When We Met (19 page)

“Here!”

He felt something hit his back. A rope. He tied it around his waist, then felt it tighten as the others hung on to him. He leaned forward and reached for Chloe again. This time he grabbed her.

She clung to him like a monkey. He stepped back and felt them both being hauled up a few feet.

“Come on, Chloe,” Denise Hendrix said firmly as she stuck out her hand. “I've got you.”

Chloe reached for her, then scrambled to the top. Which left only Taryn.

Angel adjusted the rope at his waist, then moved toward her. The ground shifted and she screamed as the tree she was on cracked and bent. The night was dark and the flashlights didn't reach this far. He could only see shapes rather than details, but he knew she was watching him.

“Taryn,” he said slowly. “Taryn, listen to me.”

Because the tree she was on was going to be swallowed by the river any second. She was going to have to let go and grab on to him. She was going to have to trust him.

Defeat settled on his shoulders. There was no way he could convince her. Not so fast. Not with a lifetime of horror to recover from. Her father had reached out and had let her fall.

The water continued to rise. It was loud and he could see objects floating by. He felt the first waves lapping at his feet. Before long, the tree she clung to would be pulled into the current and she would go with it.

“Taryn, you have to trust me,” he said, frustrated, scared and aware of the growing danger.

“You'll catch me, right?” she asked.

He nodded. As he wondered if he could simply lunge forward and hang on, she pushed against the tree and launched herself toward him. He caught her just as the tree cracked in half and fell into the swirling water.

“He's got her!” someone yelled. “Pull!”

* * *

T
ARYN
HAD
NEVER
been so cold her in her life. She couldn't stop shaking. It didn't help that her clothes were soaked and muddy. No matter how many blankets people piled on her shoulders, she knew she wasn't going to get warm until she could get home and step into a hot shower.

People kept coming up to her and asking if she was okay. She nodded, and kept counting heads of the grove. Eight heads, she told herself. All the girls were okay.

Angel stayed close. He, too, was being covered in blankets. He joined her in making sure their grove was all there, then kept his eye on her.

Regan's parents and Chloe's mother had already thanked them both about three times. While the adults looked shell-shocked, the girls couldn't stop talking about their adventure.

“The water rose really fast,” Chloe was saying. “It was cold and we were scared, but Taryn kept us safe and Angel saved us.”

They were all smiles, Taryn thought, knowing she would never forget the horror of turning around and finding the two girls had disappeared. In the second it had taken her to process the information, the stream had turned into a wild river and had risen what felt like twenty feet.

“I can't wait until next year,” Regan told her folks.

Chloe grinned. “Me, too.”

“I need a drink,” Taryn murmured.

“Me, too.”

Angel put his arm around her and led her to his truck. She started to mention that her car was here, then realized she had lost her bag in the flash flood. It was gone, along with her car keys, her house keys, her driver's license and credit cards.

She came to a stop. “I can't get in my house.”

“I'll get you in.”

“I lost my bag. My wallet.”

“All replaceable.”

He guided her to his SUV. He had his keys tucked in his jeans.

She hesitated before sliding onto the passenger seat. “I'm going to mess up the leather.”

He grabbed her by her upper arms and gave her a slight shake. “You think I care about that?”

The intensity of his expression made her exhale. “Not really.”

“Good. Now get in.”

They drove to his house and collected clothes, then made the quick trip to her place. Angel used lock-pick tools to open her door. It took him about thirty-five seconds.

“I'm impressed and not the least bit surprised,” she said as she dumped the blankets by the door and pulled off her wet and muddy boots. Her ruined socks followed.

Angel closed the front door, dropped his duffel on the floor, then removed his boots and socks. They walked down the hall to the master bath. She turned on the shower. As the water heated, she stripped off her clothes.

She was careful not to look in the mirror. She didn't want to know how bad it was. She was still shaking and felt a little light-headed. Shock, she thought. Not a huge surprise.

They went into her shower. Until that moment, she'd never appreciated the second showerhead. Now she turned it on so they were both under the hot, steamy spray. Angel reached for the shampoo and poured some in his hands.

He washed her hair, then his own. They rubbed soap on each other's bodies and cleaned off the mud. Somewhere in the rinsing process, she realized how slick his skin was and how his hands lingered on her breasts.

