“Great,” Isaac said, as though genuinely happy for her.
Yes. It was. Almost. “Except they assumed I was married. Apparently it says on the application they only adopt their dogs out to couples or families. In case something happens to one of them.” So single people need not apply…
Isaac’s head slanted as though considering that. “So you and your husband are supposed to go pick up the dog tomorrow.”
“I don’t have a husband,” she reminded him. Though she supposed Theodore Mosley was available on short notice….
No. No. She did not need a man to help her with this. “I’ll just take Mother’s car service over there. And I’ll tell them I’m not married.” Though the woman had sounded adamant. We can’t wait to meet you and your husband, she’d said. He is coming, isn’t he? We like to know our dogs are going to wonderful homes…
“I’ll take you.”
She flinched, sending the wheels of her chair bumping into the elevator’s back panel. “What?”
“I’ll take you to Leadville. Pretend to be your husband,” he offered with a shrug that said it was no big deal.
Had he lost his mind? It was a huge deal. The way her heart fell all over itself, you’d have thought Bono was asking to accompany her. “No.” Her head shook until her hair covered her eyes. “You don’t have to do that.” He really shouldn’t do that. Because what kind of complications would that cause for her right now?
“It can’t be more than a two-hour drive, right?” Isaac asked, finally pushing the button for floor number three, thank the good lord. “We’ll drive over there, charm the pants off of those people and get you your dog. Then I’ll drive you home. It’ll take us six hours. Tops.”
Six hours. Six hours of doing her best to avoid his eyes so she wouldn’t get sucked into the infatuation zone again. Six hours of smelling that appetizing manly scent. Six hours of clenching her lady parts to make them behave.
“Really, Julia.” His hand rested on her shoulder.
When had that area become an erogenous zone?
“Let me do this for you. I’d like to help. What other option do you have?”
As much as she’d hated hearing those words for the better part of her life, she knew he was right. She couldn’t refuse him. She needed this dog.
Which meant she needed Isaac.
In a halleluiah moment, the bell dinged and the elevator doors rolled open.
“Fine,” she said as she wheeled herself out of the elevator, hands shaking like she’d just pushed herself five miles. Uphill. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Nine o’clock in the dining room.”
“See you then,” he called while she booked it down the hall.
Once safely inside of her suite, she locked the deadbolt and sat staring at the door.
Well, wasn’t that nice? She’d found herself a husband. Wouldn’t Mother be ecstatic.
Chapter Three
For the first time since he’d set foot on U.S. soil again one month ago, Isaac actually had a good reason to get out of bed. He took his time showering, dressing in nicer jeans and a sweater, and shaved, for good measure. Then he even slapped on some aftershave, welcoming the invigorating burn.
Julia Noble was way out of his league. He knew that. Her family was still considered royalty in this country, while his had fallen into embarrassment and shame. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying to win her over. When he’d seen her sitting across the room last night, the first spark of life he’d felt in what seemed like a dark eternity crackled through him. Julia only proved things could get better with age.
As a girl, she’d been innocent and sweet. Compassionate. He’d never forget the time she’d come tearing up his driveway on her bike, sobbing and screaming for help. He’d thought someone had keeled over and died the way she was carrying on.
“Isaac! There’s a bunny on the road! It’s been hit by a car!”
He told her he’d get his rifle so they could put it out of its misery, which only made her sob harder. Somehow, god only knew how, she’d managed to convince him to find a blanket and a box, which was a miracle, seeing as how he liked to shoot things so much. Then, the two of them had hopped into his truck and found an animal hospital in town. Julia paced out in the waiting room like a nervous momma until the vet came and told them the rabbit would pull through. Turned out the rabbit only had a broken leg and a concussion. Who the hell knew a rabbit could get a concussion?
A smile pulled at his mouth. He’d smiled more since seeing Julia again than he had in twelve years. Growing up, he’d always known there was something different about her. Somehow, she held onto a sort of bold hope when most people would give up, move on, expect the worst.
