Page 79 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

The first few bars to Diamond Rio’s “Love a Little Stronger” poured out of the speakers, and she turned to find Everett holding his hand out to her.

“It’s too fast.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. “We’ll two-step.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a good teacher.”

Callie let him lead her out onto the floor, and when he put his arm around her waist, bringing her into his hard body, her nipples tightened involuntarily. He’d lost his jacket, and as his feet shuffled across the floor, she found herself laughing as she tried to keep up.

“I think you overestimated your talent.”

“Naw, it just takes practice. In a few songs, you’ll be leading me.”

An awkward silence stretched between them as they danced. Callie turned her face away, trying to think of something to say, some way to explain her actions and why she’d just needed him to “go with it,” but nothing sounded appropriate.

“Callie.” His mouth was pressed against her ear, a low whisper as he spoke. “I feel like we’ve got something amazing. Something that’s going to last. I look at you, and I see my future.” Her throat tightened with emotion as he continued. “But it’s almost like we take two steps forward and four back, every time. You let me in a little, and then you push me away. I just need you to know that I’ll wait. I’ll be here for whatever you need, whenever. Just don’t shut me out, baby. Please.”

She couldn’t hold back her tears much longer. “Excuse me.” Callie pulled away from Everett and hurried toward the doors of the barn, half expecting him to follow her. She passed through them and ignored the cold as she slipped between the cars until she reached her Jeep, but she was boxed in.

“Son of a bitch!”

She glanced back and saw Everett come through the barn doors, looking around. She ducked down by a car door and waited, watching him through the window as tears trailed down her cheeks, leaving her face chilled. Everett walked across his lawn to his front door. He turned one last time, his porch light highlighting the broadness of his shoulders, before he disappeared inside.

What was wrong with her? She was an emotional mess: a raging bag of lust one second and a petulant, crying child the next. She hated that he said all the right things and was so reasonable and put together when she just wanted him to lose control with her. To stop fighting his impulses and trying to uncover her secrets, layer by layer. Why couldn’t he leave her past in the past, and when it did crop up, just help her forget it?

Her feet were killing her, and the heels weren’t exactly steady on the uneven gravel, so she kicked them off and picked them up, wincing as the hard rocks bit into her feet. Still, it was better than turning her ankle again.

Callie walked back to the barn, her vision blurred with tears. She kept wiping them away as they spilled over, but more appeared in their place. Leaning her forehead against the barn wall, she sobbed, her whole body wracked in misery.

How was she going to explain why she’d needed to walk away from him if she could hardly understand it herself? What if he realized she was too messed up and decided she wasn’t worth it anymore?

Maybe she should see a shrink. This moment alone made it crystal clear she couldn’t make heads or tails of her own mind.

She ignored the people exiting the barn until Caroline’s concerned voice spoke up behind her. “Callie? What happened?” Caroline’s hand rested on her shoulder, but Callie waved her off.

“I’m fine, I just need a minute.”

“You are not,” Caroline said firmly. “You’re crying like your prom date ditched you for your best friend.”

“No, I just . . . ” Callie turned and realized Caroline wasn’t alone. Gabe was standing behind her in the light coming from the open barn, his smile a flash of white on his dark face.

“Hey, Callie,” Gabe said.

“Hey.”

“I’ll drive you home,” Caroline said to Callie before she glanced at Gabe lovingly. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” He came forward to give Caroline the kind of kiss that created steam. When they pulled away, Gabe said to Callie, “Feel better, okay?”

“Thanks.” Callie waited until he was gone before she spoke again. “You didn’t have to stay.”

“Yes, I did.” Caroline put her arm around Callie’s waist. “If The Big Bang Theory has taught me nothing else, it’s that you always offer your friend a shoulder to cry on and a hot beverage when she’s upset.”

“I still have to help Dalton clean up the equipment.”

“You stay here, and I’ll let Dalton know he can handle it on his own—no buts. You need to go home, put a warm wash cloth on your face so your eyes don’t puff up, and then tell me everything so I know who I have to kill.”

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