She turned to face him and saw desire in his eyes. As she reached for him, he stepped close.

“I could have lost you,” he said right before he kissed her.

His tongue tangled with hers. His hands roamed over her body, exciting her wherever he touched. She felt his erection against her belly.

She put her arms around his neck. He lifted her up against the wet, warm tile wall of the shower, then pushed into her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and hung on as he filled her over and over again.

He supported her by her butt, his fingers digging into her curves. The hot water flowed over them as heat grew inside her. With each stroke, she was more and more aroused and at the same time conscious of the mountain of emotions coursing through her. Relief, shock, gratitude and terror mixed with sexual need. The combination threatened to overwhelm her. She was close but not sure she could make it over the edge. Not sure she wanted to. Losing control now would be—

Her orgasm claimed her without warning. Pleasure poured through her and she cried out, her voice nearly a scream. Angel continued to fill her, drawing out her release, even as the emotional barriers fell and she began to sob.

He waited until she'd stopped shaking to finish, then lowered her to the floor and held her until the water started to cool.

* * *

O
NE
CHANGE
OF
clothes, a quick hair blow-dry, a brandy and a bowl of soup later, Taryn was feeling more like herself. They sat on her sofa, watching HGTV. It was the most normal channel she could think of. It was after midnight, but she wasn't the least bit sleepy. She was still too wired.

Angel sat next to her, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder. She'd stopped shaking and was starting to feel as though the shock was wearing off.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah. I don't know how you did your military stuff. Going through this much stress, day after day.”

“You get used to it.”

She raised her head and looked at him. “Seriously?”

His gray eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. “No. You never get used to it. You just get better at faking it.”

“At least I didn't throw up.”

He chuckled. “I've always admired your standards.”

She laughed, then the humor faded. “I've never been so scared.”

He took her hand in his. “You were brave and you kept yourself in the game.”

“Now you sound like the boys.”

“I'm serious. You could have freaked out and you didn't.” His gaze locked with hers. “To be honest, I didn't think you'd let go of the tree.”

She knew what he meant. “You didn't think I'd trust you enough.”

“That, too.”

Funny how in that moment she hadn't thought about her father. She'd understood what was happening and had known she had one chance at escape. So she'd jumped and Angel had caught her.

She knew he would have done the same for everyone, but she liked to think he'd been a little extra worried about her. She snuggled close again. “I want to call Bailey and Regan's parents in a bit. Check on the girls.”

“Good idea. I can't believe they went down the trail instead of staying in the parking lot.”

“I know. Regan wanted her bracelet.” She touched her chest. “Just thinking about what happened terrifies me.”

“They could have been killed,” he said flatly.

She felt the tension in his body and had a feeling he was thinking they
all
could have been killed.

“You're not going to yell at me for going after them, are you?” she asked.

He kissed her. “No. You did the right thing.”

“We are so going to have a talk about following instructions and being sensible at the next grove meeting.”

“No kidding. We're also going to talk about how to handle an emergency.” He squeezed her shoulders.

“I have to say, this doesn't make me want to go camping with the LL@R guy. I hope he wasn't expecting to use that campsite.”

Angel chuckled. “You won't be going there. It's going to take a long time to get the campground usable again. Even after the water is gone, it's going to be a mess. Plus, once an area is known for having a flash flood, people are less inclined to want to spend the night.”

“I'm sure Fool's Gold has other camp areas.”

“You don't sound thrilled by that fact,” he teased.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“The groves will want to camp again next year.”

“Goody,” she murmured.

God knows there was plenty of wilderness all around the town. Not that it would matter to her, she thought. She'd helped Angel out with the grove because he was helping her learn to be outdoorsy for a client. Next year she wouldn't have that.

The realization was unsettling. She liked hanging out with the girls. The meetings were always fun and she enjoyed the various projects. She liked the idea of the grove being together for more than a couple of months. They could come up with a really cool community service project. Not that socializing the puppies wasn't fun—but next time they could find something that was more involved with life in the town.

Only there wasn't going to be a next year for her. Not with Angel and his grove. Because there wasn't going to be a next year for the two of them.

They had both been very clear about their relationship, she thought. Neither of them was looking for more than a temporary involvement. He'd been challenged and she'd been intrigued. They weren't young and foolish—they weren't looking to fall in love.

