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With his face in shadows, he looks almost dangerous when he turns his head to me. “You can’t interrupt. Not a word until I’m done.”
I twist my lips.
“I mean it, Olivia.”
“Fine.”
With a heavy sigh, he finally starts talking. “State patrol had a multicounty high-speed chase with a stolen car. Guy killed his wife and was on the run. He was headed in our direction and I was out on the highway, so I picked up. I caught up with him, started to execute a pit maneuver, and he accelerated before I could tap him. Then he started shooting, and before I could try another maneuver, he crashed into the side of my car and I lost control.”
He looks out the side window into the inky darkness beyond the glass. “I spun out and ended up in the trees along the highway. I never lost consciousness, and the doctors said I was lucky I didn’t sustain a concussion. But I was trapped for a while and they had to cut me out of the car. They took me to the hospital and that’s it.”
As he tells the story—a short, condensed version for my sake, no doubt—my blood runs cold at the thought he’d been shot at, and my heart lodges itself in my throat. I couldn’t interrupt him if I tried.
He expects me to lose my shit on him, but my gut tells me he doesn’t need me to lecture him this time. I figure Aidan and Landon—another cousin and fellow deputy—have already given him any lectures they deemed necessary.
But is this why things feel…different between us this time?
The silence stretches between us as I find a parking spot in front of the Silver Moon. I shut off the car and shift in the seat to face him.
He turns his head to me, and in that moment, he’s so handsome it hurts to look at him. It’s like a bolt of lightning zapped my heart, and it beelined all the way down to my clit.
It’s been years since I had a crush on this man. He never returned the feelings so I let it go. And I had no desire to experience the unrequited feelings again.
It would ruin the most important relationship I have with anyone—including my siblings whom I adore—and Caleb collects girls like it’s his job. I can’t—won’t—be part of all that.
I need to right this ship that’s bobbing in the sea of emotional hot messiness.
“You’re staring. You must really be getting wound up in there, Livvie. I expected an explosion by now.”
I clear my throat and close my eyes briefly. “I’m not going to lose my shit on you, Caleb. It isn’t fair for me to yell at you or give you a hard time about it. It’s your job. You love it. You’re smart and you know what you’re getting yourself into when you suit up every day.” I wet my lips, my heart pounding in my ears. “Besides, I’m not your girlfriend or your wife. I’m just your friend and I care about you. You know that. But I’ve got no claim on you.”
He just stares at me, his jaw tight. His eyes look…angry.
It isn’t the reaction I expected from him. My brow furrows.
He nods once. “Got it.”
“Caleb, I—”
He holds up one hand, the other on the door handle. “Nope, I got it, Olivia. Okay? Let’s go. I need a drink.”
Shit. He only calls me Olivia when he’s serious.
I sit, confused as to what’s happening, while he gets out and heads inside. With a sigh, I get out and head in after him.
It’s crowded and loud inside, already busy for a Saturday night.
“Come on, I see some of your family in the back corner.” His mouth is at my ear, the deep voice and the heat of his breath sending shivers down my spine.
I nod and head in that direction. As I approach, my brother Eli’s eyes widen and he nearly chokes on the beer he just drank. “Holy shit, Liv. What are you doing here?”
He comes around the table and gives me a bear hug that lifts my feet off the ground. It makes my heart melt. “Just thought I’d come for a short visit.”
When my feet find the ground again, my sister, Sara, envelops me in a hug as well. Eli and Sara are talking over each other, asking me rapid-fire questions.
I climb onto a stool. “I’ll answer all your questions after I get a beer and eat some of your nachos.”
Eli signals to the bar for another round.
