Once Burned

by Suzie O'Connell

  “No, I didn’t,” she said.

  “Look at it this way, Linds,” Skye remarked. “At least you were smarter than me because you didn’t marry your asshole ex.”

  “Given the chance, though, I would have. I might have begged him to marry me if I’d thought there was any chance…. But he didn’t want us.”

  Skye shook her head. “No, you never would have begged. You have too much pride and self-respect for that.”

  Evie sat up suddenly and asked, “When was the last time you went on a date?”

  “You know when,” Lindsay replied.

  “You’re telling me you haven’t been on a date since that last one with Logan?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Evie.” It turned into such a disaster that I haven’t recovered the courage to try again. Thinking about the only other man she’d been with long enough to earn the designation of “ex” wasn’t going to put her in any better mood than would dwelling on her ongoing issues with Max.

  “I think we need to send you on a date while you’re here,” Evie said brightly, oblivious of her friend’s inner turmoil. “You don’t have Noah here to worry about and all the time in the world to yourself.”

  Before Lindsay could respond, the bell on the dining room’s door jingled and in strolled one of those attractive Northstar men Evie had mentioned not less than a dozen times today. Clad in Wrangler jeans that hugged long legs and narrow hips, a fitted white T-shirt that accentuated strong arms, shoulders, and chest, and a pair of dusty work boots, he looked every bit the quintessential Montana cowboy even without the trademark hat. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his blue eyes were stern. Or were they agonized? When their gazes briefly met, Lindsay decided it was the latter, and her heart stumbled over itself, smitten and concerned all at once.

  What’s wrong, cutie pie? she wondered as the thought of a one night stand returned with sudden and breathtaking appeal.

  As he strode past their table on his way to the bar at the back of the room, she turned in her chair to enjoy the view and thought of the photo of six cowboys sitting on the log rail of a corral Evie had emailed shortly after she met Vince. Cowboy butts drive me nuts, she had captioned it.

  Just before the stranger settled on a bar stool, he glanced back at Lindsay, and her pulse quickened. The rest of him might drive me nuts, too, she mused, absently poking at the ice in her glass of Coke with her straw.

  “Well, what do you think?” Evie asked, apparently taking Lindsay’s lack of response to mean she was considering the matter of a date.

  “Let’s get you married off before we start trying to fix me.”

  Lindsay covertly studied the stranger, though he did not again glance her way—at least, not while she was looking. He sat hunched over his beer with his fingers knitted around the bottle and talked quietly to the tall man behind the bar whose expression spoke of a deep conversation rather than a light-hearted chat. She had the questionable urge to join the blond cowboy for a drink or three—one unhappy soul commiserating with another. Considering Evie’s recent comments, she didn’t think her friend would mind too much if she missed a bit of their girls’ night in, so when everyone in their party stood to leave, she excused herself from the group.

  “Where are you going?” Evie asked. “I thought we were—”

  “I want a drink,” Lindsay replied. “And I promise to be better company when I get home.”

  “Do you want us to stay with you? I don’t drink, but I—”

  “No. You don’t want to be around me right now, Evie, and I don’t want to be the thundercloud to rain on the eve of your wedding, so I’ll just stay here for a bit, have a drink or two, and clear my head a bit before I rejoin you, all right? Then I’ll be home, and you, Skye, and I can have a laughing good time like we always do.”

  “All right…. If you’re sure.”

  “Let’s leave her be for a bit, all right, Evie?” Skye said, gently guiding the bride toward the door. Before she followed their friend outside, she turned to Lindsay and added, “I know Evie’s house is just up the road from here and plenty close enough for you to walk, but call if you want a ride.”

  “Thanks, Skye. Not just for that, but for—”

  “I get it, Linds. I’ve had my share of moments recently when I just wanted to be alone.” She glanced toward the bar, then back at Lindsay. “Or not so alone.”

