Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel (23 page)

“Don’t tell me you don’t like this either.”

“No, it’s fantastic. I wonder what they use as a marinade. It tastes like …”

“Margarita mix.” Joe stood there, a bottle of champagne and three glasses in his hands. “I’m glad you like it. Mind if I join you?”

Joe rarely stepped out from behind the bar during business hours, and he almost never sat with patrons. So when he pulled out the chair and sat, people gawked.

He set a champagne glass before each of them, opened the bottle, and poured. They made small talk while Eric and Victoria ate, discussing the wedding, the weather, and Rico’s ongoing effort to get Chicago-style deep-dish pizza on the menu.

“I’m going to miss this place,” Victoria said, looking around her. “There’s no place like Knockers in Chicago.”

“I was serious about that job offer,” Joe said.

That seemed to fluster her. “My degree is in public relations, not cooking.”

Joe shrugged. “I have a master’s of science in mining engineering.”

Eric could have tongue-kissed the man. Not that he really expected Victoria to leave her life behind to work in a restaurant, but he could hope…

When they finished their meals, Joe got to the point. “I understand from Hawke that you don’t want us making a fuss about what you did. I get that. I really do. But Bear is important to us. It goes against the grain in this town not to honor our heroes.”

“I’m not a hero.” There was a dark frustration in her eyes. “You all keep saying I did something really brave, but I can’t even remember it.”

So
that
was the problem.

“I know someone who remembers it all—every bit of it.” Joe motioned to Rain, who walked over to Bear’s table.

Some of the tension left Victoria’s face when she saw him. He shuffled over, hat in his hand, his head bowed, his long hair in tangles.

Joe got to his feet, pulled out the fourth chair. “Have a seat, Bear. You’ve got something you want to say to Victoria, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.” Bear sat, lifting his gaze to Victoria at last. “Hello, Victoria.”

“Hi, Bear. How are you?”

The question seemed to confuse him, or maybe he was just nervous. “Thank you,” he said after a moment.

She gave him a soft smile that made Eric’s heart ache. “You’re welcome.”

“Are you okay?”

She reached over, touched her hand to his arm. “I’m fine.”

His face crumpled. “I thought … I thought you were
dead
. That man shoved you into the street. You fell hard, and the car …”

Eric tried to reassure him. “She was knocked out, but she’s fine, buddy.”

“Truly, I’m okay.”

Some of the distress left Bear’s face.

“How did it make you feel when Victoria came to help you?” Joe asked Bear.

Bear looked into Victoria’s eyes. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Joe looked over to Victoria. “Do you still think you did nothing?”

Victoria blinked back tears. “I guess not.”

Joe picked up his champagne. “Are you sure you don’t want any, Bear?”

Bear frowned, shook his head. “Demon’s drink.”

The band was just finishing a song, so Joe waited till the applause faded, then stood. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

Silence fell over the place.

“Last week, a visitor to our town came close to being killed while trying to defend one of our own—Bear—from a group of bullies. That visitor, Victoria Woodley, doesn’t want us to make a big deal out of what she did. That’s just the kind of person she is. She doesn’t even remember what happened. Let’s all raise our glasses in thanks. Victoria, you’ll always have a place here in Scarlet. To Victoria!”

Shouts rang out through the pub.

“To Victoria!”

Eric raised his glass. “To you, my angel.”

Tears ran down Victoria’s cheeks now. “Thanks. You’re all so sweet.”

Joe turned toward the band. “Hit it!”

The Mudbugs’ lead singer spoke into his mic. “This is for you, Victoria.”

Then the band broke into a Cajun rendition of Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You.” Those who knew the song laughed and began to sing along.

“Dance with me?” Eric asked.

“I would love to.” She stood, gave Bear a hug, then followed him onto the dance floor, her hand in his.

As he took her into his arms and started leading, Eric would have given anything to freeze time and make the night last forever.

