Page 44 of Wildfire
"Leave her alone, Michael. I already told you it was a mistake to drive out here."
His face is red and sweaty, and his eyes are bloodshot. "I'm not leaving without you, Renée. You belong with me." He pushes around her and tries to grab me again.
Suddenly, I see both Caleb and Cole emerge from the crowd. Within an instant, Caleb is flanking Zoe, and Cole is flanking me.
"Is there a problem here?" Cole puts a protective arm around me.
"Oh, now I see. My bed isn't even cold, and you're already spreading your legs for someone else."
Cole's fist is flying through the air before Michael can finish his sentence. The sound it makes when he connects with Michael's jaw is painful and thrilling.
He's protecting me, even though I'm not his to protect.
Michael doubles over as he covers his jaw with his hand, blood pooling around a small cut on his lip. "What the hell, man?"
"If you ever insult her again. If you ever come near her again. I won't pull my punches."
Michael looks at me like a kicked dog, and I see the man I know. The one who would always be too cowardly for me. The one who thought building a successful fast-food restaurant in a dying town was a woman's idea of a big score.
"You didn't even say goodbye, Renée. Didn't I mean anything to you?"
I look at Cole, and we seem to speak without saying anything. I let him know it is okay, and I pull Michael aside. Cole watches our every move.
"Michael, we had some fun, but that's all it was. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry, but I am not the woman who will marry you and give you a boatload of kids. I don't want to cheer you on as you build the Slop Shop. And I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. That was shitty of me. I knew if I told you, you'd try to talk me out of it, and you'd probably talk to my dad about it, but I couldn't let my family know. I saw my chance to leave, and I took it. I hope you will understand someday."
Defeated, he nods his head. "You were great up there."
I gently kick his foot with my boot. "Thanks. Sorry about the punch in the face, but you were being a dick."
"I'm going to get some ice and go home." He turns to walk away and then looks back over his shoulder. "Bye, Renée. I loved you, you know."
I nod. "Bye, Michael." I turn back toward Cole, but my eyes lock on Zoe and Caleb, standing close to each other, chatting. Just as I am about to break that situation up, she whips out her phone to answer it. When I reach her, I see a panicked look on her face.
"I gotta go. My mom fell at work, and she's at the hospital."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Yeah. Can you get a ride home from Cole? I'm going to grab my stuff and head back to Downsville."
"You don't want me to go back to Cole's to help you pack?"
"Hell no. This is your night! You need to stay here and meet all your new fans. I'll be okay."
I squeeze Zoe in a hug and lean my face to her ear. "Thank you for coming. It means the world to me. Please drive carefully and text me when you get to the hospital."
She squeezes me back and nods again. Then she says goodbye to Caleb and Cole and disappears through the crowd.
I spend the rest of the evening chatting with locals and tourists and having the time of my life. Every few minutes, I scan the room and find Cole towering above whomever he is talking with, and his eyes inevitably meet mine. He smiles, holds my gaze, and occasionally raises an eyebrow if I look at him too long.
And everything about it is driving me wild.
He isn't treating me with kid gloves, but he isn't letting me out of his sight either. He isn't beating off other men flirting, but he isn't further than a few steps away, just in case I need him. He keeps my cup filled with cold beer or water, whichever I want, and he brings me a burger from God knows where, exactly when my stomach starts to growl.
He knows what I need, and he cares for me. Leaving him after two weeks will be harder than leaving Michael after two years.
I push the thoughts of leaving out of my mind as I scan the crowd one last time to find him. He nods toward the door, and I smile, climbing the stairs to the stage to grab my guitar. I say goodbye to the band and thank them for the best night of my life, and then I find Cole waiting by the side door.
"Ready, Wildfire?"