  Without a word, Skye left, and Lindsay made her way toward the bar. She doubted she’d act on the flash-fire impulses the stranger had unknowingly triggered, but it was refreshing to consider the possibilities. Evie was right that she needed to treat herself to a date if only to remind herself that she was more than Noah’s mother, more than Max’s unwanted ex-girlfriend.

  She hesitated, catching snippets of the quiet conversation between the cowboy and the bar tender. What she heard made her heart ache, so she slid onto the barstool beside the man centered so pervasively at the forefront of her attention and smiled warmly when he turned toward her. Maybe she could find a way to cheer them both up.

  “Is this seat taken?” she asked. “Because I’d like to join you for a drink, if that’s all right.”

  He hesitated a moment, adding further evidence that he was here for some serious drinking and not a quick beer after work, and she thought he might decline her proposition. Instead, he extended his hand. “I don’t mind at all if you join me, but I’m not likely to be the best company tonight.”

  “So I gathered,” she replied, taking his hand and enjoying the firm heat of hit. “And that’s quite all right because I probably won’t be, either. Maybe we can salvage the evening together.”

  “Interesting proposal… as long as some guy doesn’t stroll in here spoiling for a fight because I bought his woman a drink.”

  “I haven’t been anyone’s woman for a long time.”

  He eyed her disbelievingly for a moment. Then one corner of his mouth lifted in a devastatingly sexy, lopsided grin. “Well, all right then. What are you drinking?”

  * * *

  A large party occupied the front of the restaurant, and a moment after stepping through the glass doors, Henry realized it must be Vince and his fiancée’s wedding party sitting down to the rehearsal dinner. He recognized Vince and his wife-to-be, Vince’s parents and grandparents, and the two groomsmen—Vince’s college buddies—but he didn’t recognize the two younger women sitting beside the bride, the middle-aged couple, or the older woman beside them. They must be the bridesmaids and the bride’s parents and grandmother.

  A cursory glance at the bridesmaids required a second look. Both were attractive, taller and slimmer than their friend, but the one with the mane of shimmering dark copper that ended in soft curls commanded his attention. Her expression was decidedly not one of enjoyment but of distress. Blue eyes that took on the lavender tint of her summer dress met his briefly, and his breath caught in his throat. With her graceful neck and shoulders, a face with delicate features, and full, feminine curves, it was all he could do to keep from staring. He managed, but he couldn’t help glancing back at her. When he caught her watching him, he turned quickly away so she didn’t see his lips quirk upward.

  “Welcome home, Henry.”

  “Thanks, Pat,” he replied to the man behind the bar.

  “Where’s Aaron?” Pat asked. He popped the top on a Harvest Moon Beltian White and set it in front of him.

  “I postponed our drink together,” Henry replied. He stared at the bottle a moment, turned it around twice with the tips of his fingers, and finally took a sip before he said, “Found out three weeks ago that Dylan isn’t my son.”

  “Ah damn, Henry,” Pat murmured with a genuine regret that soothed Henry’s sore heart. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”

  “I was, too.”

  “How’d you find out?”

  “Paternity test.” Henry took a long swallow of his beer. “About three months ago, Mel’s friend Tamlyn asked me if I was sure Dylan was mine.”

&nb
sp; “Why did she ask you that? I thought she and Mel were best friends.”

  “They are. Were. I don’t know anymore. They’ve been butting heads over the salon for months now. Tam’s serious about it, and Mel…. Well, you know how Mel is with money. She spends it faster than she makes it. Anyhow, before all that started, they went out for drinks one night, and apparently Melanie confided to Tam that she slept with a couple other men right after we broke up. When I confronted Mel about it, she admitted that Dylan might not be mine.”

  “Have you told your folks yet?”

  Henry shook his head. “Haven’t worked up the courage to break their hearts yet.”

  “Something tells me they may not be entirely surprised.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I may have overheard a remark your father made to Old Matt a few weeks ago. Seems he thought you should ask for a paternity test.”

