by Paige Rion
“Wait, Mol—”
“Dad! It’s so simple.” She grinned as she happily nibbled her muffin, rolling her eyes at him like he was silly. “We just need to find you a woman to fall in love with.”
Apprehension fisted in his chest. “It’s not that easy.”
“Do you have any girl friends that would want to fall in love with you?”
Colton brought his hand up to his face, pressing his fingers to his lips, stifling both a laugh and the urge to cry at the desperation in her voice. “I don’t think so. Sorry honey.”
Molly’s smile faded just as the phone in his pocket rang. He pulled it out, trying to ignore Molly’s increasingly disappointed expression, and answered. “Rex here.”
“Good morning.” Rachel’s voice shot through the line, clear as a bell.
Colton glanced at his daughter, who watched him intently. Turning, he stood straighter and said, “Hey.”
“I was calling to see if you were up for a little skiing this afternoon? We could go to Peek n’ Peak. My family has a little place down there. We could even go to the spa after. Catch some dinner.”
He hesitated, then said, “Uh. I can’t this afternoon. I have prior plans, actually.”
“Daddy, who is that?” Molly asked behind him.
Turning, he shot Molly a warning glare and placed his hand over the bottom of the phone as he said, “I’ll be just a minute,” Then he moved away from her so he could talk without prying ears.
“Oh,” Rachel said, and he could hear the dejection in her voice. “Well, I guess maybe next—”
“How about tonight?” he asked, hoping Jennifer, his babysitter, was available for a few hours.
“Daddy, is that a girl?” Molly hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.
He waved her frantically away, and waited for Rachel to respond.
“Is this a bad time? Do you have company?” Rachel asked.
“No, no. It’s fine. So, how about it?”
“Tonight? Sure. What time were you thinking?”
Colton gritted his teeth, debating. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Molly, yet he thought about the mayor. All he needed was that account... “Um...Is a little later, okay? How about eight thirty?” he asked, thinking he could tuck Molly into bed, then leave.
“Eight thirty it is, then.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up.”
He snapped his phone shut and turned around to Molly, who stood just behind him, her arms crossed over her little chest. “Who the heck was that?”
“What did I tell you about using that expression?” He raised a brow at her, hoping to distract from her question. But Mol was too sharp for that.
“That was a girl, wasn’t it? I heard her voice.”
Colton considered his choices. Lie or be honest.
“It was,” he said, siding with honesty. After all, he already had to lie to her about his work because she was too young to understand what he did for a living and not talk about it with other people.
“Are you going out on a date?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Sort of. It’s not like that though. It’s a work thing.”
“That’s great! You love work.”
He glared at her, but she chattered on, oblivious. “You’re always having to work, so she’s perfect. Is she pretty?” she asked. He could practically see her mental checklist of all the things he just mentioned you needed to get married.
“Yes, she is, but—”
“Dad! This is great. She lives here and we’re here, so the geogy thing is good. Plus, I love it here and want to stay. Now all you guys need to do is fall in love.” Her smile widened, spreading ear-to-ear. She nodded, her curls falling into her face, and he didn’t have the heart to correct her. He couldn’t tell her that Rachel was nothing more than an assignment. That he was using her.
If only things were that easy...
* * *
Rachel hung up the phone with a frown. Biting the inside of her cheek, she replayed their short conversation, along with the voice she heard in the background. The voice was so muffled she could barely make it out, but she swore it sounded like a woman. And why did it seem like he was trying to get off the phone so quickly? He hadn’t been his charming self, either.
He had a girlfriend. That had to be why he sounded so strange.
That possibility had never crossed her mind, and it was an unwelcome notion, as it would certainly make her job of getting him to fall for her much harder. She hoped that wasn’t the case, but if it was...
Rachel shrugged to herself. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d tried to steal someone’s man, she thought, thinking of Andi. And though she missed her friend terribly, she couldn’t regret her actions. How could she, when everything she did was not only for herself, but her parents, too?
The situation with Rex was no different, which was why she needed to make tonight great. He was attracted to her; she knew that. But she needed to drive that chemistry further into something more. She only wished she had someone to talk to about all of this. She could feel the weight of her problems bearing down on her shoulders. It was what kept her awake half the night last night. She’d laid in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark, her thoughts alive with things she’d rather forget. Andi’s anger. Rex—the way it felt kissing him, how soft, yet firm his mouth was, how sure of himself. Her father’s job. Her mother’s gambling habit. And Carma, her and Andi’s other best friend, who’d disappeared months ago.
When she thought of it all, she couldn’t help but feel as though her life was in some sort of downward spiral. She had to stop it, had to save it from spinning out of control completely. Rex might not solve all her problems, but he was a start.
With a sigh, she shoved her cellphone into her pocket and spun on her heel, yelping when she nearly crashed into her mother, who stood only a foot away from her.
“What are you doing?” Her mother’s shrewd eyes peered into her.
Rachel’s heart thumped, as she pulled in a calming breath. “Going up to my bedroom. I have a date tonight, so I’m going to pick something out to wear.”
“With who? Who were you talking to?”
