Chapter Two
JOE
Thea Tate—my old high school girlfriend, the one who shined brightest in my memories and probably the only girl I'd ever loved—was crying on the side of the road in the snow.
Great. Fucking great. I’d never handled tears all that well, and my own emotions were feeling jagged tonight with this unexpected encounter.
“Hey,” I said, pushing away from her car and stepping to her. “It's fine. I'll tow your car. We'll figure it out.”
Before I could think it through, I was pulling her into my arms. The second she tucked her head against my neck, burrowing into me, it felt as if two lost puzzle pieces had been found and clicked together.
My body felt electrified. The wind howled around us, and the snow blew sideways, striking in sharp spikes against my cheeks.
I slid my hand up and down Thea’s back and forced myself to lift my head and step away, curling my hands on her shoulders. My heart felt scored and cracked open when she sniffled. “It's just a tire rim. I'll get it fixed as soon as I can,” I assured her.
She nodded, knuckling at her cheeks to wipe her tears away. “I know you will. I'm not crying over that.”
“No?”
She peered up at me again, blinking before her lips twisted in a wry smile. “It's just everything kind of piled up, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I do.” I felt the rise of her shoulders when she took a gulping breath. “Hop back in my truck because now I need to get your car on the flatbed.”
She nodded. I walked her back and made sure she was situated in the passenger seat.
It didn’t take long before I got her car on the flatbed.
My dad's old garage business made serious money these days. Back in the day, her dad thought I wasn’t good enough for her.
Now he was in jail, and my family had a lot more money than they did.
I didn't blame Thea for what happened, but then there was a splinter of frustration in my old anger. Her dad was the asshole, and jail was exactly where he deserved to be.
I watched as the flatbed rose slowly to level and checked the tie-down straps to make sure her car was secure. As I walked to the front of the truck, I leaned into the snow, which had picked up its pace even more.
A moment later, I glanced at her. “So, we're gonna go to my garage. I could take it to my house, but I don't want to leave your car out in the snow all night. If you’re not staying at your family’s home, where are you staying?”
Thea was quiet. When I glanced over, I saw that she was twisting her fingers together, a sure sign that she was nervous. I knew this woman too well, or rather the girl she'd once been.
“That's the thing. I was going to go to the next town over and stay in a hotel.”
“Why?” I'd been about to put the truck in gear, but I paused, swiveling to look at her fully.
“I wanted the house to myself, and my brother Ian and Jane are there. I didn’t know they’d still be here. I think maybe they’re together, and I don't want to spoil their time. They’ll have all kinds of questions, and I don't want to explain.”
I looked away from her, staring out the driver's side window at the snow falling thick and heavy.
I could do the legwork and get Thea set up with a rental.
Hell, I could even loan her one of my cars, but I didn't want her driving in this.
I sure as hell didn't want to drive too far in it.
It was late, and I was tired. I had takeout waiting at home.
“You can stay at my place.”
Her eyes widened when I swung back to look at her. “What?”
“Just offering. There's no easy way to set up a rental at this hour.
I can loan you a car, but the weather is shit, and it's just going to get worse tonight.
I can crash on the couch, and you can sleep in my bed.
As you can see, I'm on call tonight. We'll probably get a few more calls, but it shouldn't be too busy.”
We stared at each other with the sound of the heater vents blowing and the snow striking against the windshield. After a long moment, she nodded. “Okay.”
Then I surprised myself. “You just have to explain to me why the hell you're up here trying to hide out right before Christmas.”
Thea pressed her lips together in a line.
I knew what that meant. She was feeling stubborn.
Fuck it. I might as well get the scoop on her life.
Until now, she'd been this distant high school memory that I didn't let myself think about all that much. But I’d never stopped missing her.
I'd always wondered if she'd ever come back to town. After what happened with her family, I knew she came to town now and then, but we’d never crossed paths.
“Okay,” she finally said. “It'll be good to catch up.”
I chuckled. “All right. Let's get your car to the garage.”
We drove through downtown Haven’s Bay, past where my dad's old garage was. Thea gestured toward it. “Aren't we stopping there?”
“Nope. That’s only one location. We've expanded.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Like how much?”
“We have two garages here and locations in eight nearby communities.”
“You're a chain?”
I chuckled. “Yep. We're a chain, and I live right down the road from your old house.”
Her laugh was dry. “Wow.” After a pause, she added, “It's good to see you, Joe.”
“You too.”
“Really?”
My blinker was loud in the small space when I slowed to turn into the new garage. “Really,” I said firmly.
“Wow.” When I glanced over, she was looking around the large parking area.
“It’s much bigger than the original garage.”
“If you own all these garages, how come you're doing night duty?”
“Because I always cover it during the holidays. That's how my staff stay loyal,” I offered with a shrug.
A few moments later, I’d pulled into one of the large garage bays. After I got her car situated, I took her on a little tour, ending at my office. “Here's my office.” I gestured her through the door.
“Oh, you have an office?” she teased.
