by Sophie Oak
Only Nate Wright knew what she’d been through, and even he didn’t know the full extent. It was a burden she was finding it difficult to bear alone even after all these years.
She got into her piece-of-crap Corolla and wondered how much Gene would charge her to stay at the Movie Motel. If it wasn’t already full. There was a convention coming this week. Psychics and Wiccans were coming out to test the ley lines or something. Hope wasn’t sure about any of it, but she’d overheard Nell and Henry talking about the possibility of finding the doorway to other planes. They were sure there was a doorway located somewhere in Bliss.
Hope turned on to 160 and wondered if this other plane would be better. Maybe on some alternate plane, she hadn’t fucked up the way she had on this one. Of course, according to Nell, the other plane was filled with warring faeries or something. And she’d mentioned vampires, but they were corporate types. It had been a trippy conversation, but then Nell was known for those.
She let her mind drift. She was happy in Bliss, but she wondered if it wasn’t time to move on. If Christian’s former followers ever found her…she wouldn’t think about that. Wouldn’t think about him. Except it was hard. It was always right there on the edge of her consciousness. It teased and taunted her. It had been almost ten years, and she could see it, smell it. God, she could still smell the blood. She could still feel the scream that was forever trapped in her throat.
And when she looked in the mirror, she could still see the girl she’d been at seventeen. The stupid, idiotic, wretchedly selfish girl she’d been. She wondered if her mother still cursed her name or if it had been so long that she’d forgotten the daughter who had so disappointed her.
Tears covered her eyes, making a watery mess of the road in front of her. She’d run so hard, but it was still there. It might always be there. She glanced down at the time. She’d been driving for a while. The turn for the Great Sand Dunes National Park was just to her right. She’d spent a perfect day there once. Logan had invited her along with his friends. It had been high summer, and everything had been in bloom. The dunes went on forever, as though she’d been transported to a different world. James Glen had been there. They had brought a picnic and ate and then splashed in the creek that ran along the dunes. The sun had been hot, but the water was cool. It ran off from the mountains. She’d turned her face up to the sun and for a while imagined that she was James’s girl. She’d imagined that cowboy’s smile was just for her and that she deserved it.
She imagined a world where he would never discover what she’d done.
Yes, it was time to leave Bliss. It was time to lose herself in a city where no one cared. She loved Bliss, but sometimes it was all too much. She didn’t deserve the people who tried to help her. If only they knew.
She heard a weird popping sound, and her car swerved as if of its own volition. Damn it. She was still miles from Bliss, but there was no way to avoid the fact that a noxious cloud was currently billowing from beneath her car’s hood. She struggled, but managed to get the car off to the side of the road.
The engine died. It made a sad little sighing sound, and everything went dark. No lights on the dash. No sounds from the radio.
It was the perfect end to a shitty week.
She tried her cell, but there was no reception. And probably no minutes left, either. It was almost the end of the month. She was stuck on the side of the road with no phone, no car, and everything she owned was piled in her trunk and the backseat.
She put her head down and just let herself cry.
Chapter Three
Noah turned his truck to the west and wondered for the four hundredth time that day just what he was planning to say to his brother. Days on the road and he still hadn’t figured it out. His stomach turned as he realized that the Circle G wasn’t more than forty minutes away. Forty minutes and then he would have to stand in front of his brother. Noah turned to his companion, his best friend in the world.
“Hey, so the marriage thing didn’t work out. You were right. She was a bitch after my money, and when she’d gone through my trust fund, she dumped me for a lawyer named Phil. Oh, but there were numerous men before that. I don’t even know their names. We hadn’t had sex in a couple of years, and I spent all my time vaccinating overprivileged Pomeranians. Can I come home now?”
The dog beside him whined slightly, as though deeply moved by his words.
He doubted James would have the same sympathy for him. “You think that’s going to work, Butch? I don’t know. I think I’ve dug a deep hole.”