  “What else did he say?”

  “That he hoped he was wrong,” Pat replied. “I take your surprise to mean he’s never mentioned this to you.”

  “Not exactly, but now that I think about it, he and Mom never did like Melanie much.”

  “What happens now?”

  “I left. For good this time. Quit my job so I could move home for a while and regroup.”

  “That’s drastic.”

  Henry shrugged. “I couldn’t stay in the city anymore. I may spend most of my time fighting it, but I am a country boy at heart. Besides, the fact that you know more about my father’s suspicions than I do…. Well, maybe it’ll be good for me to spend a little quality time with my family.”

  “And just maybe you’ll realize you’re not as much of a black sheep as you’ve tried to convince yourself you are.”

  Henry studied Pat for a moment, wondering what the former detective was getting at. Shrugging again, he decided not to worry about it tonight. He had enough to drown already with Melanie’s deceit still fresh in his mind.

  When the pretty redhead perched on the stool beside him and asked to join him for a drink, he almost declined her offer, but when she wasn’t put off by his bad mood, he smiled and decided the company of a beautiful woman might be just the thing to get his mind off Melanie and Dylan. Unless she had a boyfriend and was looking to cause trouble…. So, he asked and wasn’t sure he believed her when she said she hadn’t been anyone’s woman in a long time until he saw the shimmer of something in her eyes that sliced right to his heart. She was telling the truth, and there was surely a story behind why she was single—and had been for some time, apparently.

  “Well, all right then,” he replied, curious. He offered her a lopsided smile, trying to be as playful as she had been a moment ago. “What are you drinking?”

  “Rum and Coke. Thanks. I’m Lindsay Miller, by the way.”

  “Henry Hammond. It’s a delight to meet you, Lindsay Miller.”

  Pat moved off to make her drink, and Henry turned to face her fully. With time to gather the pieces of a more accurate impression, he was quite intrigued. Despite the fact that she’d asked to join him, there was a subtle shyness and caution about her that provoked the same instinctive need to shelter and protect that Dylan’s conception had triggered.

  “So, you’re a Hammond,” his companion inquired. “Any relation to Nick and Beth Hammond?”

  “Nick’s my older brother.”

  “Beth, then, would be your sister-in-law, which means you’ll be at the wedding tomorrow.”

  “Yep. Of course, just about everyone from the Valley will be there, too. Welcome to Northstar,” Henry said with a laugh.

  “It’s the quintessential small town, then, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah. But in the best way.”

  “From what I’ve seen so far, I have to agree. I love small towns.” She leveled those exquisite blue eyes on him, narrowing them briefly and pursing her lips as she studied him with an intensity and curiosity that kicked his pulse up a notch. “Should we just get our reasons for being bad company out in the open so we can get down to the more pleasant task of salvaging the evening?”

  Playful, Henry noted, but serious, too.

  The thought that she might be maneuvering for more than a drink tiptoed across his mind, and he ignored it. No way. She might be, but he knew himself well enough to know that anything beyond drinks and conversation would be a very bad idea.

  “I’m sure you heard most of my reason.”

  Pat briefly interrupted when he brought Lindsay’s drink and another beer for Henry, then ambled off to tend to other patrons, leaving them alone to talk.

  “I’m sorry for eavesdropping,” Lindsay said. “That’s a terrible thing to find out, and I’m sorry for that, too.”

  “Thanks. What about you? Why are you bad company tonight?”

  “Right before the wedding rehearsal, I had the displeasure of engaging in yet another fight with my ex regarding our son.”

  Henry sat up in surprise, unable to recall seeing anyone under the age of twenty at the wedding party’s table. “You have a son? Where is he?”

  “Back home in Washington because he didn’t want to come to Evie’s wedding with me.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Eight. And before you ask, yes, I got pregnant in high school—senior year.”

  “Tough break. But can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you always begin conversations with such deeply personal information?”

