Page 28 of So Right
“I definitely meant it as a compliment.” They emerged from the trail into the parking lot. “And here we are.” He unlocked the car and opened the back.
“That was great. Thanks again for inviting me.”
He took a long drink from his pack before pulling it off and tossing it into the Jeep. “Thanks for coming. I hope you’ll hike with me again some time.”
She took off her pack and set it in the car. “I’d like that.”
“Great.” He sat on the bumper. “So, this coming weekend is the Ribbon Ridge Oktoberfest. Have you been before?”
She nodded, tensing for what might come next. And she was right.
“Would you like to go with me? Whenever you can fit it into your schedule.”
She did have Saturday evening off. She could say yes. But that didn’t mean she should. Today had been fun, but after telling Luke about Noah… She wanted to crawl into a hole and bury her head for a week. Or forever.
“I’m actually really booked up this weekend. Two jobs and all that.”
He turned his head away from her slightly and looked out toward the road. “Right. I get that. Well, if you change your mind, or your schedule frees up, let me know.”
He sounded disappointed. She actually felt a little disappointed, but it was for the best. There’d been a moment—okay, several moments—when she’d felt so comfortable with him…sodrawnto him. How else could she explain telling him about Noah? She’d never done that and even now couldn’t quite understandwhyshe’d done it. Had she known that he would be so supportive? He hadn’t pressed her in the slightest, and that gave her something she hadn’t felt in a long time: hope.
For what? A relationship? She tried to imagine how that would work. She hadn’t even been able to handle him tending her wound without shrinking away. What would happen when he kissed her or touched her…intimately? The last year or so with Noah had been so awful.
Yep, she was ruined. Her heart ached.
Luke stood up from the bumper. “You ready?”
She sensed his impatience. Or frustration. Or both. “Yep.” She moved away from the back end and went to the passenger door as he shut the hatch.
Once they were in the Jeep, he fired up the engine and pulled out of the lot.
After five minutes or so, he yanked his hat off and tossed it into the backseat, then ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up. It gave him a just-rolled-out-of-bed look that was far sexier than it ought to be. Kelsey tried to ignore the visceral reaction burgeoning in her gut. She hadn’t been attracted to someone in so long. The sensation was a bit frightening.
“Any chance you want to tell me about your ex?” he asked, keeping his gaze on the road. “Nothing major. How long were you together?”
Shedidn’twant to tell him. She kept hoping that chapter in her life would just miraculously disappear. Hence the reason she never talked about it. Maybe if she didn’t, she could pretend it had never happened. Except things like the scar he’d noticed would always be there to remind her. And someday, Noah would get out of prison, and she’d have to deal with that. Her stomach knotted.
“We met in college. We were together about six years.”
That sounded so awful. How could she not have known better?
“I imagine you had some happy times.”
The knot in her stomach vaulted to her throat. How could he know that? How did he know just the right thing to say to ease the tension curdling through her? “We did.”
Until she’d gone to grad school in Seattle. He’d come with her and hated every minute of living in the urban environment. He’d hit her a few times in college, but things had worsened in Seattle. It had started with him throwing things, followed by putting his fist through the wall. He’d progressed to shoving her or grabbing her hard enough to leave bruises and on to slapping and occasionally closed-fist punching. Then the hitting had become more regular, but still not bad enough for her to realize what was happening. At the time, at least. In retrospect, she’d been an idiot.
He’d saved his grand performance—beating the crap out of her—for when they’d moved far away from family. From his comfort zone. In small-town Oregon, he’d been able to isolate her, to ensure that he was her sole relationship. And she’d fallen into that trap like an idiot. She clasped her hands in her lap and squeezed as her agitation built.
“How’d he end up in prison? I mean, did you have a trial and all that?”
She would’ve, if it had been necessary, but Noah had taken the plea deal. “He pled guilty to assault.”
“I’m glad you didn’t have to go through a trial. Not after everything else.”
He had no idea what she’d been through. He was making assumptions. And yet, he was absolutely right. And he got it. Or seemed to anyway. She didn’t know what to do with that.
She shifted in her seat. “I’m sorry, but can we talk about something else?”