* * *

V
ic ran
her hands over Eric’s bare chest, his arms bracketing her on the bed, his body raised up above hers. “I like it this way the best.”

“Really?” He thrust into her again, slow and deep. “Why?”

She tried to find the words, distracted by the hard feel of him inside her. “I like to see your body move. I like to feel your strength. I like to feel overpowered by you.”

She wasn’t sure she was making sense. She could barely talk.

“Yeah?” He took hold of her wrists one at a time and stretched her arms over her head, pinning her to the bed, using just enough strength to make it feel real. “Does my sweet Vicki like a little domination?”

A dark thrill ran through her to feel herself restrained by him. “
Yes
.”

There was no need for words after that, as he drove into her hard, pleasure carrying both of them away.

* * *

E
ric held her afterward
. “We have to talk about it sooner or later.”

For a moment, she said nothing, her fingers tracing lines across his chest.

“I don’t want to leave you, but I have to go back. I need to think it all through. I love you, Eric, and I’m happier with you than I’ve ever been. But we’ve only really known each other for a couple of weeks, and moving here would be a huge change. If I’m going to do this, I have to do it the right way. I can’t just uproot my life and my career based on emotions. I have to make sure it’s what we both really want.”

He understood why she was saying this, but part of him wanted to object. Of course it was what he wanted, but that wasn’t really the issue. She was having trouble trusting herself to make a decision, and that was a problem she had to resolve.

He kissed her temple. “You have to do what’s right for you. I understand that. When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

All he could do now was wait and hope.

V
ic walked back
to her office, set her files on her desk, and sank into her chair, relieved that the presentation was over. She’d worked tirelessly on this campaign since getting home two months ago. It was wonderful to have it behind her.

The executives from Merced Capital had been impressed and pleased with her work, particularly her situational analysis, which had dared to challenge their view of their niche as a company. Vic had suggested nothing less than an audacious rebranding. Abigail had been nervous about that, afraid they would reject the idea. But she’d left the conference room beaming and was now on her way to lunch with Merced’s CEO.

Vic didn’t care that she hadn’t been invited. She didn’t feel much like schmoozing. She booted up her computer and typed in her password, hoping to catch up on work emails before lunch, her fingers drawn to the diamond pendant Eric had given her on their last morning together. A half-carat princess cut diamond set in white gold, it was the most precious thing she owned because it had come from him.

“It’s nothing fancy, but I hope you’ll like it.”

“Oh, Eric! It’s beautiful. I love it.”

There’d been such vulnerability in his eyes when he’d handed her the small wrapped box. She’d had to fight not to cry.

It had been only two months, but it felt like a hundred years since they’d stood there together in DIA and said goodbye.

She willed herself to focus on answering her email, setting aside for the moment the persistent unanswered question of what to do with her life. She had almost finished when her cell phone buzzed, making her pulse skip. She drew it out of her purse.

A text from Eric.

She opened it, smiled to herself, warmth blossoming in her chest. It was a selfie of him with a sexy smile on his face and a blue Post-It note stuck to his forehead that read, “I love you.”

The Post-It was one of about a hundred Vic had scribbled on and hidden all around his cabin that last Friday when he’d been toned out on an EMS call. It had been her way of leaving a bit of herself with him. Every time he found one, he let her know, and she could see that it made him happy.

He sent another message, this one just text.

That made her laugh.

She studied the photo, saw that his hair was sweaty and he was wearing his Scarlet Springs Fire Department T-shirt. He must have just finished a shift. She could almost smell him—the salt of his skin, the spice of his shaving cream.

How was she possibly going to make it to December?

She planned to spend the holidays with him and had already bought her plane tickets. But Christmas was four whole months away.

It felt like an eternity.

She saved the photo to her phone. She would download it to her laptop later and put it with the others he’d sent—photos of the aspens at his cabin starting to change, of Austin and Lexi on their deck, of a black bear that had wandered into his yard. Every photo was precious to her, a link to a place—and a man—she loved.

