Starcrossed Colorado (Hart County #1)

32. Emma

THIRTY-TWO

Emma

Three Hours Earlier

As Judson drove us out of Silver Ridge proper, I looked up at the full moon overhead. A couple of news vans were still following us. But they didn’t worry me. So far, our plan was working perfectly.

We headed down the highway that led out of town. Moonlight washed the valley in pale gray and blue, most of the landscape impossible to see compared to the glare of the headlights. But I caught a glimpse of a white cross up ahead.

I pointed to it. “Is that the marker for Lori?”

Judson nodded. “I say a little prayer every time I pass it.”

The very first day I’d arrived in Silver Ridge, the day I had met Ashford, I’d walked past that cross. I hadn’t realized its significance then.

But now, I said a few words for Lori too. I’ll take care of Ashford and Maisie , I promised. The very best I can.

Judson turned onto a small side-spur of road just after we passed the cross. A moment later, his headlights lit up a sign for a campground and trailhead.

“I didn’t realize Elias lived down this way,” I said.

“His place is about a mile on.”

“Not that far from the scene of the accident that killed Lori.” Too far for him to have seen anything. But still, for some reason it surprised me.

“He and his wife Holly were some of the first neighbors the police interviewed about the accident,” Judson said. “His ex-wife, I mean.”

We drove past a dark, low-slung shape, and I realized it was an old abandoned cabin. Probably the one that Lori had visited that same night.

“That’s one sad story. Lori’s accident.” Judson shook his head, which was bare. He’d left his cowboy hat in the backseat. “And then Elias’s wife leaving him, when was it, a year or so later? That’s the Lonely Harts club. If you’re looking for sad stories, we’ve got plenty of ’em. As many as an old cowboy song.”

“What’s yours? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind necessarily. But this conversation is enough of a downer. I’ll tell you mine another time.” His lips twitched in a half-smile. “Ah, here we go.”

A couple of motorcycles were waiting by the side of the road up ahead. As we passed, they roared to life, both their headlights and their red and blue police lights flaring.

Chief Landry had arranged for a couple of Colorado State Patrol motorcycle units to help us out. They pulled onto the road, closing in on the media vans still on our tail.

Judson’s smile grew. “I was speeding, and those vans were keeping pace. By the time CSP is done issuing warnings and running their plates, I’ll have dropped you off and I’ll be heading back the other way.”

I relaxed more into my seat, glad we’d gotten rid of the reporters. But I wasn’t going to feel secure until all of this was finished and Ashford had arrived to join us.

Judson pulled into a driveway leading to a two-story farmhouse with all its windows lit. The house had wooden siding, a wraparound porch, and intricate Victorian trim. “This is beautiful,” I said.

“Used to be a ranch. Almost as big as my family’s. I think Elias’s grandparents bought it originally, but they sold off parts of it over the years.”

A huge barn sat across from the house, along with a couple of other smaller wooden buildings.

Judson parked beside the other trucks already here. I grabbed my pack from the backseat. Slinging the strap over my shoulder, I walked toward the house.

A bark came from the porch. Stella was tied to the railing. I jogged up the steps, bending to pet her. “Hey girl, what are you doing out here? Were you being naughty in Elias’s nice house?”

The front door opened, and Piper stepped out. “Poor baby has been upset since the moment we arrived. I wasn’t sure what to do. Giving her treats didn’t help.”

“That’s okay.” I stood and squeezed Piper’s arm affectionately. “How’s Maisie?”

“She’s watching a movie.”

Elias appeared behind Piper in the open doorway. “Emma! Good, you’re here. I set up Maisie in my office.”

Stella lowered her head and growled. Elias took a step back.

“But I don’t think Stella likes me.” He gave her a lopsided smile, and Stella barked, making him flinch.

“It’s probably not you,” I said. “There’s been a lot of excitement and stressful energy going around.”

I knew Stella didn’t like Danny Carmichael. But had she ever gotten upset around Elias before? I couldn’t remember. Stella had been to Flamethrower Burgers plenty of times when Elias was there. Except she’d always been outside.

Elias took my bag and carried it in, while I calmed Stella down. It helped when Elias went upstairs. Teller was in the living room on the phone, and Stella didn’t seem to mind him. She’d been fine when Teller and Piper had been at the apartment earlier.

“Maisie’s in this room,” Piper said, showing me the way.