Except she had. Sometime when she hadn't been paying attention, she'd handed over her heart. Maybe that's why it had been so easy to trust him to catch her earlier today. She'd had nothing to lose.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, then drew back enough to see his expression. “I love you. I'm not saying that because of the flood. I realized the truth before you played hero.” She gave him a smile. “This wasn't part of the rules or what was supposed to happen, but it did. I love you, Angel. I wanted you to know.”

She watched him closely, not sure what she would see on his face. She hoped he realized how significant this was for her. She'd never been in love before—had certainly never said the words. She didn't expect him to say it back to her in the moment, but maybe he could hint.

Only Angel didn't look happy at the news. For a second something dark and uncomfortable flashed in his eyes, and then his face went completely blank. It was like staring into a statue.

He shook his head finally. “No,” he said. That was it. Just no.

Her body went cold—only this was so much worse than before. It came from the inside, not the outside, and she knew that she would never feel warm again. She willed herself not to react to his rejection, not to say anything. She wouldn't beg.

Not when he got up and not when he walked out of her house without saying another word.

She sat on the sofa, HGTV playing in the background. For the second time in less than a couple of hours, Taryn gave in to tears.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T
ARYN
WALKED
OUT
of the Fool's Gold branch of the California Department of Motor Vehicles office and had to admit, there were advantages to living in a small town. She had a temporary license to put in her new wallet until her permanent one was mailed. After she'd dealt with her credit card companies the day before, the DMV office had practically been easy. Except for her favorite Mally lip gloss and her Hello Kitty mirror compact—okay, and her heart—she'd replaced everything she'd lost in the flash flood.

It had been two days. Two days of having people ask if she was doing okay and praising her for her bravery. She'd tried pointing out she hadn't been brave, but no one wanted to hear that, so she'd stopped trying to explain. On the bright side, recent events meant no one was surprised if she was a little quiet or seemed upset. They assumed she was still dealing with the whole flood thing. Which meant she hadn't yet had to explain about Angel.

She hadn't seen him since he'd walked out. Hadn't heard a word. Not that she'd expected to, but it seemed that her heart was foolish and hopeful. Something of a surprise, she thought as she headed to Jo's Bar, where she was meeting her friends for lunch.

She smiled at people who greeted her on the street, then walked into Jo's and saw Dellina, Consuelo and Isabel already waiting. Noelle came in right behind her.

“How are you doing?” Noelle asked as they moved toward the table. “I can't believe what you went through. It must have been terrifying.”

Her three friends rose and hugged her.

“Are you okay?” they asked together.

Taryn smiled at her friends. “I'm fine. We all made it out okay. I don't want to repeat the experience, but the Acorns I've talked to are all taking it well.”

They sat down.

“Larissa can't make it to lunch,” Taryn told them. “Jack sent her to a seminar on sports injuries. She's not a physical therapist, but she keeps up on the latest information in the field.” She grinned.

Jo came and took their drink orders, explained the specials, then went back to the bar.

Isabel nudged Consuelo. “You're glowing. You know that, right?”

Taryn looked at the petite brunette. Consuelo seemed happy and tanned. Taryn had a feeling there was more going on here than a simple two-week vacation in a tropical paradise.

“Kent and I had a really good time on our honeymoon,” she said with a shy smile. “We really talked about our lives and what we want.”

“A baby?” Noelle asked, her eyebrows raised.

“We talked about it but we decided we're going to adopt instead. We're interested in older children. Siblings who don't want to be split up.”

Taryn blinked. “That's a lot to take on.”

“I know.” Consuelo grinned. “I think we can handle it. We've talked to Reese about it and he's excited.”

“Big news,” Isabel said. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Consuelo looked at Taryn. “I heard you had a party while I was gone. The clothing exchange.”

“We did.” Taryn turned to Dellina and Isabel. “You two did a great job with it.”

“Thanks,” Dellina said. “It was a lot of fun. I think we should make it a semiannual event. People were really generous with the donations. We ended up with nearly a thousand dollars for the women's shelter.”

Taryn was surprised. “That's great.”

“It is,” Noelle said. “I love what I took home. I think we could do a fall and spring party. You know—get ready for the season. I have a winter coat from last year that's still in great shape, but there's no way I want to wear it for another winter.”