There came a knock at her door, and Jeff poked his head in. “Word is Merced is over the moon. Congratulations. I thought you’d want to know that I heard Abigail talking in the elevator. It looks like you’ve got that promotion on lockdown. I hope it comes with a hefty raise.”

Jeff had done so much to help her through her first weeks back, when headaches and short-term memory problems had made it hard for her to work.

“Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have done it without you, and I’m going to make sure Abigail knows that.”

“Hey, we’re a team, right?”

As he disappeared down the hallway, Vic wondered why this news about the promotion had left her feeling … nothing.

* * *

E
ric walked back
to Rescue One, first-aid kit in hand, the ambulance heading down the canyon. Two guys had gone hiking off-trail, had gotten lost, and had spent the night out in the open in temps that had dropped almost to freezing. They’d been too embarrassed to call for help until it was clear they were in trouble. They were both suffering from exposure and dehydration, but they’d be fine.

Taylor walked up behind him. “Hey, got a minute?”

“For you?” Eric opened the rear doors of the vehicle, put the first-aid kit back in its place, and shut the doors. “Let me check my schedule.”

Taylor stood there for a moment with a big grin on his face, then lowered his voice so the rest of the Team wouldn’t hear. “Lexi’s pregnant.”

The words hit Eric in the face. “What?”

“Pregnant. You know—knocked up, with child, in the family way, bun in the—”

“I know what it means, but … Wow.” He hadn’t known they were trying for kids. They’d only been married for two and a half months. “That was fast.”

“We’re both thirty-three. We figured we’d better start soon if we wanted kids. I thought it would take longer than it did.”

“It must be all that second-chakra energy Rose talked about at your wedding. Do I detect a hint of disappointment?”

Taylor shrugged. “I liked being in demand for my sperm. My days as a stud ended too quickly.”

“Don’t ask me to feel sorry for you. You’ve apparently been going at it like bunnies while I’ve been doing my best imitation of a monk.” Apart from fucking his own fist, that is. He doubted monks did that. Then again, what did he know?

Taylor laughed. “Someone’s grumpy. Heard from Vic lately?”

“She’s finally got a free night, so we’re supposed to talk on Skype.”

“Good.”

“If it were up to me, she’d be here right now, and we’d be starting a life together. But she’s still working it out.”

“Lexi says she’s crazy about you. Give her time.”

Give her time.

Isn’t that what he was doing? It shouldn’t take this long. It shouldn’t be this hard. If she loved him, she should want to be here with him.

Shit.

Eric set his own frustrations aside. They had no place in this moment. He clapped Taylor on the shoulder. “Jesus, man, you’re going to be a father. Congratulations. I’m so happy for you both. Is this a big secret?”

“Not really. Rose knows so—”

“Hey, everyone, guess what?” Eric called out, determined to beat Rose to the punch for once. “Lexi’s pregnant. Taylor’s going to be a father.”

Cheers went up, and the Team members who were still on site moved toward them, dusty and dirty and grinning ear to ear.

Taylor narrowed his eyes, glaring at Eric. “Gee, thanks.”

Megs gave Taylor a hug. “Apparently there’s something you’re good at besides climbing. Congratulations.”

Sasha high-fived him. “How far along is she? When’s the baby due?”

“She’s about eight weeks right now, so she’s due at the end of March.”

Ahearn shook Taylor’s hand. “We all expected this news when you were teenagers. I’m proud of you for making it this far, son.”

That made everyone laugh.

“Drinks at Knockers?” Eric asked. “Yours is on me, buddy.”

Taylor shook his head. “I need to get home. Lexi has been queasy more or less all day today. I don’t want to leave her alone with that.”

Megs nodded. “You’re a good man.”

As Eric drove Rescue One down the mountain and back to the Cave, he realized that his life had just changed. Taylor was going to be a dad. He had obligations to a pregnant wife now. He wouldn’t have as much time for climbing or hanging out with friends. Well, that was as it should be.

