Читать книгу The Wedding Party And Holiday Escapes Ultimate Collection - Кейт Хьюит, Aimee Carson - Страница 59

Chapter Eighteen

Ryan drove slowly through downtown Jackson, encouraged but still frightened. Of course he’d never admit the frightened part to anyone. He’d ridden two-thousand-pound bulls and never once been afraid. Yet the thought of losing Betsy filled him with icy fear. Even though she’d kissed him as though she didn’t want to let him go, he had the feeling she still planned to walk away. He just wasn’t sure why.

Traffic was heavy, but Ryan didn’t mind. Going home held little appeal, as did stopping at Wally’s Place. Although it was Ladies’ Night and the bar would be crawling with women, there was only one woman Ryan wanted, and she wouldn’t be there.

As he slowed his truck for a turning car, he noticed that Hill of Beans was still open. Even though it didn’t make sense to flood his system with caffeine this late at night, he turned into the parking lot.

Ryan pushed open the door to the coffee shop and breathed in the rich aroma. White lights and brightly colored bulbs still decorated a large fir tree sitting in front of the plate-glass window. Garlands of coffee filters—hand-decorated by patrons—added a festive air to the exposed-brick walls and beamed ceilings. It was hard to believe twenty-four hours ago, Ryan had actually been excited for what the new year would bring.

This Valentine’s Day would have been his and Betsy’s first together, the first of many to come. Now it was looking like they might not make it there.

No. Ryan shoved the thought aside before it had a chance to fully form. Betsy and he would be together. Failure wasn’t an option.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Cole’s broad smile of welcome belied his words.

“I can’t believe you’re actually working, Lassiter,” Ryan shot back. “I thought you’d be home counting your money.”

Cole not only owned this store but was also head of the Hill of Beans empire. Last Ryan knew, his childhood friend had something like fifty or sixty stores in multiple states.

“There’s a big holiday show at the high school tonight.” Cole ignored the jibe. “I didn’t want the kids who work here to miss it, so I volunteered to fill in.”

“How are Meg and Charlie?”

“Charlie’s growing like a weed,” Cole said with a proud papa smile. “And Meg’s just finished her first trimester, so she’s starting to get her energy back.”

A baby. Ryan fought a pang of envy. Before now he hadn’t thought beyond the fact that he wanted kids. And that he wanted Betsy to be their mother.

Cole rested both hands on the counter, relaxed and confident, with an easy smile on his lips. After a dismal childhood, Ryan was glad his friend had finally found the happiness he’d long deserved. “What’s your pleasure?”

“A small coffee should do it.”

“I’ll pour a cup for myself and join you.” Cole lifted a brow. “If you feel like company, that is.”

“Sure.” The last thing Ryan wanted was to be alone with his thoughts.

Once Cole sat down, they talked sports for a few minutes. They’d just moved on to the upcoming Super Bowl game when the bells over the door jingled.

Both men turned in their seats.

Cole pushed his chair back, then lifted a hand in greeting to Nick and Lexi.

The two had been laughing about something when they’d walked through the door, and their laughter carried easily into the shop.

Another happy couple, Ryan thought with a trace of bitterness.

It had once seemed as if everyone had someone special in their life but him. Then Betsy had come along and he’d realized the wait had been worth it. Now, she said she didn’t want him....

“What brings you out on such a cold night?” Cole asked.

Nick grinned. “If you could see the back of our SUV, you wouldn’t have to ask. Lexi closed out three stores.”

His wife punched him playfully in the side. “What my darling husband is trying to say is that we’ve been out hitting the post-holiday sales.”

“And I’ve loved every minute.” Nick looped an arm around her shoulders. “Coraline is keeping the girls overnight, so we’re making the most of the evening.”

The successful family law attorney shot his wife a look that said the night was far from over.

Ryan took a sip of coffee, relishing the heat on his tongue. A couple of days ago that could have been him and Betsy enjoying an evening out while anticipating a night of pleasure once they returned home.

Cole moved behind the counter and smiled at the couple. “What would you like? It’s on the house.”

After giving their orders, the two wandered over to where Ryan sat.

“May we join you?” Lexi asked.

“Of course we can, Lex.” Nick pulled out a chair for her. “We’ll be much better company than Cole.”

“I heard that.” Cole returned to the table with their drinks. “Just for that, a tip is mandatory.”

Once they were all settled around the table, Ryan expected one of the three to ask about Betsy, but they ended up talking about some foster kids that Lexi had to place on an emergency basis that afternoon.