Isabel nodded. “One of the things I'm going to love about working on the boutique side rather than with the wedding dresses is being able to dress differently. For the designer clothes, I get to be trendy. On the bridal side, it's all about blending into the background.”

Dellina grinned. “Tired of wearing your little black dress every day.”

“Yeah. It's not like I got to wear something cute, either. Never outshine the bride. I dressed like I was constantly going to a funeral.”

“Dress for comfort,” Consuelo told her.

“Not everyone can get away with cargo pants and a tank top as work attire.”

Taryn listened to their conversation. This was nice, she thought. Relaxing and a distraction from the hole in her heart. She could go entire minutes without thinking about Angel, which was a welcome break.

“I'm going to check with the shelter,” Noelle was saying. “I want to find out about volunteer opportunities.”

“That's a good—” Dellina stopped in midsentence and turned to Taryn. “What? What is it?”

Taryn stared at her. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Dellina shook her head. “No, it's something. Something big. What happened?” She touched Taryn's arm. “I have sisters and I know when a woman is holding back significant information.” She bit her lower lip. “It's bad, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes.”

Taryn wasn't sure which was more disconcerting. That she might be losing her steely exterior or that Dellina might be psychic.

Isabel stared at Taryn. “You're right.” Her face softened as concern filled her eyes. “Tell us. Are you okay? Are you feeling sick or something?”

Noelle wrinkled her nose. “I'm so not in tune with what's going on,” she said with a grumble. “Now you have to say or I'm going to feel like an idiot.”

“Me, too,” Consuelo grumbled.

Taryn thought about trying to lie her way out of the situation but wasn't sure she was capable. Not when she felt like emotional roadkill.

She cleared her throat. “It's Angel,” she said quietly. “We, um, broke up.”

“Why?”

“No way. You were great together.”

Dellina continued to study her. “He hurt you.”

Taryn shrugged. “I broke the rules. We were both clear. It was an affair, not a relationship. That's what we both wanted. Only I fell in love with him and when I told him...”

Tears filled her eyes, and her throat got tight. She had to breathe for a second before she could continue. “He left,” she finished. “It's been a couple of days. I haven't seen him since.”

All four of them reached for Taryn and hung on.

“Are you sleeping at all?” Noelle asked. “Can you eat? You have to keep up your strength or you'll get sick.”

Isabel patted her hand sympathetically. “Want me to ask Ford to beat him up?”

Consuelo snorted. “He couldn't take Angel on his own. They know each other's fighting style too well. But Ford and me working together could smack him down.” She looked at Taryn. “Want me to take care of that? I will.”

Taryn brushed away a tear and tried to smile. “As strange as this is going to sound, that's about the nicest offer anyone has made to me. Thank you. I appreciate it. You're all so great.”

She bit her lower lip and did her best to get control. “It's hard because it never occurred to me I could fall for him. I thought I was stronger than that.”

“Loving someone doesn't make you weak,” Consuelo told her. “It might seem that way at first, but it's not true. Love is complicated and messy but ultimately powerful.”

“And in this case, a disaster,” Taryn murmured.

She saw the other women exchanging glances and had no idea what they were thinking. The only thing that was clear was that they were going to be there for her if she needed them.

“I appreciate the support,” she added. “I need to work through this myself. Please don't say anything to anyone. I'm not ready to talk about it.”

Isabel wrinkled her nose. “You sure about that? There's kind of a Fool's Gold tradition when there's a breakup.”

“What kind of tradition? I don't want to be a festival queen or anything like that.”

“There's a girls' night,” Dellina told her. “Everyone comes over with liquor and junk food. We get drunk and call the guy names.”

Taryn held in a shudder. That meant talking about what had happened. She would rather not have that conversation ever.

“I'm not ready for that,” she said firmly. “Seriously, please don't tell anyone.” She was too humiliated to have the information go public just yet.

“Let us know if you change your mind,” Noelle told her. “We have ways of making you forget.”

Taryn did her best to smile at the joke.

Losing Angel had been horrible, but finding friends was one of the good things that had happened to her since moving to town. Eventually she would heal and move forward.

She'd been reminded that love was a disaster and trusting men led to pain. It was a lesson that she was never going to allow herself to forget, ever again.

* * *

A
FTER
LUNCH
, T
ARYN
left Jo's. She was feeling a little better. At least she wasn't crying anymore and the gnawing pain in her chest had faded to something she was going to be able to stand.