Butch was some weird cross of Great Dane and Rottweiler. He was an ugly, big son of a bitch, but he was as harmless as a damn fly. He’d also been the closest thing to a friend he’d found in the last several years. He’d known his marriage to Ally was utterly over when she’d told him to choose between the dog and her.
Noah shook his head. His marriage hadn’t been over when she’d cheated or spent every dime he had. It hadn’t been over when she’d walked out for three months and crawled home because her lover had kicked her out. It hadn’t been over when she’d tried to stop him from attending his second father’s funeral. It had ended over a dog. He’d told her to get out, and she’d walked straight to Phil’s arms.
He’d given up his home, his honor, his family over a woman who had taken everything and given nothing in return. He was crawling home with his goddamn tail between his legs.
At least he knew he had a job waiting for him. Stef Talbot had kept in regular contact. Even when he hadn’t talked to his own brother, Noah had talked to Stef. Stef kept tabs on everything. When Noah had called to see if there was still an opening for a vet in Bliss, Stef had told him to get his ass home.
But he wasn’t sure about how James was going to take it.
“Maybe he’ll be satisfied that he’s the rich rancher, and I’m the dipshit brother whose wife ran through ten million dollars in five years. You think so?”
The sad-sack look on Butch’s face didn’t hold a lot of hope.
“We might be living in a tent. Or the caves. Mel used to have a bunch of caves Jamie and I played in when we were kids. Don’t drink the moonshine, though. It can make you blind.” Actually, a little of Mel’s “tonic” might be just what the doctor ordered. Or he could get his ass abducted by aliens, and then everything would be a moot point.
At least he would get to work with large animals again. He’d missed working with horses and cattle. If he had to deal with one more hamster, he might scream. Those goddamn rodents bit him every time.
God, how had he fucked up so badly?
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He’d spent the night before in a cheap-ass motel. He was seriously considering finding another one. Anything to put off the inevitable moment when he had to tell James what had happened with Ally.
A little resentment bubbled up. James had everything he really wanted. He’d always loved that ranch. The Circle G was James’s personal kingdom. Noah wondered briefly if there was any way his brother had gotten married and settled down. Maybe some gorgeous thing had come into town, and James had taken one look and tied her up. He liked to tie up women. God, Noah liked to tie up women, too. Maybe Noah would walk onto the ranch and see James had been the really smart one who had waited for the perfect woman. The thought was a little depressing, and his reaction to it made guilt boil in his gut. He was the one who had left James, not the other way around. He had left everyone in Bliss behind for a gold digger who couldn’t even love a dog.
He forced himself to focus on the road. He didn’t need a GPS to show him the way home. He knew it by heart, but some things had changed in the last five years. And some things never changed. Inevitably, some poor sap’s car broke down on the emptiest part of 160. Sure enough, there was a compact car on the side of the road. A single figure stood by the vehicle, her brunette head in her hands.
She was crying. He could see it from here. He should drive right on by. Crying women got him in trouble. Ally had been able to cry so beaut
ifully. Her lip would tremble, and she would manage a single, crystal tear that never wrecked her artfully applied makeup. It was all fake, of course.
The woman looked up, and it was easy to see that she wasn’t pretending. Tears coursed down her red face. No one could fake that. This woman was upset. Her face turned down as though she didn’t want to watch him pass her by.
He was an idiot. Even as he told himself this wasn’t his problem, he was pulling over. Butch stuck his big head out the window as Noah rolled it down. “You need help?”
She sniffled, and he could see warm brown eyes behind a pair of dainty glasses. She was cute. Hot-librarian cute. She had a light sweater wrapped around her waist, as though it had gotten too hot for her to keep it on. She was down to a dowdy skirt and a tank top that was just a little too big for her frame. It wasn’t so big that it hid her incredibly nice rack.
“I think I do. Uhm, my car isn’t working.” Her voice was raspy, a little tortured. She bit her bottom lip—a nice, plump bottom lip. She had gorgeous lips to go with that nice rack.
