Sometime in the early morning hours, Blayze woke to an empty bed. At first, she thought he’d gone to the bathroom, but after running her hand over the rumpled sheets, she realized his side of the bed was cold. That he hadn’t been there in quite some time.
She rolled over and flipped on the lamp, pulling the covers up to hide her exposed chest. Fear immediately set in as she glanced around the room. His jeans, his shoes, everything…was gone.
Colton Burns had fractured her so many times over the years, she shouldn’t be surprised. She’d let her guard down for one weekend and look at what happened. He hadn’t changed in the least.
The pizza box and empty beer bottles stared back at her from the tiny little table in front of the window. What an idiot she’d been!
With the sheet wrapped around her, she walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a change of clothes. She felt dirty. Used. How could he just leave without saying goodbye?
After a long, hot shower, she packed her things and set her suitcase by the door. She didn’t care that it was just shy of four o’clock in the morning. It was time she got the hell out of Keebler Hills…for good.
Rather than checking out at the front desk, she dropped her room key in theExpress Check Outbox and left. She didn’t want to see, much less speak to anyone.
She made it home just as the sun was coming up. She felt horrible not saying goodbye to her parents, especially since they’d planned to go to church together. No doubt, they would’ve been able to see right through her. That she’d done something she wished she hadn’t.
The weekend was supposed to have been about her father. Instead, she’d let her emotions get the best of her.
Damn you. Colton. Damn you.
Just as she was typing out a text to her mom, her phone rang.
“Hey, mom,” she said as she struggled to hide the sadness in her voice.
“Honey, are you okay? Do you need me to come to the hotel?” Her mom was the sweetest, most caring woman in the world.
“I’m not feeling well,” she told her. Not that she was lying, but she wasn’t exactly being truthful, either. “I drove back already. I’m sorry to disappoint you and dad, but I just needed to crawl in my own bed.”
“Are you running a fever? You sound a bit stuffy.”
“I’ll be fine, mom. Please give daddy my love,” she said, lowering her voice.
“Hold on a minute, honey. He wants to speak to you.”
She should’ve known she wouldn’t be able to avoid him. God, she felt so guilty!
“Blayze, honey. I wanted to speak with you before you left.”
“Daddy, …” She knew if she didn’t keep their conversation short, he’d eventually figure it out. Just like he’d done her whole life. “Can we talk later?”
“Look, I know this is kind of sudden and we’ve not had a chance to discuss it, but Brent Burns and I have been talking and we both think you’d be an excellent candidate for my position.” The words rolled off his tongue faster than she could take them all in. So the look her father gave her at the end of the ceremony on Saturday hadn’t been a joke after all?
Tears pooled in her eyes and she fought to keep them from streaming down her face. “I…I don’t think so, daddy. Keebler Hills isn’t exactly my favorite place.”
“Honey, all of that nonsense is in the past. You’ve proven to everyone that you’re an excellent firefighter. You’ve worked hard, you’ve been rewarded, and you’ve got a promising future ahead of you.”
His words hit a soft spot, so she told him, “I’ll think about it.” Even though she knew she’d never give it any consideration.
They said their goodbyes, and she promised to let them know if she felt any worse. It was too bad there wasn’t a pill she could take to make it all go away…one that would make her forget all about what had happened. Including the time she’d wasted with Colton Burns.
Chapter Nine
The next week went by in blur. The guys at work knew something was weighing heavily on her, but they also knew she’d talk about it when she was ready. On her own terms.
She was so upset with herself for letting her guard down.Colton, why’d you have to go and shatter my heart?
Each time her phone rang, she jumped, thinking it might be him. Unfortunately, it was the wrong Burns calling.
Three times this week Mayor Brent Burns had left messages for her to call him back. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about what he had to offer, but there was no way she’d go back to Keebler Hills. Not even for a promotion.