It was being around her friends, she thought. They were good women and she appreciated them and their support. As she headed to her car she wondered how different her life would have been if she'd had friends like this earlier. Like in high school. Not that she would have trusted anyone enough to let them know what was going on. Or maybe it wasn't all about trust. Maybe shame was a component, too.

She drove back to Score and parked in the lot. A battered Subaru pulled in next to her and Bailey got out.

Taryn smiled at the other woman. “How's Chloe? Is she doing okay?”

Bailey circled her car and nodded. “She's great. I was afraid the whole flash flood experience would give her nightmares, but it didn't. She's not afraid or anything bad.” Bailey wore a T-shirt over jeans. She shifted her car keys from hand to hand.

“Taryn, I want to thank you for all you and Angel did with her. Being in the Acorns has really allowed Chloe to find her way back to the wonderful girl she was before. I've been worried about her. Losing her dad was horrible. She got so quiet. I talked to her pediatrician and she suggested I give it time, but that if she wasn't making strides in a few months, we should try therapy. I kept putting that off. I guess I didn't want there to be anything wrong with her.”

Taryn could understand that concern. Especially when it came to a child.

“Once she joined the Acorns, everything changed. She has friends again. She's talking all the time.”

“Too much?” Taryn asked, her voice teasing.

Bailey smiled. “Maybe a little, but I keep telling myself I'm not going to complain.” Her smile faded. “When we lost Will, we were both devastated. It was one thing when he was away on deployment, but knowing he was never coming back...”

Taryn nodded. “I'm sorry,” she whispered, knowing her pain was nothing when compared to losing a husband. She was tough. She would get over this and no one would ever know she'd been broken in the first place.

“I appreciate the sympathy, I do, but it's okay. It was worth it. Will was a good, good man. He loved me and he loved Chloe. We were his world and we both knew that.”

Bailey paused. “Watching Chloe blossom again has helped me so much.” She shrugged. “Sorry. I'm talking too much.”

“You're not. I'm so happy we could help. Chloe is a wonderful girl. You have every right to be proud of her.”

“I am.” Her mouth twisted. “After the campout, Chloe's mentioned I should find her another daddy.”

“Angel?” Taryn asked before she could stop herself.

“What? No. Oh, is that what you thought?” The smile returned. “He's amazing, but there's no way I could handle a man like him. He's much more your style. You're strong and powerful and he needs that.”

The assessment of them as a couple and of her individually was both kind and unexpected.

“I'm not feeling especially powerful today,” Taryn admitted.

“It'll come back.”

Taryn leaned against her car. “So if not Angel, is there someone else?”

“I don't think so. I'm not ready to date.” She ducked her head. “And I'd have to lose thirty pounds. I think I'd rather eat cookies.”

Taryn watched Bailey and for a second thought she saw a blush on the other woman's cheeks. Was it possible Bailey had someone in mind? She'd made it clear that she wasn't interested in Angel, which was good. Taryn didn't need another kick in the gut right now.

“You don't need to lose any weight,” Taryn told her. “You're gorgeous.”

“Thanks, but we both know that's not true.” Bailey shrugged. “Right now I don't care enough to deal with my weight. I have enough stress in my life what with job hunting.” She tilted her head. “I never thanked you for the dress.”

Taryn cleared her throat. “You mean the party? I didn't do any of the work. Trust me, Dellina took care of most of it and Isabel handled the rest. My skill is delegating.”

Bailey's green gaze settled on Taryn's face. “You bought me the dress, Taryn. I know you did. If I had a bigger ego I'd say you arranged the whole clothing exchange party so you could give it to me without me thinking it was charity.”

“Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Yes, you do, but you can pretend if it makes you feel better. You're a really good person. Thank you. I know you'd never accept money for what you did, so I'm going repay you by doing something like that for another person, when I get the chance.”

Taryn felt her eyes burning again. There was no way she was going to cry out in the Score parking lot, but Bailey's words touched her.

“It wasn't me,” she said firmly. “But I'm glad you have the dress for your interviews.”

“I do, and shoes.” Bailey smiled. “I signed up for a computer refresher course at the community college. It's three Saturdays and by the end, I'll be familiar with the new versions of the popular spreadsheet and calendar programs. Then I'll be getting résumés and starting the job hunt.”