Thatshe’sreal.
Jessica Richards is even more gorgeous now than when we were teenagers. Her light-brown hair is streaked with gold. It’s pulled into a ponytail, a few strands falling in waves around her face. A soft layer of freckles is still scattered over her nose and cheeks, reminding me of once upon a time when I’d spend hours staring at her, trying to count the small dots on her face. It was something she hated, but I relished it. Relished her natural beauty. Relished the fact that my attention made the color spread over her cheeks. But now she’s pale, those big amber eyes wide.
The coffee cup falls from her hand and spills on the floor. The hot brown liquid splashes over my feet and jeans.
Fucking hell.
“Are you?—”
“I—” She shakes her head, taking a step back. My hands fall by my sides, fingers curling and uncurling. “I’m s-sorry.”
With that, she walks around me and slips outside. I turn around, my lips parting, but no words come out. I watch her all but run across the street, as if the devil’s at her heels, and slide into a white SUV, not once looking back.
Cursing under my breath, I drag my hand over my face and then slip it through my hair before letting it fall.
Jessica Richards is still here.
In Bluebonnet Creek.
Still hauntingly beautiful.
Equally unreachable.
And yet, I’m unable to look away from the spot she was in only moments ago, her image still vivid in my mind.
A loud clatter snaps me out of my thoughts, and I turn just in time for another body to slam into me, but this time, arms wrap around my neck, squeezing tightly as the familiar scent of roses hits me. Memories of my childhood come flooding back.
“You’re home.”
My body tenses at my sister’s words.
Home.
This place hasn’t been my home in so long.
That’s because you chose for it to be that way,the little voice at the back of my head taunts, but I push it back along with all the other insecurities that have been swirling inside me since the moment I decided to pull the trigger and come back to Bluebonnet Creek.
It’s the last place I wanted to go.
The place I swore I’d never step foot into. Not again. And yet, when Becky called me and told me that Chase was shot, I couldn’t not come.
Becoming a police officer wasn’t just so I could atone for what I’ve done, but also so I could protect the people I love. There is no way for me to do that if I’m not here.
I put in a request for a transfer the same day, and considering how desperately they need more law enforcement in small towns, it didn’t take long for it to be approved.
So here I am.
Back in my hometown.
Of my own free will, no less.
“You’re standing in the pool of coffee.” I push the words out through the knot lodged in my throat.
“I don’t care,” Becky whispers.
Stubborn woman.
Sighing, I tighten my hold on her, squishing her body closer to mine. I let myself bury my head in the crook of her shoulder and inhale deeply. Although it’s been years, she’s still the same. Headstrong, overbearing, infuriating. My biggest supporter, and the only constant in my life.
