Page 17 of Saving Her Curves

Leaving the bathroom with a confident step, she returned to the kitchen to find a man almost as big as Hank in a police uniform sitting at the table eating the eggs and bacon Hank had cooked.

“Skye, this if Officer Luke Palmer. He’s going to take you into town.”

Skye looked from Hank to the officer. “I...” She didn’t know what to say. She had assumed Hank would take her home.

“It’s protocol, ma’am. You need to fill out a report.” When he saw her continued frown, he added, “For your insurance.”

“Oh, right, my insurance.”

The tone of her voice must have clued Hank in on her mood. “Can you give us a minute, please?” He looked at the officer.

The man stood and walked to the door. “Sure, Hank. I’ll be outside.”

“What’s going on?” Skye asked the question as calmly as she could. She hadn’t expected this. This sudden brush off. She knew they’d had a good time together. She’d hoped they could continue to get to know each other. Apparently, she’d been wrong. Maybe, all the gossip about the search and rescue team was true. They were all man sluts.

“I need to go into work. Since the roads are open, they’ll be needing all hands on deck.”

She stood before him, dressed in her jeans and sweater. All the clothes she’d borrowed from him over the last few days, she’d put in the clothes hamper. She knew it would only take minutes to wash away her scent. Wash away her memory, she thought, her eyes flashing. “So, you couldn’t take me back to town with you?”

Hank avoided her gaze, which was a sure sign he didn’t know what to say. At that very moment, her heart began to crack. She’d known this moment would come as surely as her next breath. But…somehow, she’d held on to the last small shred of hope, that maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t.

“Skye.” Her name almost sounded desperate, but she knew that wasn’t the case.

“My accident…the legal ramifications…” Suddenly she understood everything. “You just want to make sure I don’t sue you, your rescue team or the county, don’t you?”

He made a move as if to grab her, but she evaded his touch. Going to the door, she sat down, putting on her boots as calmly as she could. Hank just stood there, watching. Really, she thought to herself, there wasn’t anything to say. Their time together, no matter what it had meant to each of them, was over.

She grabbed her coat and phone, realizing she had nothing else to take.

Except her broken heart.

Maybe it was for the best, she thought, as the officer helped her into the cruiser, that this was how it ended. As abruptly, and cold, as it had begun.

***

It was almost a week later that Skye found herself alone in her store, her thoughts filled, as usual, with Hank.

The man who had saved her.

The man who had driven her crazy with his touch.

The man she’d fallen head over heels for.

The man, who was seriously avoiding her.

Skye put down the soldering iron she’d been using to connect a piece of amethyst to a wire. She’d been trying to finish this piece for over a day now, but somehow, thoughts of Hank were disrupting her creative process.

They hadn’t spoken since Officer Palmer had driven her away from the cabin.

It had been a busy week. The snow had stayed and with it, the ski loving tourists had flocked to the area. Skye’s business had picked up and she was grateful. The rush would see her through until the Christmas season.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to do the piece justice in this mood, she stood, stretching out the kinks in her back. She loved making jewelry, but sometimes the long hours bent over a bench took its toll on her body. She suspected it did the same to Hank. They had talked about her carrying his carvings in her store. Over the past week, she’d had to restrain herself from using that as an excuse to go see him.

But something, maybe that last sliver of pride she held inside her, made her back away from that idea.

If he wanted to see her, he knew exactly where she worked, and knew approximately where she lived.

She turned as the bell above the door rang. Coming inside were two women. One was pushing a stroller and the other was holding her stomach, a stomach swollen with child. The sight made her ache.

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