Page 53 of A Deceitful Pact

“Nah, he looks comfortable where he is.” I stand up straight, nodding my head at them both before heading back to my truck.

While I drive home, I debate whether or not I should message Riley to ask if she needs anything. I’m trying not to be too overbearing, and although the few encounters I’ve had with her around town since the wedding have been friendly, they haven’t felt like enough. I called her last week to ask if she was okay, and we ended up talking on the phone for over an hour. She complained about her day, and I listened, wishing that I was beside her, stroking her hair or playing with her hands. She’s turned me into a mess of a man.

The most frustrating thing about all this is her silence. Something is holding her back, and I’m starting to wonder if that something isn’t what she fears anymore; it’s knowing that I might be able to fix it that scares her most of all.

I decide to seize the day and ask her over for dinner tonight. She told me on the phone that she’d been craving anchovies, so I figure I can use that to my advantage.

My place tonight? Pizza with extra anchovies?

I send the message and focus back on the road. I’m still a few miles outta town and just as I come over the bridge by the old mill, I see Beth Delaney standing on the side of the road beside her car..

“Car trouble?”I pull up and lean over the seat to speak to her from the passenger side window.

“Ran out of gas.” She looks mad at herself.

“You call someone for a ride?” I check, knowing that I can’t leave her out here stranded.

“Forgot to charge my phone.” She holds up her dead cell and rolls her eyes at her own stupidity.

“You really are in a pickle.” I shake my head at her and laugh. “Come on, jump in. I’ll give ya a ride back to town.”

“You don’t have to do that.” She smiles awkwardly.

“Sure, I do, what do you think your daddy would think of me if I left ya out here in the midday sun, all alone?” I pop the door open for her and rest back in my seat.

“It’s not that hot.” She shrugs her shoulders and tries to be coy.

“Beth, just get in.” I know that I hurt her and she has her pride to think about, but this road is dead, and she ain’t got the privilege of being proud. I wait for her to climb into the passenger seat before driving on toward town.

“So, how ya been?” I ask, feeling a little guilty for the way I handled our situation. Things seem a whole lot different now that I know how rejection feels.

“I’ve been good, keeping busy.” She sits stiffly in the seat and keeps her head held high.

“Look, Beth, I’m sorry if there was a time when I made you believe we could be more than what we were. You're a nice gir–”

“Please, don’t give me the’ nice girl’ speech, Sawyer.” She shakes her head.

“It’s not a speech, it’s true. You got a lot to offer, and you're gonna make the right guy real happy someday. I just wasn’t that guy,” I tell her what I should have done months ago.

“It isn’t all your fault. I know I can be a little overexcitable sometimes.” She looks down at her lap.

“Yeah, well, if I knew then what I know now, I’d have gone about things differently,” I admit.

“Different how?” She looks back up curiously.

“I’d have had the awkward conversations with ya rather than avoidin’ ‘em. Been clearer with ya, let ya know where ya stood.”

“Where’s all this coming from?” Beth laughs, staring at me as if I’m a stranger

“Let’s just say, I’m starting to relate to how you felt. I like someone… a lot,” I confess. Strangely, it feels kinda good to get that off my chest. “She doesn’t want what I want.”

“Breaks your heart, don’t it?” She actually looks as if she feels sorry for me.

“Hurts like hell, that's why I wanted to apologize. I never intended to hurt ya, I just didn’t see things from your point of view. If you can forgive me, I’d like us to be friends.”

“Who’s the girl?” she asks.

“It don’t matter who she is.” I shake my head. I’ve given away far too much for one day.

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