Rachel hesitated, contemplating whether to tell the truth. Biting her lip, she murmured, “Just a guy I met.” Then she skirted past her mother, trying to leave before an interrogation started.
But her mother caught her arm in a tight grip, making Rachel face her. “Rachel, what are you doing?” Her voice was weary, and for a moment, Rachel wondered how she could possibly know what she was up to.
She couldn’t hide the truth for long. “It was Rex.”
Her mother’s mouth dropped slightly, her lower lip quivering. “You shouldn’t be talking to him. Why are you dealing with him?”
“I’m trying to take care of everything. Don’t worry though. I’ve got it all under control, and I have a plan. I’m going to make sure that Rex doesn’t take any of this...stuff about your problem to the media. And if everything goes well, I think I can make your debts disappear. I just need a little—”
“No!” Her mother shook her head. “You don’t understand. Rachel, listen to me...” Her gaze flickered over Rachel’s face, as if she was trying to think of what to say. “Rex is not who he seems. Your father...You can’t get in the middle of this.”
Rachel frowned. What was she talking about? She started to protest, but her mother stopped her. Placing a firm hand on Rachel’s shoulder, she said, “Rex is not the kind of person you should be spending your time with. This whole thing is a lot more complicated than your father let on, and you can’t get involved. It won’t look good.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” She could hear the irritation in her voice, but couldn’t help herself. Her mother wasn’t making sense.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything more. You just have to trust me. You need to stay away from him. Stay out of this and let your father deal with it.”
Rachel shook her head, her spine
rigid. “No. I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I’m a part of this family too, and your future, Dad’s future, affects me just as much. I’m not going to let one man, or your mistakes, screw up my life or the future of our family. Maybe you should’ve thought about how your actions would affect all of us before you screwed us.” She gasped, bringing a hand to her lips. The words had fallen out.
Her mother yanked on the bottom of her blazer, straightening it and clearing her throat. But she said nothing.
“Listen,” Rachel said, her voice softer. “I know what I’m doing. I can fix this.” With that, she turned toward the hallway.
“Don’t do this! Your father wouldn’t allow this. You can’t see him...” The frantic edge of her mother’s voice carried into the hallway, but she ignored it.
“Rachel? You need to stay out of this for your own good!”
Rachel kept walking. The time for listening to her mother was over the second she risked their family’s’ future by making a deal with Rex and squandering their money. And now Rachel was going to make a transaction of her own. Only Rex wouldn’t realize he was doing business. He wouldn’t realize he was doing anything but falling in love. Until it was too late.
* * *
She watched out the window, as Rex pulled up to her house, then scurried out the door, before he even had a chance to park. She didn't want her mother to see her and she certainly didn't want her father to find out she was going out with Rex, of all people. Not after the things her mother said.
She mulled over their conversation all afternoon. Still, she couldn’t quite make sense of it. There are things you don’t know...
What things? About Rex? About her father? Both?
The dubious statement made her question everything. Why was Rex so willingly going out with her? She had a hidden agenda, an angle. If she made Rex fall for her, he would no longer blackmail her family and either forgive their debt or give them time to clear it quietly. But why was he so eager to spend time with her? She had thought it was the natural attraction and chemistry they shared, but maybe it was more than that. Did he have another motive?
Stepping into the driveway, she reached for the door handle, just as Rex flung it open for her. “In a hurry?” He smirked.
“I didn’t want my father to see me.”
His expression darkened. “Good thinking.”
“I figured we should probably keep our...whatever this is between us private. Somehow, I don’t think he’d appreciate my relationship with you.”
“Agreed,” he said, inching his way through the turnaround of her house and down the driveway. “We don’t want Daddy to see you slumming it.” The moonlight cast shadows over his face, as he flashed her a smile and she could make out the hint of dark stubble across his jaw.
“I'd hardly call it slumming.”
“So, what would you call it, exactly? Another form of your rebellion?”
She could hear the teasing tone to his voice, yet it bothered her for reasons she couldn’t explain. “It's nobody’s business but mine who I date,” she said.
He pulled out of the driveway and accelerated onto the highway. He remained silent a moment, and Rachel could tell his mind was working. “I have to apologize.”
“For?” Rachel asked, her heart lurching.
“I'm afraid I’ve done a horrific job of impressing you. I have no idea where we’re going this evening. So, I'm going to humbly ask if you have any suggestions for things to do around here, in the dead of winter, after nine o’clock at night, other than going to a bar.”
Relief washed over her, as she drew in a breath. “Okay,” she said. “It’s not horribly cold tonight. “Are you up for a fire and a nice view?”
“Just take me there, and I’m yours. Although, I might argue with you on the cold factor,” he said, shivering exaggeratedly.
“What? You don’t like winter? You’re in the wrong place, then.”
“Trust me, that I know. It’s an unusually warm evening for this time of year and it’s forty-six degrees? There’s something wrong with that.”
Rachel laughed. “Aw, poor baby. This is like a heat wave, but we’ll get a big bonfire, warm you up, and you’ll be just fine. You asked me yesterday about growing up here. I want you to see the best part of my memories. The place that means the most to me here. I’d like to take you to the cove.”