She’d always believed the best. He had no doubt that’s what had brought her through the hell she’d lived in after the accident. She had the ability to see past the now.
And that was why he glanced in the mirror once more before he walked out of his room. Lately, he hadn’t cared much that his hair had grown longer, that the sleeping pills hadn’t erased the dark circles under his eyes. But today, he’d be more aware of it all. Because he’d be spending the day with Julia. A whole six hours that she couldn’t escape from him like she had last night. And he intended to make the most of it.
After locking the door to his suite, he sauntered down the hall past her room. The door was closed, so he continued to the stairs, taking them quickly. Still no sign of Julia in the great room. He passed the fireplace and walked into the ranch’s restaurant area. A large dining table had been set for breakfast. Ben and Paige were already there—along with some of the people he’d met last night—Bryce and Avery Walker, who owned the ranch; Sawyer, Bryce Walker’s cousin, who was also a friend of Ben’s and an usher in the wedding.
“’Mornin’ Isaac,” Ben called. “Just in time for breakfast.” He gestured to the chair next to him.
Damn. He’d been waiting all night to see Julia. Where was she? Not knowing what else to do, Isaac took a seat. He was a groomsman, after all. That meant he’d have to hang out with the groom occasionally.
“I know you have a good excuse for bailin’ on me last night,” Ben muttered like he was put out. “And it better not be that you were in my sister’s room all night,” he added so only Isaac could hear.
Isaac did his best to look offended. “I went to bed early. Long day yesterday.” That, and after his exchange with Julia, he hadn’t felt much like going back to the party. The only person he’d wanted to see—really wanted to see—wouldn’t have been there.
“Fine.” Ben loaded Isaac’s plate with eggs and bacon and biscuits, then slathered on a healthy dose of gravy. “But you’re not skipping out on me today. We’re going skiing. All of us. A storm’s comin’ in and the powder’ll be unbelievable.”
Oh boy. Somehow when he’d seen Julia, he’d forgotten all about the whole long list of pre-wedding activities. “Sorry, man.” He wasn’t, but he tried to sound like it. “I can’t make it.”
“Pardon?” Ben’s fork froze halfway to his mouth. “You are here for my weddin’, right? We haven’t hung out in twelve years, and you’re telling me you can’t make it today?”
“Sorry,” he said again, still not feeling it. “I promised Julia I’d take her to Leadville.”
“Leadville?” The fork dropped to the table. “Why the hell would Julia go to Leadville?”
Fighting a yawn—the nightmares had gotten him again last night—Isaac stabbed a bite of scrambled eggs. “She’s picking up her dog.”
The whole room silenced. “Dog?” Ben and Paige said together.
Whoops. So apparently, she hadn’t mentioned the dog to the rest of her family.
“She’s getting a dog?” his friend demanded, exchanging a look with his fiancé.
“Yeah.” He tried to downplay it all with a shrug. “I guess it’s a big deal. Some kind of mobility assistance dog. They’re trained to help people in wheelchairs.”
“She doesn’t need help,�
� Ben said, crumpling his napkin and tossing it onto his plate. “She has us.”
Paige rested a hand on Ben’s arm. “But of course she can get a dog if she wants one. We’d totally support her.”
“I’ve heard those dogs are pretty incredible,” Sawyer said. “They’re hard to find.”
“Which breeder is it?” Bryce asked.
“I don’t know much.” Didn’t like how Ben’s eyes had narrowed the same way they always used to when he was pissed off. “All I know is she needs a ride to Leadville today.” Judging from his friend’s stony silence, it was probably best to avoid mentioning the whole husband thing.
“So what does a mobility assistance dog do?” Paige asked.
While Sawyer answered her, Isaac got busy with his food. Sometimes it was best to shut up and eat. He didn’t want to accidentally give up any more of Julia’s secrets.
While the others chatted about the dog, Ben leaned in. “Something’s up with Julia. What’d she say to you?”