“I didn’t leave the courthouse until after five-thirty. But I’m happy to report the children now have a safe place to stay,” Lexi announced with a satisfied sigh.

“Did you happen to run into Chad Dunlop while you were there?” Cole asked.

Ryan stiffened at the name.

“I didn’t.” Lexi cast Cole a curious look. “Should I have?”

“Rumor is the county attorney is getting ready to charge Dunlop with first-degree sexual assault,” Cole said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Ryan straightened in his chair. “Where did you hear that?”

Cole chuckled. “It’s amazing what you learn when you stand behind that counter for an hour or two.”

“I heard that same rumor earlier today,” Nick admitted.

Lexi turned to her husband. “You never mentioned that to me.”

“I didn’t know you’d be interested.” Nick shrugged. “We barely know the guy.”

Ryan took a calming breath, determined to keep a conversational tone. “Either of you have details?”

“Only that a former legal assistant claims he sexually assaulted her when they were working late.” Nick leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Helluva thing.”

A chill traveled through Ryan’s body.

If Keenan hadn’t taught Betsy how to defend herself...

If she hadn’t gotten lucky and placed her knee in just the right spot...

Lexi’s curious gaze settled on Ryan. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m not.” Ryan pressed his lips together, telling himself not to say anything more, but he couldn’t help himself. “Dunlop is an animal.”

“Didn’t Betsy used to work at his firm?” Lexi asked in a voice that was a little too casual.

Ryan gave a short jerky nod.

“Did she have any trouble with him?” Nick asked, his gaze narrowing.

“I saw Betsy today in the courthouse parking lot,” Lexi said when Ryan didn’t immediately answer. “She was upset. I wonder if her tears had something to do with Chad.”

“She was crying?” Ryan clamped down on the rage building inside him.

Lexi nodded. “She mentioned you and she were having...problems.”

Ryan could read between the lines. She’d told Lexi they’d broken up. Which meant she was serious about her plan to push him out of her life. But why now? With all this stuff with Chad going on, you’d think she’d want him by her side for support. Unless...

The image of Chad in his office doorway, clapping, with that pleased expression on his face flashed before him. The puzzle pieces that had been floating around in Ryan’s head began to lock into place. When he’d caught them together, Chad realized if Betsy ever came forward with her story, he could use her relationship with her current employer—him—to discredit them both.

Was breaking up with him a misguided attempt on Betsy’s part to protect him? Surely not. Surely she realized he could protect himself. And her, too, if given the chance. Still, his possible explanation made more sense than her claiming out of the blue that she didn’t care about him anymore.

Protecting him had to be the reason she’d walked away.

“What’s going on, Ry?” Cole asked quietly.

Ryan ignored the concern in his friends’ eyes. “Nothing I can’t remedy.”

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Cole said. “If there’s anything Meg and I can do to help, just let us know.”

“Same here,” Nick said.

Lexi placed a hand on his arm. “You and Betsy have a lot of friends in this town. Remember that.”

Ryan stood, his mind racing. “I appreciate the offers.”

Tonight he’d plot a course of action.

Tomorrow he’d implement that plan.

She didn’t know it yet, but soon Betsy would be back where she belonged. With him. They’d stand strong and face whatever Chad threw at them...together.

* * *

The day had dawned overcast and cold, but Ryan appeared in a particularly sunny mood when he stopped by Aunt Agatha’s. Betsy had been awake most of the night coming up with just the right words.

She would make sure Ryan understood that he had to leave and not come back. Betsy glanced out the living room window and watched him load blankets and clothing into his truck bed to take to the Good Samaritan Mission on Pearl Street.

Because the wind held an icy bite, Ryan had put on a blue stocking cap to keep his ears warm. Mr. Marstand was outside, too, hood up, wearing the extra coat the attorney had brought with him. Ryan had said the garment was too small and had offered it to Mr. Marstand.

The older gentleman had eagerly accepted. He was soon raving about the coat’s thick lining and warm hood. That’s when Betsy realized that her neighbor had worn those light jackets not out of choice, but out of necessity.

Shame flooded her. She’d been so focused on her own problems that she hadn’t even noticed a neighbor in need.

Betsy had been prepared with her speech when Ryan had arrived, but when he’d presented the old man with the coat, she hadn’t wanted to ruin Mr. Marstand’s obvious pleasure with ugliness.

Her new plan was to wait for the two men to come inside. Then she’d send Mr. Marstand on an errand so she and Ryan could talk privately. While waiting, Betsy busied herself piling last year’s newspapers into a metal shopping cart she’d found in the yard.

