“He looks happy to me, and besides, this is the life he wants. Single, with no attachments.”
“No he doesn’t, and he’s tied in a million knots over you, little girl,” Newman said.
“Is there any chance at all that any of you can let this subject drop?” She looked at the four men. One her brother by blood, the others by bond.
“No,” they all said.
“The man’s in so deep he can’t even think straight,” Buster added.
“Rona told me she’s going to shoot him if he doesn’t stop snarling at her,” Ethan said, “and Annabelle fought with him over you last night, and is pretty pissed on your behalf. In fact, she told me she was going to paint coward in red letters on his cruiser if he didn’t pull his head out of his ass anytime soon. Her words of course, not mine,” he said, flashing his big Texan grin.
“He doesn’t want me.” Katie made herself say it because they needed to understand. “He can’t love me, and so I’ve decided I’m leaving. I won’t go back to LA, I know that now. I want to be closer to home.”
“I’m beating the shit out of him until he sees reason,” Jake said, hugging her close.
“He’ll come round,” Ethan said as he began to go through his stretches to warm his muscles up. He was taking the first leg.
After hugging her brother and friends, who were going to their relay points, she and the Texan made for the start line.
“Good luck, baby.” Her father hung over one of the barricades that had been put in place.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You beat those boys, McBride!”
“I’ll try, Ms. Lawrence.”
“That woman intimidates me,” Ethan said. “I’m sure she rips the heads off live insects for breakfast.”
Katie laughed. “There’s your girl.” She pointed to where Annabelle stood, looking glamorous and attracting a great deal of interest from some of the male participants and a few of the female ones.
Ethan moved through the runners until he reached her, then cupped her face and kissed her soundly before making his way back to Katie’s side.
“That was you pissing on your territory, right?”
“Every male has the baser instincts, honey, Texan’s just don’t hide it like others.”
Snorting, Katie did a few stretches.
“You’re going off first, Ethan; good luck.”
“You too, sweetheart.” He gave her a hug and kiss before making his way to the front of the runners.
She heard the starter’s gun, and then Ethan was gone, his long Texan legs disappearing around the edge of the lake with the other relay runners. Katie was next. She shut away thoughts of Cubby and leaving, and concentrated on the race.One thing at a time, Katie, she reminded herself.
It took a mile for her muscles to loosen up, and by the time she hit the quarter transition she was in her stride. It felt good to be running, and her competitive nature enjoyed the challenge of pushing herself hard.
She refueled at the halfway point, taking a drink from Declan.
“You’re doing great, Katie. I think only one other woman is through ahead of you.”
“Thanks,” she managed, and then hit the trail again. You had to be diligent, because tree roots could catch you off guard, and it was because she was looking down that she didn’t see the large arm that came out from behind a tree and grabbed her around the waist. Her scream was muffled by a hand. She lashed out with a foot and heard a curse as she connected with a body part.
“Stop, Katie, it’s me!”
“Cubby?” She stumbled out of his grip. Chest heaving, she tried to gulp in a breath. “What are you doing here?”
He’d taken off his glasses, so she could see his eyes.
