameramen had been a nuisance in their quiet town. Incessant questions about Reese and listening in on private conversations. She’d found one man hiding behind the ice machine. He’d given her the willies.

  Reese relaxed as she pulled into the parking lot. Katie loved the old motel where she’d grown up and was now raising her own child. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and well maintained. And in that moment, Katie thought she was crazy to have gone to the airport to pick up Reese. Her life was boring and lonely, but at least she and her daughter were secure here.

  What must she have been thinking? She’d kept her daughter’s paternity a secret for all these years, telling no one except her parents. Now that her mom was gone, only her dad knew the truth.

  Two weeks ago, Katie had heard on the national news that Reese had lost his entire hotshot crew. And knowing that he’d almost died had changed something inside her.

  Ever since she’d started kindergarten, Chrissy had been asking questions about her father. Why the other kids at school had a dad, but she didn’t. Why he never came to her dance recitals, or took her to the park. Katie had been surprised that her daughter missed her father’s presence in her life, even though Papa Charlie was always there. And that had made Katie realize it wasn’t fair for Chrissy to never meet her dad. To never know who he was. For good or bad, the girl had a right to know. So Katie had decided to tell Reese. But she had to proceed with caution. She had a lot to lose.

  Within moments, they pulled into a parking spot. A long row of quaint, freshly painted doors sprawled out before them. A large, old-fashioned buckboard wagon sat near the main office, its side painted bright red, with the name of the motel written across it in tidy black letters. Antique milk cans filled with bright pink petunias stood like sentinels along the paved walkway leading to the front entrance. Charming and attractive. A homey place to stay.

  “Here we are,” Katie said.

  “It still looks the same. The milk cans are new,” Reese said.

  “Yes, we put them in a couple of years ago.”

  “I helped Mommy plant the flowers yesterday,” Chrissy chimed in.

  “You did, huh? They look real nice.” Reese spoke in a kind tone and the child beamed happily.

  Katie opened her door and hopped out, suddenly eager to get away from this man she could neither forgive nor forget. She needed time to think. Now that Reese and Chrissy had met, she had to plan how to tell him. She’d wait until Chrissy wasn’t around and find the right moment.

  Turning, Katie reached into the back to help the little girl out of her booster seat. Reese popped his seat belt and stepped out, too, then lifted his duffel bag from the rear.

  “Come to the office and Charlie will get you checked in,” Katie called.

  Without waiting for his acknowledgment, she headed in that direction, forcing herself not to look back to see if he followed. He did. Like the pull of a magnet, she could feel him behind her, his gaze seeming to drill a hole through her spine.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted him staying at the Cowboy Country Inn, but maybe it was for the best. Katie had to figure this out. But no matter what, she knew that telling him the truth would be the hardest thing she’d done yet. And once she did, nothing would ever be the same again.

  Copyright © 2018 by Lora Lee Bale

  ISBN-13: 9781488090448

  The Bachelor’s Perfect Match

  Copyright © 2018 by Kathryn Springer

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