The Reluctant Bachelorette (21 page)

A sickening pit formed in Taycee’s stomach as she watched Luke
ride away. She’d gone way too far, unleashing ten years’ worth of pent-up
frustration. But no matter how much she wanted to take the words back, they
were already out. She may as well have said, “I’ve been in love with you for
forever and jealous of every girl you’ve ever dated!”

Turned out Jessa was right after all. Taycee was a shaken can
of soda, and Luke had just opened her up.

It had been a problem she’d been plagued with her entire life.
Let things build inside until one day the pressure became too much and everything
spurted out. Her mother had always warned her not to let things fester, to say
what needed to be said before it reached this point. But Taycee had never quite
learned how to do that. Anger had always given her words the wings they needed
to fly right out of her mouth.

The problem was that when it reached this point, the words
usually came out tainted with a nastiness she didn’t really mean. A nastiness
that Luke may never forget.

Or worse—forgive.

T
aycee blinked at the bright light
sneaking
through the blinds. She’d spent most of the night replaying over and over what
she’d said to Luke, and with each replay, it got worse. Almost to the point
that Taycee didn’t deserve to see the sun or bask in its warm glow.

She tossed her covers over her head and burrowed beneath them,
keeping the light out. But it was no use. Sleep offered an escape that she
really didn’t deserve either, so she threw her covers off and headed to her
bathroom. What she needed was to get away. Away from Shelter and everyone in
it. Away from that cloud of nastiness that hovered over her. Away from
everything.

Maybe if she drove fast enough, she could leave it all behind.

She donned her swimming suit, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts,
and packed a backpack with water, some snacks, and a towel. Then she hopped in
her car and headed west.

Thirty minutes later, she pulled off the side of the road and
started the three mile trek through the woods to a place Caleb and Luke had
discovered over fifteen years ago: The Hole. Perfect for swimming and hanging
out, The Hole became their secret place of escape. And over the years, Taycee
had kept that secret, unwilling to share it with anyone—even Jessa.

She trudged toward it now, ducking under branches and stepping
over rocks, heading purposefully toward her own private retreat—a place packed
full of the most wonderful memories she had of Luke. Maybe the bittersweet
reminder would serve as her penance.

She finally emerged through the trees to find The Hole looking
almost exactly as it had all those years before. The same small pond. The same
waterfall off to the side. The same boulder to jump from. It was one of the
things she loved most about this place. Other than the rope swing that had seen
better days, it never changed.

Unlike the people who once spent so much time here.

Taycee dropped her backpack to a flat, grassy spot and quickly
stripped down to her swimsuit. Then she waded to her knees and dove into the chilly
mountain water. It had been awhile since she’d come. Not since the summer after
college. Without Caleb or Luke, it had never been the same.

Taycee swam for a while before spreading a towel across a
sunny patch of ground and settling down to soak up the sun and enjoy the sounds
and smells of nature. The rustling leaves, the chirping birds, the scent of
fresh pine needles. It had an almost hypnotic, soothing effect, and before
long, her eyes drifted shut.

“Taycee Lynne.” The voice drifted through her muddled brain,
wrapping her in a blanket of warmth. How she loved it when Luke called her
that.

“Taycee.” Fingers gently prodded her arm, nudging her
subconscious to fully awaken. Real fingers. On her arm. Taycee popped up
quickly, whacking something with her head.

“Ow,” she groaned, holding her hand to her forehead as her
eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.

“Ow is right,” Luke said, rubbing his own forehead. “Remind me
never to wake you up unless I’m in the mood for a headache.”

She blinked. Luke. Here. And the swimming hole—
their
swimming hole. “What are you doing here?” She squinted at him.

“Saving you from a nasty sunburn. Although I might be a little
late.” His fingers brushed against her cheekbone, just below her eye.

Taycee’s hands flew to her warm cheeks, unable to tell whether
the heat was from a sunburn or the sizzling sensation that came when he touched
her. “How long have I been asleep?”

“I don’t know.” Luke shrugged. “How long have you been here?”

Taycee glanced up. The sun hovered high overhead now, which
meant it had probably been a few hours. Great. She grabbed her bag and pulled
out some sunscreen. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but in a few days she’d
be on camera again and didn’t want to show up sporting a sunburn. Her last few
dates had been embarrassing enough.

She squirted some lotion onto her hand and rubbed it all over
her face, arms, and shoulders, before trying to reach her back.

“Want some help?” Luke asked with half a smile.

“No.”

He shrugged. “I get it. You want goofy-looking variegated
lines covering your back. Like a non-permanent tattoo, right?”

Taycee held out the bottle of sunscreen. “Fine, you win.”

He eyed it, not taking it from her. “I didn’t hear any magic
words.”

“Pretty please?”

