Maybe he’ll be calm considering the circumstances. We’ve all got bigger things on our minds right now. I’m sure everyone wants to get home for Christmas.
Another step inside and I realize quickly that a peaceful interaction isn’t going to be possible. His reaction to my presence is visceral and instinctive. Stiff body, tight jaw, fists balled at his sides.
Jesus Christ, I really don’t want to do this now.
“You,” he spits, voice low but sharp enough to cut through the hum of the storm outside.
I don’t flinch. Not because I want a fight, but because flinching would show weakness, and if this man wants to go in the middle of a fucking snowstorm, I’ll give him what he’s asking for.
“Yeah,” I say evenly, stepping further into the store, snow melting off my coat. “Me.”
The air shifts and the room becomes heavy. I know what’s coming. He knows what’s coming. The elderly shop clerk, Mr. Palmer, knows what’s coming.
“Come on guys.” Mr. Palmer steps between us, adjusting his loosely tied apron. “We’ve got bigger problems right now.”
This thought makes sense to me, but to the asshole sizing me up, a fight is the only thing that matters. He takes a step forward, his shoulders squared. “My brother’s still not right because of you. They aren’t sure if his jaw is ever going to stop locking up.”
“Your brother made a poor decision, and he paid the price.”
The man laughs. “My brother waisted the best years of his life with your useless sister.”
The words hang heavy and every nerve in my body explodes with a rage I haven’t felt since that night at the bar…but that one’s sending me to jail.
I take another step closer, lowering my voice so only he can hear me say, “You want to settle this? I can fuck you up too.”
His teeth grind, but he doesn’t move.
The bell rings behind us and I assume it’s Joe with the folks from the diner, but the second I hear the rasp in Tess’s voice, I know I’m in trouble. I don’t want her to see me like this.Hell, I don’t want to be like this.
“What’s going on?” Tess steps into the store further. “Joe said you were over here getting people out to follow him back up the mountain.”
“Yeah,” I say, my tone clipped, my gaze still on the asshole. “That was the plan, but I think maybe this guy wants to finish some business first.”
Tess is smart enough to know exactly what this is about, and though I don’t want her to see me fight, I know that if thispiece of shit lunges, I’ll have to take him down right here and now.
He laughs. “Go ahead, hit me. Fuck me up. Let your ugly little girlfriend watch.”
My vision blurs, my eyes burn, and my fists itch to swing. I could break this mother fucker in half. I could make him drink through a fucking straw alongside his brother, but what the fuck would that prove? I can’t be that guy anymore. I need Tess to see me as someone strong, someone who can hold the line and not cross it.
I back away from the asshole and glance toward Mr. Palmer. “We’re following the plow up the mountain. You can ride with me.”
Mr. Palmer nods and grabs his jacket off the back hook, leaving the quiet room, the weak instigator still grinning as I turn back toward Tess and guide her toward the door.
I don’t know if I can outrun my past, but I know fighting for a future with Tess is my top priority now.
Chapter Nine
Tess
I’ve never seen this much snow in my life. The blizzard has completely buried the roads, and the wind is pushing us back and forth as though we’re a toy a cat is batting with.
If we weren’t following Joe in his massive plow truck, we’d probably be in a ditch somewhere praying for help. Even with his truck, it’s slow going, but by the time we drop Mr. Palmer off at home, my anxiety starts to lift but the knot in my chest is heavier.
All I can think about is Cole and that almost fight in the general store. I keep replaying the moment he stepped back instead of swinging. I know he wanted to lay that guy out. I could sense it in his shoulders, in the way his body tensed… but he didn’t. Why does that matter so much to me? Why is it that his good decision makes me want to make twenty bad ones?
I shouldn’t care that he didn’t punch that guy. It’s not noble. It’s the right thing to do. He should’ve known that all along. So why do I care, and why does it make me want him in ways I can’t explain?
“You okay over there?” He clears his throat. “This ride isn’t scaring you too bad, is it?”