“Um, aren’t we already in Callaway Cove?”
She smiled, thinking of the place through the trees, by the water. The source of so many memories with Andi and Carma, the two people that loved her the most. The ones she could always rely on, and she felt a pang of despair. If there were a time in her life when she needed them, it was now. When her family’s reputation—her reputation—and livelihood were so much at stake. Maybe she didn’t have her friends right now, but she would again. Because Carma would return and Andi would forgive her. She had to believe that. And there was no place better to remind herself of that, of the invincibility of true friendship, than the cove.
“Yes, but I’m taking you to the place where the town got its name.”
“Lead the way,” he said.
Rachel led him off the highway, through the winding streets of Callaway Cove, just past the heart of the town. When they came upon the Callaways’ driveway, she took a deep breath, hoping Andi wasn’t visiting her parents, and told Rex to pull in. The gravel crunched under the tires as they took the expansive driveway up to the house. Almost afraid to look, she glanced around, seeing no signs of Andi’s or Ford’s cars and feeling a rush of relief and a pang of disappointment.
“We’re here,” she said through the lump in her throat.
Rex shut off the ignition and turned to her, his eyes reading her expression in the darkness. Before he could say anything, Rachel got out of the car and waited for him to follow. When he did, she waved him on with her. Pulling her phone from her purse, she turned the flashlight on it and pointed the beam down the familiar worn path that led through the barren cornfields toward the woods.
“Cold?” he asked, as they walked over the frozen, lumpy earth.
“I’m okay. Shouldn’t I be the one asking you, Florida boy?” She joked, but deep down, she was anything but laughing. Her insides twisted at the familiarity of this place and the absence of Andi and Carma.
“Ha, funny girl.” He smiled over at her in the filtered light of the moon, and her insides twisted again, only in a different, more familiar and pleasant way. Yet it sent a jolt of fear through her.
This wasn’t real, she reminded herself. Get Rex to fall, get your life back, and then find your future.
* * *
Rachel walked next to him, saying nothing, as they approached the tree line and entered the woods. Dead leaves and branches crackled under their feet as they moved over the spongy earth. Under the canopy of trees, it was pitch black, save for the beam of Rachel’s flashlight on her phone. Next to her, Colton matched her stride, silent in the dark until the clearing appeared up ahead.
“You seem deep in thought,” he murmured in the quiet, wondering if that was a good thing. Maybe making her fall for him would be harder than he thought. Maybe his image as a criminal would be too hard for him to overcome in her eyes.
Rachel nodded, and he could barely make out her profile in the dark. “I was just thinking... There are a lot of memories in this place. My friends and I used to sneak out here all the time when we were kids. It’s something we continued doing, even after my best friend, Andi, went to college and Carma started working like mad. No matter what was going on in our lives, we always had this place. It’s our meeting point, our center. Common ground.”
“And now?”
The woods lightened slightly as they approached a clearing ahead. Stepping out from the trees, Colton glanced around. The reflection of the moon on the water of the cove illuminated their surroundings. Even in the cold, he had to admit the view was stunning.
Rachel paused, her features clearer under an open sky. The troubled loo
k in her eyes jolted him.
“I don’t know. Andi and I aren’t exactly talking anymore and my friend Carma up and vanished.”
Colton narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why aren’t you talking?”
“She thinks I’m manipulative. And maybe I deserve that, but I can’t help but look out for myself and my family. It’s the way I’m built. It’s what my father’s—”
“Always done,” he finished for her. He knew men like her father. They were selfish and self-serving. The man was obviously a chauvinist, as well, considering he handed his sons life on a silver platter and made Rachel nothing more than a showpiece. It was the exact opposite of what Colton wanted for his daughter.
Rachel’s eyes widened, and he could hear the subtle intake of breath, as if she was startled by his inability to read her so clearly. “Yes. Anyway...we were always so different, the three of us. That’s what made our friendship so great, though. And here is where we shared everything. So many memories were made here, tears shed, life celebrated, boys kissed," she said, smiling. Then, she shook her head. "Sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
He met her gaze for a moment, before she cleared her throat and glanced away. “There should be some firewood off to the side of the cove here. Andi’s father always keeps it stacked back there. We always wondered if he knew we communed here when we were in high school because even back then he always made sure to keep a woodpile ready,” she murmured.
Turning, she waved for him to follow. When she stopped in front of a stack of firewood, wedged between to trees, she reached for a piece of wood, but Colton stopped her. He placed a hand on her arm. “I’ve got it.”
“But we’ll need—”
“I’ll carry whatever we need,” he said, stacking the logs in his arms.
“If you’re sure.”
Once his arms were full, he followed her closer to the water’s edge. He set the wood down, while she piled kindling onto the fire pit and reached underneath a stone, revealing a slim lighter. With a smile, she tossed it to him. He felt a flush of relief when he clicked it and a flame lit the tinder easily. After a couple minutes, once the fire was taken care of, he sat down next to her, where she had settled, onto a fallen log in front of the firelight.