My fingers itch to call Rowan as I pull away from the curb and drive to work, but I pause.Rowan is happy and in love.She would kill for the two of us to be dating best friends.She can’t be impartial here.But she does know how I feel about Devon.
Dammit!Now he even has me questioning my best friend.
I growl as I turn onto the deserted street leading to the Wolf Valley Wolf Sanctuary.I pull up out front, parking next to Vera’s car, and slam my door as I climb out.
“Whoa!Someone is in a good mood this morning,” Vera jokes.Her smile falls away as she sees my face, replaced by a worried expression as she rushes to my side.“Suri?What’s happened?”
“I… I don’t even know where to start,” I admit, losing some of my steam.
“How about at the beginning?”she says gently.
I swallow hard.“I’ve been in love with this guy since I was a kid.The first time I saw him, I knew he was it for me.No doubt about it.No one else has ever made me feel like that.”
“Well, that’s great.”Vera frowns.“Isn’t it?”
“No because he never noticed me, never gave me a second glance.”
“Oh,” she says quietly.
“He joined the military, and I started writing to him.We wrote to each other for years.”
“And you want to tell him how you feel about him now?”she guesses.
I shake my head.“No, I… I finally told him my name in my last letter.Then I moved here.I wanted a clean break.Wanted to let go of the one-sided feelings, you know?”
“Okay,” she says slowly, obviously wondering where I’m going with all this.
“And now he’s here.”
“He came here for you?Well, there’s your sign that?—”
“No.”I shake my head.“Well, I don’t think so.He got a job as the sheriff in town.”
Vera blinks, opens her mouth, closes it, sighs, and opens her mouth again.
“Yeah, that’s how I feel,” I mumble.
That earns me a smile.She waves me up to the house.“Come on, let’s have some coffee.We’ll get this sorted and get to work.”
I follow her inside and plop down in a chair at the kitchen table.Vera and her billionaire husband, Fisher, have been renovating the place, and I bite back a smile when Fisher walks into the kitchen, plaster dust covering one of his shoulders.
He looks grumpy, but one look from Vera and his whole face softens.
“You’ve got a little something right there,” Vera teases, motioning to his shoulder.
“Smart ass,” he mutters, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her.
I look away to give them privacy.My heart aches in my chest.I wish I could have what they have.
“See you later, Vera,” Fisher whispers before he straightens and turns to me with a smile.“Have a good day, Suri.”
“Thanks, you too.”
He heads out, and Vera passes me a cup of coffee.I dump half of the coconut creamer into it, and she shakes her head.
“I think you need to talk to him.Find out why he’s in Wolf Valley.I mean, I guess he could be here for a job, but it seems like a huge coincidence, right?”
“I guess.”