“Now you’re talking.” Luke took the bottle and scooted behind
her. His warm, lotion-covered hands rubbed slow, methodical circles over the
back of her shoulders and between her shoulder blades. Taycee’s eyes drifted
closed, willing him to keep going. She could sit like this forever, soaking up
his touch, his warmth. Him.

“There, all set,” he breathed into her ear as he held the
bottle in front of her face. Happy shivers sped down her spine, making her
cheeks burn even more. It wasn’t fair that he had this effect on her.

“Thanks.” She shifted away from him and held up the bottle.
“You want some?” Part of her hoped he’d say yes and part of her didn’t. Her
eyes lingered on his broad shoulders and already tanned skin.

“I don’t know. Am I allowed to stay?”

Her gaze fell to the ground, and Taycee’s finger drew circles
through the long blades of grass next to her towel. She owed him an apology.
But what could she say without embarrassing herself even more?

“I’m sorry, Luke,” the words finally tumbled out. “I didn’t
mean half of what I said. It’s just that . . . well, I’m sorry. You’re not a
poor excuse for a friend. In fact, there was a time when you were one of my
best friends.” She looked out over the swimming hole, not wanting him to see
the emotion in her eyes or how badly she wished for those days back.

Luke scooted closer until they sat side-by-side with their
shoulders lightly touching. “You say that like it’s behind us. But we can still
be friends, can’t we? Even after all these years?”

Friends. As much as Taycee would love to say yes, she didn’t think
she had it in her to just be friends. Once it had been enough, but now Luke’s
reappearance in her life had exposed all the feelings she’d tried to bury over
the years, making them even more imposing than they’d been before.

“You were right,” Luke said when Taycee remained silent. “I
should have kept in touch. I guess I got a little self-absorbed and threw
myself into college life without really looking back. Then when my parents
moved, I figured it was better that I move on. So I graduated from college and
vet school. I even did an internship. But after that . . . I don’t know. It’s
like I took a peek into my past and couldn’t seem to stop looking back. I
missed it. So I made the plunge and moved back to the one place I never thought
I’d return to.” He paused. “Maybe I made a mistake, though. I never meant to
stir up past hurts.”

There was a time when Taycee had wanted him to realize that—to
leave Shelter and stay far away. But the thought of him disappearing again made
her want to throw her arms around him and hold on tight. He’d break her heart
all over again if he left now.

Not that it wouldn’t break if he stayed, too.

“And I’m sorry for not calling you back that day I first saw
you again,” Luke continued. “I wanted to, but I figured after showing up at
your shop and hanging out for a while, you might think it was overkill. So I
didn’t. I thought I was saving you, not hurting you.”

Taycee wanted to crawl under her towel and hide. Why was
everything so much more embarrassing in the light of day? “Can we just call a
truce? Or, as Caleb would say, strike yesterday’s conversation from the
record?”

Luke chuckled. “Consider it stricken.”

Taycee offered him a tentative, relieved smile. “For what it’s
worth, I’m glad you came back, even if it’s only temporary.” Whether it was
because she’d let out all her frustrations yesterday, or because she now understood
why he hadn’t kept in touch or called, Taycee meant it. She was glad he’d come
home. Maybe now she’d finally be able to heal and move on.

His shoulder nudged hers. “Don’t kick me out just yet. Maybe
Shelter’s
Bachelorette
really will be able to help save the town.”

Taycee pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms
around them. “Last night, Sterling asked if I’d be willing to move if I fell
for one of the bachelors. It made me think.” She twisted her head to face him.
“Don’t you think it’s kind of ironic that something I’m doing to help the town
might be the one thing that finally gets me to leave?”

The waterfall and zipping bees suddenly sounded loud in the
silence that followed.

“Are you falling for one of the bachelors?” Luke said.

Not falling—fallen. And yes—the one that got voted off last
week.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Sterling’s starting to grow on me.”

His startled eyes shot her way, and then relaxed in a look of
relief. “You’re joking.”

“Maybe.” Taycee shrugged, fighting back a smile.

Luke stared down at her, making her lips twitch. He shook his
head. “I can’t believe I almost fell for that.”

“And I can’t believe you’d actually think I’d go for someone
like him.”

Luke nudged her shoulder again, nodding toward the water. “Can
you still do a flip off that boulder?”

“I will if you will.”

“You’re on.” He grabbed her hand. It was something he’d done
all the time when they were younger—something a big brother would do. But now
Taycee couldn’t help the goose bumps that broke out across her arms. She wanted
it to mean more than brotherly friendship. She wanted it to mean that he liked
her the way she liked him.

He dragged her into the frigid spring water, and then
relinquished her hand as they swam to the boulder. He scrambled to the top,
reaching to help her up behind him. Then he winked, ran forward, and let out a
whoop as he threw his body off the boulder, completed a graceful one and a
half, and dove neatly into the water. Moments later he surfaced and shook the
water from his dripping hair. Taycee could have stared at him all day.