He’d been way too long without sex. Actually, this was the first time in a long time he’d even thought about getting down with a woman. It was kind of nice to know he could still think about sex. Maybe she would be so ridiculously grateful that he helped her that she would take pity on him and invite him back to her cabin, and he could put off the whole “prodigal brother returns” scene for another couple of days. “I’ll take a look at it.”
He put the truck in park. Butch seemed to like the girl just fine. Of course, he wasn’t exactly discriminating. Butch pretty much begged anyone human and in the vicinity for a pet. He opened his mouth to command Butch to leave the poor woman alone, but she smiled at the big mutt and put out a hand. She didn’t move away when Butch leaned forward and gave her a big, nasty kiss.
“Sorry,” he muttered, sliding out of the truck. Yeah, that probably wrecked his shot at getting invited back to her place. Not that things like that ever happened to him.
He really liked the way she smiled. Though her eyes were red rimmed and her skin mottled from her tears, she was kind of adorable in a soft, feminine way. “It’s okay. He’s a sweetie.”
“He probably needs a bath. We’ve been on the road for days.” Noah walked around to her car. It had to be ten years old. He would be surprised if it didn’t have over a hundred thousand miles on it. The car looked tired, weary. The car looked a little like Noah felt. “Can I pop the hood?”
Butch had escaped the cab, and his tail thumped against the ground as the woman knelt and petted the enormous animal. Sometimes Noah was sure Butch’s tail thumps registered on the Richter scale, but Brunette Hot Librarian didn’t seem to mind.
“Of course. I’m afraid I don’t know how to do that. I’m really bad with cars.” She leaned down and touched her cheek to the dog’s head as though she was desperately in need of affection. He checked out her left hand. No wedding ring.
What the hell was he thinking? He reached into the car, releasing the hood. There was a little click, and the hood popped open. Smoke billowed out, but he couldn’t see fire. That was a plus. He wasn’t going to get blown up on the side of the road. “I’m Noah, by the way.”
“Where’s the other dog?” There was an odd little smile on her lips. He liked it. It was slightly mysterious, with the sweetest hint of snark.
“I don’t have another one.” Butch had been too big for the tiny condo in Manhattan that had cost him half a million a year.
She shook her head, soft brown hair escaping from her ponytail. “Sorry. It was a dumb joke. You said your name was Noah. I immediately went to the ark and all the animals going in two by two.”
He snorted. Yeah, he could do one better. “I’m a vet.”
Now she laughed out loud, the sound washing over him like warm caramel. That was what she reminded him of. Soft, rich caramel. Sweet, but with a little hint of tang. “That is nice. I like it. It’s nice to meet you, Noah, the vet. My name is Hope, and you’re the best thing that’s happened to me all week. I thought I was going to have to walk into Del Norte.”
And she was local. “I like your name, Hope. It’s pretty.”
“I don’t know how applicable it is. I seem to be a little hopeless lately, hence the dead car and other various tragedies.” She sighed and allowed her arm to hug Butch. Butch, the lucky bastard, rested his head on that truly fine rack. She was at least a C, maybe a D. He bet her ass was round and curvy, too. Fuck, he was getting a hard-on just looking at her.
He looked down at her engine, trying to force his eyes anywhere but on the too-tempting dish in front of him. Why was he reacting this way to her? She wasn’t polished or beautiful. She wasn’t even wearing makeup anymore. She’d cried it all off. She looked a little lonely, a little needy. She probably looked a little like him.
He wasn’t just looking for a lay, he realized. He was starving for someone, anyone who might be able to like him. Pathetic, yes, but it was the truth. She’d said she was on her way to Del Norte. Bliss was fairly isolated. There was a good chance she’d never heard of him or his infamous flameout. He went over all her fluids, checking each carefully as he thought about the situation. Maybe he could ask her to dinner. He could use someone to talk to. He hadn’t had that in years. Well, he hadn’t had anyone who didn’t bark or growl or whine back at him.
