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Chapter 2
Becca splashed cold water on her face and exhaled slowly as she looked at herself in the mirror. She blinked and frowned because, just for a second, it wasn’t her face she saw. It was his.
Hudson Blackwell. All six foot four inches of him. Gone was the young twenty-year-old she remembered. He’d been replaced by a dark, dangerously handsome man—the man she’d known he would become.
And he’d done it without her.
Her stomach dipped, and she leaned on the sink. She hadn’t seen him in years. Not since that last night when he’d ripped out her heart, stomped all over it, and left her behind in Crystal Lake. The memory of the late-summer rain mingling with the salty tears on her face as she watched his taillights disappear stirred something ugly inside Becca. Her fingers gripped the edge of the sink, thank God, because it was the only thing holding her up.
When she got her shit together, she splashed water across her face once more and reached for a towel. She quickly dried off and secured her ponytail before one last look in the mirror. Her pale cheeks were now flushed, heated with an anger that wasn’t leaving anytime soon. And her eyes spit fire.
Hudson Blackwell was back in Crystal Lake? So what. Rebecca didn’t give a good goddamn. He meant less than nothing to her, and no way was she hiding how she felt. In fact, she had a good mind to tell Hudson Blackwell exactly what she thought of him and where to go. That particular opinion had been festering
for twelve years. Maybe it was about time to let that piece of her past go as well.
Fired up and determined, Rebecca marched her butt back out to the bar, only to find him gone and the place nearly full with an early crowd eager for half-price chicken wings. More than a little deflated, she spied Tiny.
“You okay?” Tiny shouted from the other end of the bar. The man was born Julian, but somewhere along the line, Tiny had stuck.
Okay was a relative term and not at all what she was feeling, but Rebecca nodded anyway.
“Can you take the big table at the back?”
“Got it.” Rebecca grabbed her tray. Mondays were busy at the Coach House, and that was one of the reasons she’d taken the part-time gig on top of her regular job at the veterinary clinic. When she’d moved back to Crystal Lake, the only house she could afford was a fixer-upper near the old mill. She loved her place—an older home, it boasted tons of character—but there was always a project on the go, and she needed the cash. Straightening her shoulders, Becca marched toward the table. She didn’t have time to waste thinking about Hudson Blackwell. In the grand scheme of things, he didn’t much figure in her day-to-day life. Besides, if she was lucky, he was only in town for a visit and she wouldn’t see him again.
But the thing about luck is that some folks have it in spades. And unlike those particular folks, Rebecca Draper wouldn’t be able to find a golden horseshoe if it hit her on the head. So it wasn’t surprising any luck she did manage to find ran out exactly two days later.
Wednesday started out pretty much like any other day, if one ignored the inch of water on the kitchen floor. Once she turned off the water supply to the house, called a plumber, and dealt with the mess, she got her son, Liam, to school and was only fifteen minutes late for work. It was a lovely morning, and the sun reflecting off the lake was bright. The dew was heavy and the air crisp. As she got out of her car, the unmistakable scent of fall was in the air, and her mood improved at the thought. It was her favorite time of year, and her steps were light as she headed inside.
Crystal Lake Veterinary Clinic was located in the new development on the other side of the water and looked more like a private doctor’s clinic. She supposed it was in keeping with the moneyed folk who’d moved to the luxury homes surrounding the new golf course, but she wasn’t complaining. More newcomers meant more dollars poured into the town, and that meant more jobs. She liked her coworkers, and her boss, Aiden Burke, was the sweetest little old man. He was close to retiring, and the buzz in the office was that his son, Ethan, would move back to Crystal Lake and take over the clinic.
“He’s back.” Kimberly Higgins, one of the associate vets, stood a few feet from Rebecca, a huge smile on her face, eyes twinkling.
Rebecca slipped behind the reception counter and slid her purse into her cubby underneath. “Who?” She was almost afraid to ask as her thoughts returned to Hudson Blackwell.
“Ethan! I heard Aiden speaking to his wife on the phone.”
Relieved, Becca hung up her jacket. So the rumors were true. Ethan Burke was a few years older than Rebecca and had never returned home after college. A tall, good-looking kid, he’d had a knack for finding trouble both on the football field and in the backseat of many a car. He’d been part of Hudson’s crowd.
Hudson. With a scowl, she slid onto her chair just as the door opened. Mrs. Ryan walked in with her overweight pug and just behind her, a new client with a box full of mewing kittens. Thank God for distractions. Rebecca pushed all thoughts of Hudson Blackwell aside and got to work.
The day passed quickly, and at five thirty, she pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and gave Liam his list. He was in a grumpy mood—after hockey practice, he’d wanted to hang with his buddy Michael. But groceries were their thing, and it was a thing they did together.
“I’m going to Michael’s for dinner,” Liam mumbled as he slid from the car. “So I don’t know why I couldn’t just go there after hockey.” He slammed the door shut—just a little too aggressively—and Rebecca shot him a look as she got out.
“I’m not doing this with you, Liam.” She frowned and watched him stomp into the store. Her son was a good kid, but lately, he’d been moody, and his mouth was starting to aggravate her. With a sigh, she followed him inside, telling herself his attitude was understandable. He’d been through a lot in the last year and a half.
Rebecca glanced down at her list and grabbed a cart. The two of them were usually able to get in and out in thirty minutes or less, and after the day she had, she wanted nothing more than to get home, put her feet up, and watch some mindless reality show while she munched on whatever was handy. It was only Wednesday, but takeout pizza might be a good idea.
She was almost to the produce section when she ran into Mr. Hines, one of the clinic’s clients.
As she picked out the freshest apples she could find, she half listened to the older gentleman go on about his cat, Oliver, who’d recently suffered through a bout of crystals. She nodded and smiled where appropriate, moving on to the grapes and oranges. Of course Mr. Hines followed, and she eventually had to smile and excuse herself by pointing to her watch.
“Of course, dear. I’ll see you next week when I bring Ollie in for his needles.”
A headache was crawling up the side of her skull, and she undid her ponytail, groaning softly as the hair fell loosely down her back. She headed to dairy and hoped that Liam was close to conquering the cereal aisle. They usually met in the meat section, and after tossing in eggs, butter, cheese, and two cartons of milk, Becca swung past the deli and ordered up sliced ham and turkey for sandwiches before heading to the back of the store.
She was almost to the meat section when her world tilted a little off-center and she came to a halt. Liam stood near the display case and appeared to be deep in conversation with none other than the one man she did not want to see. Hudson Blackwell.
