“I’m your ride. Erma can’t exactly drive right now.” He pushed away the niggle of guilt. “She asked me to carry you home.”
“Oh.” She glanced around the airport, which was nearly empty now. “I offered to get an Uber or a taxi, but she said she would take care of it. I didn’t think she’d sendyou, though.”
Ouch.
“I mean, I figured she’d ask one of her buddies to pick me up.” An awkward pause. “I didn’t know you two were acquainted with each other.”
“Everyone knows Erma.” He shifted on his feet. Not wanting to give Riley the opportunity to ask for more specifics, he added, “I’ll get your bag from the carousel.”
“This is all I brought.” She held both the duffel and the suitcase in a death grip.
Obviously, she didn’t need or want help. Fine, less work for him, and he pretended not to be put out that she had refused his assistance.
“I’m parked out front,” he said. “We don’t have to walk far.”
She nodded and headed for the sliding door, her gaze straight ahead like she was a woman on a mission, and he was suddenly transported back to high school. To him, Riley McAllister always stood out from the other girls in his high school, not only for her looks, although he’d always thought she was attractive. She was taller than average, with ash-brown hair that was usually pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were her most striking feature, large and bright, like blue topaz. Right now they looked just as hard.
He followed her, and when they left the lobby he gestured to the parking spaces in front of them.
“That’s my car,” he said, pointing to a twenty-year-old Subaru that had been put through its paces and needed a fresh coat of paint but still ran like a dream.
She turned to him, her quizzical gaze apparent under the bright parking lot lights. “I thought you’d have a Lambo or a Porsche or something.”
He laughed. “You have to play in more than one major league game to get that.” Fortunately he’d received a healthy signing bonus when he joined the Detroit Tigers, and the team let him keep most of it when he was unable to play anymore. After paying off his medical bills, the rest of the money was parked in his savings account, except for a small portion he’d used to buy an old house on the edge of Maple Falls. He’d gotten the house and the surrounding property for a steal and planned to rehab both as soon as he could. But he’d never made enough money to purchase an expensive sports car, even if he’d wanted to.
“This fine automobile was Harrison’s old car,” he admitted.
“He’s your brother, right?” Riley asked.
Hayden opened the trunk. “The oldest one. He lives in Missouri now. Wife and two kids. The boys are cute as can be, but I’m their uncle, so I’m biased.” He held out his hand. “Can I put your bags in the trunk?”
She nodded and handed him the duffel and suitcase. After stowing her luggage and shutting the trunk, he went to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her. Riley stared at him as if she’d never seen anyone open a car door before, then got in. He closed it when she seemed settled.
The ride back to Maple Falls would be an interesting one. He made his way to the driver’s side. Riley was still pretty, but he could see that her personality hadn’t changed much over the past decade. She’d been a grade ahead of him, a loner who had an art talent he could only envy. She never hung out with the popular girls or any clique at all. She had kept to herself, and in a small-town high school where everyone knew everyone, she was an enigma, and he had been intrigued. He’d also been too busy with baseball to get to know her better. But baseball wasn’t standing in his way anymore, and he had to admit Riley still intrigued him.
***
What is Mimi up to?Riley had been sure one of the Bosom Buddies would pick her up tonight. Probably Bea, her grandmother’s closest friend, followed by Myrtle. The last person she expected to see was Hayden Price.
She’d been so surprised she couldn’t speak when she first saw him. She would recognize him anywhere, and not just because he was Maple Falls’ most famous resident. In high school all the girls fawned over him, but she had kept her distance. Not because she didn’t find him attractive. She absolutely did, and that was the problem.
And because life could be extremely unfair, he managed to be even more handsome at twenty-six than he was at seventeen. He hadn’t lost his athletic build, despite his horrible accident a year ago when he’d injured his shoulder so severely pitching in his first major league game that his career had been over before it started. Mimi told her, of course, but what no one knew, not even Melody, was that she had followed Hayden’s career through the newspapers and internet. Now she was sitting next to him, looking like trash after a long day and flight, in need of a shower and some sleep, and totally unprepared for riding in a car with him for an hour.
He climbed in the driver’s seat, and she caught the scent of his cologne. Wow, he smelled as good as he looked. Great, she’d been in Arkansas a little more than ten minutes and already she was acting like the high school outcast with a secret crush on the most popular jock in school. Which was exactly how it had been back then. She slid down in her seat.
“Comfortable?” he asked, his voice deep and smooth.
Did this man have a single flaw? She doubted it. Despite his popularity, he had always been nice, and that attracted her far more than his sun-bleached blond hair and light-gray eyes. Then there was that body... Her face started to heat.
“I can turn on the air conditioner if you’re hot—”
“Yes! I mean, that would be fine. I am a bit... warm.”
“You know how muggy it can get in May.” He flipped on the air conditioner, then backed out of the parking spot. “Summer’s arrived early this year.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. She and Hayden had never had much of a conversation before. He’d been in her art class junior year, but they sat at different tables, and other than him mentioning that her projects were “really good,” they hadn’t interacted. They lived in different worlds, even though their town was barely a blip on the map. He was small-town royalty, and she was the hermit who stayed to herself with art keeping her company. Riley was the last girl Hayden would notice.
He headed down I-30, and as they passed green interstate signs, she had a weird feeling that time stood still. It was only yesterday that she left for New York, brushing the dust of Maple Falls and Arkansas off the soles of the brand-new sneakers she’d bought just for the trip. She glanced down at the worn Birkenstock sandals on her feet. She’d purchased them with the money from her first and only real art sale five years ago. The money had run out quickly, but at least she’d been smart with her choice of footwear.
