Page 4 of Easton’s Claim

Damn, she was nervous. The kitchen felt three times as small as it had a minute ago.

Easton was the sort of man who walked into a room and took up all the space. He was just so…male, and sexy as all get out with that tall, sculpted body and those intense brown eyes. It was hell trying to pretend she didn’t notice, but fighting it didn’t work. Ever since the last time she’d seen him this past May, her brain refused to let her perceive him the way she used to.

“Good.” He leaned a hip against the center island and set a roped, tatted forearm on top of it, his expression turning serious. “My dad says you’re planning to leave town once your house sells.”

Piper turned her back to him to hide her reaction. She’d never been good at masking her emotions and Easton knew her better than most people, so with him it was even harder. He could read her too easily and she didn’t want to broadcast her mixed emotions. “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The bewilderment and hurt in his tone surprised her. Steeling herself, she turned back around to face him, squelched the jolt of yearning and attraction she didn’t want to feel. “I wasn’t sure until last week, and it wasn’t something I wanted to tell you over the phone or in an e-mail.” They’d been in contact more over the past four months than during the previous six years combined. She’d eagerly anticipated each call and e-mail. Too much so.

“So you were just gonna sell your house, make arrangements to leave town, and call to tell me afterward?”

The frustration behind the words took her off guard. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be so upset.”

“You didn’t think I’d be upset,” he repeated, voice flat, eyes bleak when a moment ago they’d held such warmth.

She fidgeted with the kitchen towel in her hands, unsure what to say. “I didn’t mean it like that.” She knew he cared about her and would miss her when she left. Same as she would miss him.

“Then how did you mean it?”

“Well, I thought you’d be a little sad to see me go, but…” She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. She hadn’t expected him to be this upset.

“And why go back to Minnesota?”

“They offered me my dream job, teaching humanities at a prestigious private school in a suburb of St. Paul, near where my uncles live.” Where she’d been born and raised by her father after her mother divorced him and left for Mexico to be with her lover, leaving them both behind.

“Your uncles?”

“Yeah, I applied for the position months ago, and I wasn’t sure I’d be qualified but they liked my credentials and charitable work. I flew out there for an interview a few weeks back, and just found out I got the job. I accepted, of course.” She smiled, unable to hide her excitement. Teaching humanities had been a passion of hers for so long, and she’d given it up for Greg and his family. She’d been waiting for this chance, to reclaim her life and start over, and couldn’t wait to be back in the classroom again. “Isn’t that great?”

Easton shook his head, his mouth a flat line in the midst of his beard, a reminder that he’d just returned from another stint in Afghanistan. And that he’d be going back there again soon enough. She hated that his job was so dangerous. “You can’t go.”

They might be good friends, but that note of command in his voice made her spine go rigid. It was her life, and she’d fought damn hard to salvage it. No one was going to tell her what she could and couldn’t do, not anymore. Not even him. “Well, I am. I thought you’d be happy for me.” She’d be sad to leave Sugar Hollow and the Colebrook family behind, but she couldn’t stay here anymore. It wasn’t healthy.

“Why? We talked at least once a week while I was gone this last time, and you never once hinted you were thinking of moving away. Sowhy?” He sounded so frustrated, she relented with a sigh.

“Because I need a fresh start.” When he kept staring at her, she continued. “You’ve been gone for most of the last few years, but I’m sure even you heard people around town talking about Greg and me when you were here visiting.”

He shrugged. “People always talk about shit that doesn’t concern them. So I didn’t pay attention to any of it.”

Lucky you.“Well, I’m done with being at the center of gossip around here.”

“Has it really been that bad?” he asked with a concerned frown.

Uh,yeah, but it was good to know her damage control efforts had mostly worked, if his cluelessness was any indication. Maybe not everyone in town thought she was a basket case.

She blew out a breath. It was embarrassing to have this conversation with him. He was a Colebrook, and as far as the people of Sugar Hollow were concerned, they were local heroes. At least Easton would never judge her. He’d known her for a damn long time, and no matter what, she knew he respected her.

“Greg pretty much ruined my reputation.”And my life.

Looking back, she didn’t know how she’d missed all the warning signs early on. The marriage hadn’t been perfect, but in the beginning it had been pretty good. Greg had always liked to drink and have a good time. No one loved parties and attention as much as he did.

Then, to deal with the stress of his job as sheriff and what she suspected were issues he’d brought home with him from his deployments to Afghanistan years earlier, he’d started drinking more and more soon after their wedding. Not long after that, he’d begun abusing prescription meds and, eventually, harder drugs.

That’s when his life had fallen apart completely, and whether he’d meant to or not, he’d dragged her down into the muck with him. He’d lied, manipulated her and other people, racked up massive amounts of debt she’d been clueless about at first. A few months after he’d become sheriff she’d heard whispers, rumors around town, and noticed people giving her pitying looks.

God, she’d hated that. The shame was still with her, like a permanent stain on her skin. It was partly her fault, for not seeing it soon enough. And for hanging on to the hope that Greg would pull himself out of the downward spiral and once again become the man she’d fallen in love with.

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