Well, shit. There’d be no easy way out of this conversation. “Not much. We didn’t talk long.” He tried to choose the words carefully. “I overheard her on the phone with the dog people. And it sounded like she needed a ride. So I offered.” Simple as that. But Ben didn’t seem to buy it.
“So you’re gonna spend the whole day with her? And help her get a dog, even though you’re allergic to dogs?”
“I’ve probably grown out of that,” Isaac said, hoping. Really hoping. He hadn’t touched a dog since he’d brought home a stray lab when was twelve. His eyes had swollen completely shut. Not that it mattered. Spending six hours with Julia would be worth it. “But yes, I’ll be spending the whole day with her.” He tried not to grin like that was the best thing that’d happened to him in twelve years. “Why?”
“I need you to talk to her. She’s been acting different. Not herself. Somethin’s up with her.”
Isaac’s gut dropped. “So you want me to spy on her?” That wouldn’t get him anywhere with Julia.
“Just figure out if there’s anything going on.” His friend grinned and clamped a hand onto his shoulder, rattling him. “It’ll be like the good ol’ days. Us takin’ care of her.” He laughed. “Remember that time we stripped Garland down to his underwear and Saran-wrapped him to the flagpole after he looked up her skirt?”
“Yeah.” The memory brought a smile to his face, too. They’d both watched out for Julia. Until the night of the accident, that was. The worst night of his life. He should’ve been spying on her that night. Then she never would’ve gotten into that car with her friends.
The thought chilled him through. He reached for his coffee. She’d come to that party with them. They never should’ve brought her. Or they should’ve at least kept a closer eye on her. But Ben had been too busy playing beer pong, and somehow Courtney Wilmer had seduced Isaac into kissing her in some dark hallway, which only proved he’d had way too much to drink.
Even so, he should never have let Julia leave that party. That’d always bothered him. Why hadn’t she come to find him before she left? Then he could’ve kept her safe.
He set down his coffee mug and pushed away his plate, leaning close to Ben again. “Did you ever find out why she left the party that night?” he asked quietly. In some ways he hated to bring it up. Ben felt as bad about it as he did.
Sure enough, his friend’s face solidified like he was warding off grief. “Not really. She was upset, I guess. One of her friends told me Julia saw some guy she was in love with kissing another girl.”
Air punched out of him like someone had just flattened his lungs. “What guy?” he managed to ask. “What guy was she in love with?” Surely not him. She’d never said anything. She’d never flirted with him. Even after he’d kissed her a couple of weeks before that party, she’d acted like nothing had changed between them…
“I don’t know who it was. They wouldn’t say. Because you’d better believe I would’ve kicked the bastard’s ass.”
Isaac braced his hands against the table. His bones felt like lead. Her friends wouldn’t say…
Scenes flashed from that night. Julia had definitely been at the party before Courtney had dragged him down that hallway…
God. A mounting sickness bolted his body to the chair.
She’d left that party because of him.
* * *
Before the driver helped her out of the car, Julia went through the list again. Winter coat? Check. Wool hat? Check. Mittens? Check. Wedding bands…
This felt so wrong. Julia slipped the small velvet satchel into her pocket. As humiliating as it had been to go into the Carbondale Pawn Shop and ask for two cheap wedding bands, it would be ten times more humiliating to watch Isaac put that ring on his finger.
Of course, humiliating seemed to be her middle name. Over the years, half the world had seen her in a flappy hospital gown. There was that one time her mother and father had brought all of her friends to the hospital for her sixteenth birthday party. She’d been so excited that she’d scrambled to get into her wheelchair and somehow mooned the whole crowd in the process.
She was constantly tipping her chair awkwardly down curbs and running over people’s toes. Over the years, she’d learned to roll with the constant embarrassment. She’d learned to laugh at herself. She should be used to it. So why did it feel so different with Isaac?
Because you love him, dummy. You’ve always loved him. After the accident, she’d stopped lying to herself about pretty much everything. Life was easier when you acknowledged the truth, made a plan, and moved forward. That’s what she had to do today.