But damn…

What would Eric be doing in March when their baby came? Would he still be alone? Would he and Victoria still be living this long-distance life?

God, he hoped not.

He’d just pulled into the bay at the Cave when his cell phone buzzed. He slid it out of the pocket on his belt.

A text message from Vicki.

CAN’T SKYPE TONIGHT. BOSS HAD OTHER PLANS. SO SORRY. I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU. SKYPE TOMORROW?

Well,
fuck
.

He’d been looking forward to this all week. What the hell did her boss want with her now? Why couldn’t Vic just say no?

Damn it.

He’d told Victoria he would wait for her, that he’d be here when she was ready, and he would keep that promise. But loving someone who lived far away was proving to be tougher than he’d ever imagined.

* * *

V
ic stood
with her back to the party looking out at the glittering city below, a glass of pinot noir in her hand, conversation mingling with the strains of jazz behind her. A few months ago, she would have found this view breathtaking, but tonight Chicago seemed cold and lonely.

She was supposed to be on Skype with Eric right now, not milling around making small talk with coworkers. It was her and Eric’s first shared night off in weeks. But Abigail had called and invited Vic to dinner at her penthouse to celebrate the success of the Merced campaign. It was an invitation Vic had no choice but to accept.

Eric had been disappointed. He hadn’t said it, but she’d been able to tell just the same. She couldn’t blame him. She would never
choose
to have dinner with her boss over spending time with Eric, but she wasn’t sure he believed that.

Ten minutes after she’d gotten that news, Lexi had called to tell Vic that she was pregnant. Vic was overjoyed for her and Austin, but their happy news had made her painfully aware of how very far away she was—and how alone.

Vic took a sip of wine, turned to glance around Abigail’s apartment. She’d always wondered what the penthouse of the Aqua looked like inside, and now she knew. Abigail had, of course, had her home professionally decorated. Each piece of furniture was intended to make a statement, as was the art on the walls. Taken together, it looked more like the lobby of an ultra-modern office building than someone’s living room. Vic would take the simple comfort of Eric’s cabin to this any day.

“There she is!” Abigail walked over to Vic, wearing a dark blue cocktail dress with long sleeves and three strands of pearls, two young women following her.

Vic pasted a smile on her face. “I was just enjoying the view. This is amazing! Thanks for the invitation. It’s a wonderful party.”

That was Vic’s policy for dealing with Abigail at events—thank her once and praise her twice.

“I wanted to introduce you to two of our promising interns.” Abigail turned to the young women. “This is Victoria Woodley. She’s one of our best and brightest, and she’s about to be promoted to supervisor. The two of you will be working for her. Victoria, this is Kayla Adams and Ashley Harris.”

Vic shook their hands. She’d been an intern once, too, and had felt so out of place trying to mingle with people who had real jobs. She gave them a warm smile, hoping to put them at ease. “Welcome to Jensen West. We’re happy to have you with us.”

She asked them a few questions—where they went to school, why they were going into public relations, where they hoped to end up one day. Their answers were as bland as their facial expressions. After a few minutes of this, she excused herself and started off toward the hors d’oeuvres.

“What a stuck-up bitch,” said Kayla. “I don’t want to work for her.”

“Her boobs are probably fake,” Ashley said.

Stunned, Vic turned back to face them. “Excuse me?”

She was used to a little backstabbing. That was just part of corporate life. But what had she done to provoke this?

They stared at her wide-eyed, their faces going white.

She opened her mouth to tell them off but was interrupted by a single thought.

You don’t belong here anymore.

The words blazed across her mind, bright and crystal clear.

And suddenly it all seemed so obvious.

How could she have been so stupid?

She should be in Scarlet Springs with her best friend and the man she loved. She shouldn’t be here, where no one truly cared about her. She’d rather risk everything for a chance at happiness with him than waste another moment of her life here. If that was a mistake, so be it.