Page 54 of Catch Me When I Fall

Chapter 14

Carrie

Three weeks later. Astoria, Oregon.

“Leo is here for you,” Sarah called from the doorway of the back room.

My head shot up from the inventory as a smile spread across my lips. Sarah’s eyes met mine, and she winked before disappearing into the front. I rose from the floor, leaving my work for tomorrow, dusting off the butt of my capris and double checking my blouse. My hair was wild today, and there was no taming it. The humidity in the summer air had taken over, partnered with the salt from the sea.

For the last few weeks, I’d been casually dating Leo. Things were light, and even though I enjoyed his company, the bounty hunter still lingered in the back of my mind. Some days, I wouldn’t think of him at all, while others, I would be consumed by the thought of him, his dark eyes, his scarred face, his mercy…

Everything about him had me in a trance, and for almost a month now, I’d been trying to break it.

He was the reason I eventually went on a second date with Leo. He was the reason I locked my doors every single night, just like he told me. He was the reason I stayed up every night sitting in the spot he’d been in, hoping he’d come back…

As I walked to the front of the bookstore, guilt swirled in my tummy, and I wanted to laugh. This guilt was for a stranger in the night, not my dead husband—the man I was supposed to still be mourning. Robert was a fading memory now, just like St. Louis.

After the bounty hunter left, I dialed the number to Sullie’s bar into my phone and stared at it for hours, wondering if I’d should’ve bitten the bullet and called them. They hired a bounty hunter to find me, after all. I knew they might’ve missed me, but I didn’t expect them to come after me. I was horrible to them. I ignored them for months because I was so wrapped up in Robert and the fairytale life he pretended to offer.

“Carrie.”

I turned my head towards the sound of the warm voice to find Leo standing by the check-out counter, a bundle of daisies in his hands. He’d been fishing for the last four days, having just gotten back this morning. He beamed at me, his smile bright against his tanned skin.

“Leo,” I greeted, walking to him.

His arms enveloped me, and though his heat felt wonderful, it was nothing compared to the bounty hunter’s.

Stop thinking about him, Carrie.

Be in the present. Get out of the past and focus on your new life.

Leo’s lips pressed against the side of my head. “Fuck, I’d never thought I’d say this, but I missed you.”

I laughed. “You never thought you’d miss me?”

He pulled back, his hands on top of my arms, his thumbs stroking. “First love is the sea. Never thought I’d want to get back home so soon.”

His sweet words. His bright smile. His warm touch.

Yeah, I needed to focus on this.

“How was it?”

“Good,” he told me, dropping his hands and holding the flowers in front of me. “For you.”

“God, you two are so cute,” Margo groaned from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to find her leaning on the coffee counter, her chin resting in her hand, looking absolutely disgusted. “Makes me want to vomit.”

Leo chuckled.

“Well, I think you both are sweet as sin,” Sarah said, coming around the checkout counter with a box in her hands.

“Good to know I have your approval, Sarah,” Leo said, grinning at her.

I watched them both, knowing that, in some way, us dating rekindled Leo and Michael’s friendship. Sarah told me that even though they went to high school together and lived in the same small town, they grew apart. She told me magic had been in the air ever since I came to town.

“Are you two still coming over for dinner tonight?” Sarah asked, her eyes bouncing between the both of us.

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