Truth: she loved Isaac. With a pathetic, dreamy-eyed kind of love. Still. After all of these years, the sight of his face stirred up all of those naïve emotions in her. Somehow the rest of her had matured—hello, womanly thighs—but when it came to Isaac she still had the heart of a teenager. Go figure.
Truth: This ridiculous crush couldn’t matter right now because she had things to do. Big things. Things that did not involve a boy.
Truth: Isaac did not love her. He never had. He’d watched out for her because he was Ben’s friend, and maybe he did feel some affection for her, but he didn’t love her. Not the way she loved him. And judging from his behavior last night, he felt sorry for her. Which in her book was worse than hating her.
Truth: Isaac had left. As in he’d picked up and left without a good-bye, without writing, without ever looking her up to reconnect. And, yes, he’d become a SEAL so she got that he was busy, but the fact that he hadn’t thought about her once in the last twelve years proved he didn’t have feelings for her. He could have easily gotten in touch with her. He hadn’t.
Therefore, the best course of action was to get through this day with a polite distance firmly intact. And a plan. A damn good plan, if she did say so herself. Phase one—she’d made a playlist of songs she could sing along with so she wouldn’t have to talk to him. When her mouth got too dry to sing along with the music, she’d move onto phase two and fake a good long nap. She’d never been able to sleep in the car, but faking sleep was a skill she’d honed well all of those months in the hospital, especially when her mother was around. If things got desperate, she’d push onto the final phase of her plan and call Paige to pretend she was on hold with her insurance company or something. That could eat up a good hour.
Those activities would take care of the ride to Leadville. On the way back, she’d simply distract herself with the dog.
It’ll be easy, she told herself as she wheeled the chair up the Walker Mountain Ranch’s ramp and across the deck. She hit the blue button to open the door, then gathered in a frigid lungful of air to douse the fire in her belly.
Mercy. Her body temperature had already hit the boiling point and she hadn’t even seen the man yet.
Focusing on all of the meditative breathing exercises she’d picked up in her therapy, she glided across the wood floors through the sitting room and into the dining room, where she halted.
&
nbsp; A crowd of women swarmed the table, stacking the empty breakfast plates, giggling, humming. Yes, they were some of her favorite women in the world, but at the moment she didn’t have much to say. Shocking, but there it was.
“Julia!” Elsie Walker, Bryce’s mom and the patriarch of the ranch, was the first to see her. She scurried across the room and threw her arms around Julia’s shoulders in an enthusiastic hug.
Avery, Paige, and Ruby, who was Julia’s favorite baker in the entire world—seriously her cinnamon rolls were to die for—all stopped what they were doing.
“Hey everyone!” she called, going for chipper, but it came out shrill and suspicious. She’d neglected to mention the day’s adventure to any of them. Hopefully she could keep it on the down-low.
Elsie flicked a pair of red-framed bifocals down on her nose. “My, my, my. Look at you. Your face is flushed. Are you feeling all right, dear?”
“Never felt better.” Her face prickled with an itchy heat. She’d never felt more terrified.
The other women gathered around her in a tight circle.
“I think you look great,” Ruby insisted. “I love that sweater.”
“Thanks.” She peered down at the soft blue cashmere. Was it too tight? It definitely showed off her curves, but hopefully it wasn’t too much…
“You have a hot date or something?” Paige asked, her eyebrows peaked in a knowing formation.
Julia found it hard to swallow. “Um. No. Not really.”
Avery slapped a hand over her mouth. “Julia, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush.”
If she thought the blush was something, Avery should take her pulse right now. Settle down, she commanded her overactive heart. Slouching back, she tried to appear aloof. “So has anyone seen Isaac around? I…um…need to talk to him.”
“He took off pretty fast. Right in the middle of breakfast,” Elsie said, starting to stack plates again. “Seemed to be in a hurry.”
She checked her watch. Ten minutes until they were supposed to meet. Had he changed his mind?
“He mentioned something about driving you to Leadville, though.” Paige whispered as soon as the other women moved on to help Elsie.
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