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He came back because he loved her, and even if he didn’t fi
t into her world, or she didn’t want him back, he had to make this right.
“Colt.” She looked him dead in the eye. “No.”
Shit! He palmed the bill of his hat. He didn’t know what to do. He felt like a goddamn caged animal. He needed to fix this. To help. But the look on Jenna’s face and the tone in her voice halted him.
He had no choice but to trust her and watch in horror as the woman he loved faced down not only both Taylor women and the town, but her own personal hell come to life.
JJ straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin in the air, and addressed the crowd of people.
“The accusations against me are completely false.” She looked from one end of the bleachers to the other. “I’ll say that again. The accusations. Against me. Are completely false.”
Colt couldn’t take his eyes from her face. He knew right then that she wasn’t going to say any more about it. She wasn’t going to defend herself and plead with anyone. She’d stated the facts, and that was it. Colt was in awe. The woman, his woman, had once again surprised him by her strength.
Yvonne looked like a goddamn ostrich with her mouth all hanging open. “You missed the PTA meeting.”
Jenna turned those stormy grays on the blonde and glared hard. Damn she was cute when she was pissed. Colt wanted to hoot, but he kept quiet.
“You scheduled a meeting when I was out of town and didn’t inform me of it until five minutes ago.”
Yvonne folded her arms across her chest and flicked her hip out. “So I suppose next you’re going to say that you never had a liaison with Colt McCade either?”
Jenna looked at him and Colt’s chest slammed to a halt. His breathing, his heart, none of his damn organs seemed to work at that moment.
“No. I’ve never had a liaison with Colt McCade, and certainly not inside the school.” A bitter taste rose in his throat. But then she walked straight up to him. Never taking those gray eyes from his, she said loudly, “He is mine and I’m in love with him.”
The bleachers burst with bustling and chatter. Colt was in shock. Had he heard her right? His muscles twitched, but he couldn’t make any discernible movement.
She cupped his neck. “I’m proud to have you, and I want everyone to know it. I’m sorry—”
He sealed his lips against hers. Wrapping her up in his arms, he simply kissed her. His brain was short-circuiting. He didn’t know how to handle this, how to help JJ—if she even needed help—all he knew was that he had to kiss her.
Colt pulled back and looked down at the fierce brunette. “Again with the surprises.” He saw Yvonne with her jaw on the floor and Colt smiled. “Yep, I’m hers,” he said and squeezed JJ tighter.
Jenna gave a nervous smile and whispered, “Um…” She glanced over her shoulder at the silent crowd. Hundreds of eyes were locked on them. “Wanna get out of here?”
He frowned. “Don’t you want to wait until after they vote?”
She smiled up at him and shook her head. “I have what I want. And I’ve said my piece. If they choose to believe the lies about me, well…there’s nothing I can do about that. But I’m done hiding.”
He wrapped an arm around her. Her small frame trembled and Colt tried so hard to fuse every kind of assurance he had into her skin. He didn’t take his hands away from her, even after they were in his truck, barreling down the highway.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jenna took a deep breath and stared out the window as Colt drove down the highway, eventually turning onto Old Peak Road. It was a vast sea of open grassy plains and space. Exactly what Jenna needed.
He came to a stop. “You all right?”
She nodded. The adrenaline was wearing off, and while Jenna was proud of herself, happy she had cut the strings from all the crap she’d been carrying around with her all these years, she still felt a little shaken. But when she looked at Colt, peace settled in.
“I’m better than I’ve ever been,” she said. And she meant it. “I’m done. Done hiding and worrying. Done trying to control every little aspect of my life. So many years I thought that by keeping my composure, I had control, but I didn’t. I allowed people like Yvonne to have power over me. I want that job, so much, but I’m not going to compromise us for it.” She looked into his deep blue eyes. “I love you, Colt.” She shrugged, fear rising again because she realized he had yet to really say anything about that. “I’m sorry I hid from it the way I did. But the truth is, I fell in love with you a long time ago. I trusted you before I could even trust myself.”
Colt blew out a breath and looked out the front windshield. Then he opened his door and climbed out.
A cold sweat broke out over Jenna’s skin and she thought for sure she’d lose her lunch. She had just stared down Yvonne, her mother, and a purse-sized dog. All that was nothing compared to the rejection she felt right then.
The passenger-side door swung open. Colt yanked her out and wrapped her up in his arms so tight, she could barely breathe.