After greeting Maisie and asking her to keep Stella with her, I went back out to the living room, where the others were all waiting.

“Need anything else?” Piper asked. “If not, we’re going to take off. Ollie is at Dixie’s, and I want to hurry and pick him up before he breaks something.”

“We’re good.” I hugged Piper and Judson goodbye. Then figured, what the heck, and hugged Teller too. He smiled stiffly.

I checked the time. Ashford and Ayla were still at the Big Blue Monster, waiting a while before they set out toward Hartley.

A floorboard squeaked, and I realized Elias was standing there. Now that our friends had left, it was just the two of us in the entryway.

“I put you in the guest room. Upstairs to the left. I assumed Ashford would be sharing a bed with you.” Elias laughed. “You’re blushing. Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.”

“Ashford could bunk with me if that’s better.”

Maisie still didn’t know about Ashford and me. If I was leaving town soon, that was all the more reason to keep her unaware. But the thought of spending the night in Ashford’s arms sounded wonderful. Especially after the last few days. “I’ll see what he thinks when he gets here.”

“Sure thing.”

“I should text him. My phone is in my bag.”

Elias pointed up the stairs. “It’s on the bed. You’ll need the wi-fi password. Cell reception here is terrible.”

He told me the password. It was easy to remember. I went up the staircase, my palm trailing over the smooth banister.

In the guest room, I found a simple but cheerful space with a heavy, antique-looking dresser and a brass-frame bed. My bag waited on top of the quilt, just as Elias had said. Sitting on the mattress, I grabbed my phone and sent off a quick text to Ashford.

Me

I’ve arrived. Maisie is comfy watching a movie. The others left. Stella was stressed, but she’s calmed down.

Ashford

Good to hear. We’re still lying low. Will leave soon.

Me

Drive safe.

Ashford

You remembered your journal, right?

Me

Yep. I love you.

Ashford

Love you too. See you soon.

Ugh, I was so hopeless for this man. We hadn’t talked about whether my plans for after the summer had changed. But I had changed.

We both had. Right?

Tossing my phone onto the mattress, I got up to head downstairs and check on Maisie.

I gasped when I nearly ran into Elias. He was right there at the top of the stairs. His hands grasped my arms. “Careful.”

I stepped back, and he let go.

“I was about to check on Maisie. She wants to stay up and wait for Ashford to arrive, but I should start winding her down. Today has been a lot.”

Elias nodded. Yet he didn’t move, still blocking my way down the stairs. “The bathroom downstairs has a clawfoot tub. I’ve probably got some bubble bath somewhere that belonged to my wife.” He flashed his charming, lopsided smile. “She didn’t take everything when she left, and I’m the sentimental guy who can’t get rid of it.”

Elias edged past me, walking over to the bathroom down the hall, and emerged with the bottle of bubble bath.

I set my phone down again. “Thanks. Your home is beautiful. Judson said it’s been in your family for a long time.”

“Since my grandparents. My dad brought my mom here after they got married, and when they were gone, they left it to me. I don’t keep animals any more, but I use the barn for my brewing equipment for the restaurant. Sadly my own marriage didn’t last as long as my parents’ marriage did. But hey. Maybe I’ll end up bringing home someone else eventually.”

“I’m sure you will.” My thoughts immediately went to Grace, but this conversation was already awkward.

I started down the stairs, and he followed behind me.

“You know,” Elias said, “I didn’t get the chance to meet Ayla. What’s she like? You would expect a celebrity to be difficult and stuck up, but her sister Lori was a sweet girl. Totally down-to-earth.”

We reached the first floor, and I paused there to answer his question. “Ayla’s down-to-earth too. She seems like she’s struggling. But hopefully, now that she and Ashford have sorted out their differences, things will get better for her. And for Ashford too. That secret was weighing on him.”

“Yeah, secrets tend to do that.” Elias glanced away. “Did Ayla mention anything else about Lori?”

My brows drew together, confused why he’d even asked. I didn’t feel comfortable telling him about Lori’s affair with the mysterious L . “No,” I finally said.

He shrugged and smiled. “I’m going to check my fermentation tanks and take care of some things in the barn. That’ll give you and Maisie some privacy to get her ready for bed. Just holler if you need me.”

“Thanks. It’s really kind of you to let us all stay here.”

“I’d do anything for Ashford. He’s one of my best friends.”