  “I think I might make it a habit.” She took a sip of her rum and Coke. “It should save a lot of time and frustration if the guy I’m interested in can’t handle the fact that I have a son.”

  “I take it that has happened more than once?”

  She nodded but offered no other information on the topic. He watched her for a moment, distracted by the rather adorable way she chewed on the slender straw in her drink, and waited for her to enjoy her beverage a bit before he asked what had happened between her and her ex.

  “At first, he acted like he wanted to stay in our lives and wanted to be a father to Noah, but then he went off to college at Washington State University, found a new woman, and our relationship faded into nothing.”

  “Wait. When did he meet her?”

  “During his junior year when he and I were still technically together. Just before graduation, he called to tell me that he was getting married.”

  “Christ, that’s low. I’m sorry, Lindsay.”

  She shrugged. “It’s water under the bridge, as they say, but if I could find a way to make it happen, I’d burn the bridge.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Henry said gently. Then he let out a self-mocking snort. “Makes me feel even worse for walking out on Mel. But I couldn’t stay with her anymore. Honestly, she was never a long-term prospect for me, and we only got back together because she told me she was pregnant with my kid.”

  “Why’d you break up before?”

  “Too many incompatibilities. She’s a city girl through-and-through, hates to do all the things outdoors that I love, and—forgive me for saying this because it will probably sound cruel—her favorite thing about me was my steady paycheck. I wouldn’t call her a gold digger, but she tends to seek stability. Maybe that’s because her dad walked out on her and her mom when she was seven, or maybe she just likes spending money. I don’t know, and I don’t care anymore.”

  Lindsay tilted her head and studied him again. “Let me guess. You feel guilty because you’re doing the same thing to Dylan that her father did to her.”

  “When you put it that way… yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.”

  “You realize none of that is your fault, right?” she remarked. “I’m also going to guess that she said the kid was yours to keep your steady paycheck.”

  “That makes her sound exceedingly manipulative.”

  “Granted, I don’t know the exact timeframe of all this, but it sounds like she slept with two other guys very soon after she slept with you the last time, so there’s no way
she could have known for sure you were her kid’s father.”

  “I’d like to hope she at least believed I was Dylan’s father. It’s better than the alternative—that she picked me without even considering that I might not be because she knew I’d support her. Yeah, we always used some form of protection, but accidents happen.”

  “I can attest to that.” Suddenly, Lindsay grinned. “Who’s divulging deeply personal information now, hmm?”

  Despite the ache that had trickled back into his heart, Henry laughed. “You are a very intriguing woman, Lindsay. I’m not in the habit of opening up like this so quickly… or so easily.”

  “That sounds like a good thing.”

  “Jury’s still out, but since I’m already in a better mood, I’d say it’s a very good thing.”

  “See? Aren’t you glad I invited myself over?”

  “Yes, I am. I wish you could stay longer, but I don’t want to take anymore of your time away from your friends.”

  “I probably should head back to Evie’s,” Lindsay agreed. She made no move to leave him, though her drink now sat empty and she shook her head when Pat asked if she’d like another.

  Henry chuckled, then swallowed the rest of his second beer and contemplated the wisdom of the question he wanted to ask. It was probably foolish, but he asked anyhow. “You said announcing the fact that you have a kid up front will help you screen men you’re interested in. Does that mean you’re interested in me?”

  “That depends. Do you have a problem with me having a son?”

  “Until three weeks ago, I thought I had a son, so it’s safe to say that I definitely don’t.”

  “Then, yes, I’m interested. I think I’d like to get to know you better while I’m here, if you’re agreeable to that.”

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea right now, and I think you know why,” Henry said slowly, “but if you’re okay with my issues, I’d like to get to know you better, too. Just probably not tonight.”

  “No, not tonight. I’m supposed to be having a girls’ night in with the bride, anyhow, and thanks to you, I think I might actually be able to enjoy it now.”