“My lordy, it’s cold out there.” Mr. Marstand pulled the front door shut against the brisk north wind, his wrinkled cheeks bright red.

If Betsy didn’t know better she’d swear the man had bits of ice clinging to his mustache. “How’s the coat?”

“Best I ever owned.” Mr. Marstand lowered his voice to a confidential whisper. “I don’t think it’s ever been worn. I’m surprised the boy didn’t take it back when he realized he’d gotten the wrong size.”

“You know how it is.” Betsy waved a hand. “You get busy. Then all of a sudden too much time has passed for a return.”

“Well, I sure do appreciate him thinking of me.”

Betsy peered over his shoulder, as if expecting the attorney to open the door and magically appear. “Is Ryan still loading the truck?”

“He left.”

Betsy inhaled sharply. She’d wanted Ryan to leave but not before she spoke with him. “Where did he go?”

Mr. Marstand shrugged. “Said he had some business that needed attention.”

Betsy wasn’t sure if the sensation coursing through her was relief or disappointment. Or maybe surprise that he’d left without saying goodbye. Of course, Ryan could have picked up on her coolness toward him and decided he’d had enough. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. “Did he mention coming back?”

“Don’t worry.” Mr. Marstand patted her arm. “He’ll be back. That boy likes being around you.”

The words shouldn’t have made her feel better, but they did.

Betsy changed the subject by pointing to a stack of magazines. “I have all this stuff I don’t want while the one thing my aunt gave me that meant something has disappeared.”

Mr. Marstand bent over and took an armful of the magazines, dropping them in the cart on top of the newspapers. “What’s missing?”

“A love token.” Betsy chewed on her lower lip, trying to decide the best way to describe it. “It looks like a coin. It has ivy and hearts and—”

“Stop right there.” Mr. Marstand reached into his pocket. “Is this it?”

Betsy gave an excited shriek. “Where did you find it?”

“On the sidewalk in front of the apartment building today. Didn’t know who it belonged to.” He flipped it to Betsy. “Do you know what the words mean?”

She slipped the medallion into the pocket of her jeans, pushing it way down so that there was no chance of losing it again. “You and no other.”

Mr. Marstand thought for a moment, then smiled. “That’s how your young man feels about you.”

“Ryan isn’t my young man.” Betsy hardened her heart against the stabbing pain. “We broke up.”

There. She’d told Mr. Marstand. Another step forward.

“You two don’t look broke up to me.” Mr. Marstand picked up the last of the stack of magazines and tossed them into the cart.

“That’s because he won’t go away,” Betsy said more crossly than she’d intended.

“He loves you.”

Betsy acted as if she hadn’t heard the comment. “Is that all the magazines?”

“Yup.” The old man lifted a misshapen plastic toy horse from a stack of junk and handed it to Betsy. “What’s the story on this fella?”

Betsy swallowed a sigh. From one topic she didn’t want to discuss to another.

“My mom stepped on it when she was drunk.” Betsy kept her tone matter-of-fact. “Aunt Agatha tried to glue it back together. I don’t know why she kept it. I told her to throw it away.”

Betsy couldn’t help caressing the palomino’s nose. The horse had been precious to her. A birthday present from her aunt, the year her mom had forgotten the day entirely. “Mom never even apologized. Not about the horse or forgetting my birthday.”

A look of understanding mixed with sadness filled the old man’s gaze. “I had a daddy who liked the bottle. Like your mama he never apologized for nothin’. Mam said it was ’cause he didn’t recall doin’ it.”

“My mom used to say horrible things to both me and Keenan.”

“That was the alcohol talking.” The lines on Mr. Marstand’s face appeared to deepen. “Pap used to tell me I was more trouble than I was worth. My sis used to cry when he said that to her. Not me. I never cried.”

“Keenan never cried either.”

“I told everyone the words just bounced off me like one of them bouncing balls.” Mr. Marstand gave a humorless chuckle. “It sounded good.”

“My mom’s words hurt,” Betsy admitted. “But I tried not to let her actions—or her words—affect my life.”

“Sometimes they still do, just in ways we can’t see.”

Even if Mr. Marstand hadn’t been staring at her with that expectant look on his face, she’d have made the connection. “You think my past is affecting my relationship with Ryan.”

“Isn’t it?”

Even though she didn’t owe her neighbor an explanation, Mr. Marstand was much more than simply the man next door. He was her friend. The grandfather she’d never had.

“No, it isn’t. There are reasons Ryan and I can’t be together,” Betsy said. “Big, important ones.”

“Have you shared those big important reasons with him?”

Betsy shook her head.

“Then I think it’s about time, don’t you?”