I rolled my eyes, flicking the lights on as she looked around. When she stopped to look at me, it suddenly felt as if a slingshot sped me back in time. Her tousled brown hair and big blue eyes were emblazoned in my memories.
This girl. I'd had the worst crush on her. So bad. It was kind of embarrassing to think about it now.
She blinked up at me before she whispered, “I'm sorry.”
“For what, sweetheart?”
She took a shuddery breath. Her lips curled down on one side. “Because my dad was an asshole, and I didn't have enough confidence to tell him to fuck off.”
“We were sixteen. I get it.”
I couldn't resist lifting a hand and brushing her damp, messy locks off her cheek.
“I know, but still. You always were that guy to me.”
I arched a brow in question. “What do you mean?”
“I never really loved anybody the way I loved you. I could blame it on being young, but you were really good to me, Joe.”
“I tried to be.”
My voice was husky and had a ragged edge. I wanted to hide that, but I'd never been good at hiding much around Thea. We were standing in my office, for god’s sake, and everything fell away. The mask slipped off.
I didn't remember where we were or any of my old resentment. All I wanted was to kiss her.
She was just a girl standing in front of a boy, a boy who really, really liked her and probably still loved her. Maybe that was faded and old, and maybe I was jaded, but none of that mattered right now. The air around us felt electrified as we stared at each other.
“Tell me something,” I murmured, forcing myself to ask a question I didn't really want to know the answer to.
“What?” she whispered.
“Are you seeing someone?”
Her answer was instant. “No. Are you?”
I shook my head slowly. I expected her to be the sensible one, but she wasn't. She placed her palm on my chest where my jacket hung open. My heart kicked toward her palm, almost as if it were trying to break through my ribs. Just like the rest of me, my heart knew Thea.
I dipped my head just when she arched up toward me. Our lips collided, and it felt as if sparks leaped between us. My hand slid through her damp locks to palm her cheek. The second my lips met hers, I needed more.
Her tongue darted out to glide against mine, and our kiss went from a subtle taste to hot, openmouthed, and messy. By the time I broke away for air, my heartbeat was thundering, and my cock was thick and swollen, my arousal impatient.
Thea’s eyes opened as she dragged in a breath. Her eyes were hazed with passion. We stared at each other.
“Oh,” she finally said.
“Oh, is right.”
Suddenly, there was a pounding on the front door down the hallway.
“Fuck, I forgot to turn off the alarm.”
I spun away, striding quickly down the hallway to the front to see Howard Walker, the police chief, grinning through the windows.
“Forget the alarm?” he asked through the glass.
“I did,” I called, relieved Thea hadn't followed me out here. “Sorry about that. Need to come in?”
“Nah, I was right down the road. Don't worry about it. Catch you later.” He waved and jogged back toward his cruiser.
Thea was waiting inside my office, her hand curled on the edge of the doorframe. “Was that the police?”
“Oh, yeah. It was Howard Walker. He’s the police chief now. I'm sure you remember the name.”
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded. “Of course, I do. Sorry I distracted you.”
“I guess we're even.” I chuckled. “Come on, let's go.”
Without thinking, I reached for her hand. As soon as we touched, I expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. She laced her fingers through mine, and it felt exactly right.
I had been the forbidden boy for her in high school, but that wasn't why I’d asked her out back then.
I’d really liked her. She'd helped me out in math class.
Of course, teenage me also thought she was totally hot.
We had that rare kind of chemistry. It flared hot, but it was also easy. She was comfortable to be around.
Once we were back in the tow truck, she commented, “If this is weird now—” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the garage. “Now that we have kissed, I can find a place to stay.”
“It's not weird. I’ll crash on the couch. Plus, I picked up a pizza before I got the call to pick you up. Let's go back and eat, and we can catch up. We've got twelve years to cover.”
Thea’s throaty laughter filled the small truck cab. We smiled at each other while the garage door rolled up.
“Do you park this at home?”
“I always keep one tow truck there, even when I'm not covering emergency calls.
That way, if something happens, I don't have to race downtown.
It's just a backup.” As I turned onto the road that would lead us back through town and to my place, I jumped in with my questions.
“I know you're not with anybody, but were you married, divorced? What's the scoop?”
“I had one bad engagement, and then I swore off men. I haven't really dated since then. I finally decided to give it a shot again.” She let out a gusty sigh. “He turned out to be a real jerk, and I just found out.”
“Found out what?”
A deeper sigh followed. “He never stopped seeing other people, and I feel like such an idiot.”
“You're better off learning that now, right?”
My heart twisted a little. I didn't like how cynical and resigned she sounded.
“What about you?”
“Not married, not engaged. But I have a little boy.”
“You're a father? Oh, wow. And you're not with—?”
I shook my head quickly. “Definitely not.”
“Are things okay? Is he home with you tonight?”
“Nope. We have shared custody, but he’s with his mom this week.”
“What happened? I mean, you're definitely a loyal guy, so I’m trying to figure out why you’re not married since you have a son.”
“It was never even serious. All it takes is one night to make a baby.”