“I think your radiator is shot, but I also think you’re leaking oil. And maybe brake fluid.”
“Is that expensive?” Her eyes were round under her glasses.
He wanted to tell her no. But the truth would hit her soon enough. “Just about everything on a car is expensive, and this one is old. They might have a hard time finding parts. I think you’re going to need a tow. I don’t have a cable.”
Why didn’t he have a cable? His dads would have had his hide if they knew how little emergency equipment he had in his truck. He could hear Daddy Fred telling him that ranching required a man to always be prepared.
“Oh, uhm, it’s okay. If you don’t mind giving me a lift into town, I can take care of it from there.”
This was all ending way too soon. “I could just take you home. Do you have a shop you like to use?”
She started biting that bottom lip again. It was her tell, proclaiming loudly to Noah that she wasn’t being truthful. “Oh, yes, I have a shop. I’ll just get into town, and they can come pick it up and fix it, no problem.”
Crap. He hated it when someone lied. And Hope didn’t even do it very well. She was hiding something. He should shrug and move on, but he felt his eyes narrowing. “What’s the name of the shop, sweetheart?”
Her bottom lip disappeared, sucked into her mouth. Yeah, she was a terrible liar. “Uhm, it’s just a shop. I can call them when I get to Del Norte.”
Curiouser and curiouser. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but he didn’t like little Hope lying to him. “There’s only one shop in Del Norte. I happen to know the owner. I’ll come in with you.”
She shook her head, her face flushing again. She got to her feet. Butch danced around her. “It’s okay, really.”
Noah let the hood drop. “No, it’s not all right. I’d like to know what’s going on. You’re lying about calling a shop. Why?”
“It’s really none of your business.”
Brat. He’d missed brats. He’d spent five years with a woman who was perfect on the outside and rotten on the inside. He liked the fact that this woman had no idea how to handle him. “As I’m the one standing here on the side of the road with you, I think it is.”
Her chin came up. “You don’t have to stand here. I thank you very much for stopping. I’ll be fine.”
Stubborn little thing. She ruined her stand by sniffling as her bottom lip quivered.
“You want me to go?” He had no intention of going.
“I want you to take me into town and not ask a lot of questions.”
Yes, that would be the easiest thing to do. He could satisfy his conscience and move on.
Except he really didn’t want to. Standing here and talking to Hope was the first time in a long time that he felt like he could help, maybe make something better.
“Are you going to call your husband? Your boyfriend?”
She took a quick step back. “Are you some kind of weird serial killer? Someone knows where I am.”
Another lie. “So let me get this straight. You don’t have a husband or a boyfriend, and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going. And from all the stuff in the backseat of this car, it looks like you’re living out of it.”
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s none of your business.”
So many things fell into place. She was in trouble. She was trouble. Big trouble. And he was a masochist. It wasn’t the role he usually liked to play. “You don’t have enough money to fix this car, do you?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“You don’t even have enough for a tow.”
“It’s none…”
He didn’t let her get any further. It was stupid, but he had to reach out to her. Tears coursed down her face. “I’m making it my business.”
She shook her head, but didn’t fight him at all as he pulled her into his arms. So sweet and naïve. Damn, she needed a keeper. She shuddered a little, and her head sank to his shoulder.
“You should let me go.” Her words came out in little gasps.
“Shhh.” It felt so damn good to be the one in charge. “It’s going to be all right, Hope.”
He held her, holding his hips as far away as he could from hers so he didn’t scare the crap out of her. She would probably notice his massive hard-on if he got too close. In the distance, he could see a truck pulling up. Drive by. Drive by.
But the truck pulled over, its big wheels driving up dirt and crunching gravel. Hope pulled away, wiping at her eyes. Their little moment was over, and Noah was the slightest bit pissed at the man who had broken it up. He stepped back from Hope, Butch’s tail thumping at his feet.
“You folks need help?”