As Elias left and walked to the barn, I felt guilty that I’d been uncomfortable with him. Every time I’d been around Elias before tonight, I’d found him friendly and easygoing. He was going to a lot of trouble just to help us out. If he’d been acting strangely, it was probably the stress we were all under.

When I got to Elias’s office, where Maisie was staying, she hadn’t finished her movie yet. So she, Stella, and I cuddled up to finish the rest of it.

“Bath time,” I said when the movie was done.

“I don’t want a bath. I want Daddy to get here.”

“I know. He’ll get here as soon as he can. But I’ve got bubble bath, and Elias has a fancy bathtub with little feet on it.”

She perked up. “Really?”

The clawfoot tub was a hit. Same with the pineapple-scented bubbles. Maisie pretended to be a mermaid and we told stories until her little fingers were wrinkled. I rinsed her with fresh water, then wrapped her in a fluffy towel.

But when we got to Maisie’s room, Stella wasn’t there. Dang it. I must’ve left the door partly open and she slipped out. What if she was chewing up an antique chair leg?

I went to the hallway and listened just as a crash came from upstairs.

Crap.

I pointed at Maisie. “You get your jammies on and brush your teeth. I’m going to find Stella.”

“Can I come?”

“Absolutely not. You stay down here.” Hopefully Elias was still outside. Since I didn’t hear barking, I assumed he was. If Stella had broken something, I would have to fix it. Or pay for it. I groaned, imagining how expensive an item it might be. Probably something irreplaceable that had belonged to Elias’s grandmother.

As I hurried up the stairs, I heard Stella’s collar jingling. A glance in the guest room didn’t reveal a naughty dog. Same with the upstairs bathroom. Which left Elias’s bedroom, the only other door on the second story.

“Stella, get your tush out here.”

I looked into Elias’s bedroom, and there she was. Slipper clenched in her teeth, growling and shaking it in a death-grip. “You are in so much trouble. What has gotten into you?” I got the slipper away from her. It was mangled beyond repair. Replaceable though. Not a priceless antique, thank goodness.

But what had caused that crash?

I couldn’t see very well, so I switched the light on. Elias’s bedroom was similar to the guest room, but with an unmade bed and more knickknacks and photos. Thick drapes hung over two windows facing the front of the house.

A tall chest of drawers stood just to the side of the doorway. Several framed photos decorated the top. But one frame was lying facedown on the wood floor. That explained the noise. Stella must’ve knocked it onto the floor when she was getting up to mischief.

When I picked it up, the frame came apart in my hands. I glared at Stella. “Big trouble. No treats tomorrow.” She’d be lucky if Elias didn’t make her sleep on the porch. We’d been guests in the man’s house for an hour or two, and we’d already made a mess.

Flipping the broken frame over, I glanced at the photo inside. Then held it up for a closer look when I noticed Ashford.

The picture showed Elias, Ashford, Judson, and Callum, arm in arm and wearing Silver Ridge High School gear. The older boys looked around eighteen. I’d never seen Ashford clean-shaven before. Or with such a boyish smile. Adorable. If I’d been his classmate, I would’ve noticed him in the hall and developed a massive crush.

There was so much more I wanted to know about him. All his stories from high school, from the Army. From when Maisie was a baby. My chest ached with all the love I felt for him already. Once I got to know him even better, it would probably be worse.

He won’t be able to get rid of me .

As I tried to gently set the frame back on the chest of drawers, a slip of paper fell out from inside it. Another photo, this one much smaller and printed on thin paper. It fluttered to the floor. I twisted, looking down at it.

And froze.

This photo showed Elias again, but he was grown. He had the same haircut as now. But the woman beside him was Lori O’Neal. The shape of her face, her green eyes… It was unmistakable. Even if I hadn’t seen pictures of Lori at Ashford’s apartment, I would recognize the resemblance to both Maisie and Ayla.

They had their arms around one another, cheeks pressed together. Not in a friendly way, either. It was an intimate pose. One of Elias’s arms was extended like he was taking the photo.

I picked up the photo from the floor and turned it over. Someone had written L + El in a feminine scrawl with a hand-drawn heart beneath.

“There’s no way,” I whispered. But what other explanation could there be?

L wasn’t an initial. It was E-l, short for Elias. He and Lori had been seeing one another before she died. This photo was the proof.

The front door closed downstairs. Footsteps thudded across the entryway. I jumped, the photo nearly slipping from my fingers.

Elias was back.