Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Val had just showered, dried off, and changed into her nightclothes when Mark called. She’d already spoken to her father before she’d hit the stadium with Maybelline tonight and hearing how strong and vital he’d sounded had made her feel confident as she’d ridden her program. If her dad had been here, she knew he would’ve cheered her on. When he’d been her manager, he always had.
She suspected if Mark ever joined the audience members in the stadium rather than seeing to the safety of all the attendees, he’d cheer, too. He was supportive like that.
They exchanged greetings, and just like the first time she’d heard his voice—that deep and gentle timbre that had the strength of forged steel underneath it—it gave her the best kind of chills.
“I wanted to discuss something with you. Something… serious.”
She straightened on the little loveseat inside her trailer. Had he heard something else negative going on with Biggs? “Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated. He sounded almost… nervous. “It’s about… I care about you, Val.”
She blinked. “I care about you, too.”
“And I feel like there’s something between us. A spark. A bond.” When he stayed speechless for a few seconds, she chimed in.
“I agree.”
“You do?”
It was the first time she’d heard him sound tentative and unsure of himself. It was actually kind of sweet.
“Of course, I do. You’ve helped me over and over, even before you knew me. I’m very grateful for that. But what I’m even more grateful for is knowing you’ll call after a long day. That I can depend on you even when we’re across the state from each other.” Or across the country. Not that she’d be doing that again anytime soon.
“I suppose what I’m asking for is to take the next step. Maybe even toward a relationship.” His words accelerated as if concerned she’d shut him down. “I know we can’t be together as much as we’d like, but I’d like to try. Even if we’re long distance.”
Long distance. He was right about that. The closest they tended to be when he wasn’t visiting was just over two hours away. Not exactly ideal for any couple, especially not one starting out.
Then, there was her baggage, or rather, the disaster of her of time with Biggs. He’d pushed and cajoled and railroaded her into a romantic pairing with him when she hadn’t been interested. Once he’d persuaded her, he’d weaseled his way into controlling every aspect of her life. And sadly, that had included Val herself.
He told her what to do and say, even what costumes to wear while out there riding Maybelline. Looking back, it’d been ludicrous for her to ever put up with it. But she’d felt trapped, and it’d taken making a firm decision to leave him both professionally and romantically before she could be free. At least she’d never cared for him. She might not have seen through him like she should have, but now, she recognized him for what he was.
A cheat and fraud.
Maybe she should’ve balked at Mark’s request to become a couple based on those unhappy memories alone, but she couldn’t. Sheriff Mark Talbot was such a different man from Biggs that they might as well be two separate species.
Where Biggs had had a mean streak, Mark was endlessly compassionate, even when coping with a stressful situation. Where Biggs had been fake and phony, everything about Mark had been the real deal. Where Biggs had shoved her into a relationship before she’d been ready, Mark had been patient, extending her a shoulder as well as the hand of his friendship without needling her for anything else.
Until now. And even then, Mark wasn’t demanding anything of her. He was asking her if she might want to pursue this with him. Like any mature and caring man should do. The contrast between him and the conman known as Biggs couldn’t be anymore stark. Not to mention that she didn’t know if Biggs had ever wanted her as a girlfriend as much as he’d yearned to lay his hands on her earnings.
She bet it was the latter. Particularly since he’d tried to butt in as her manager since she’d given him his termination. He hadn’t been attempting to get back with her. No, he just wanted to rip her off.
What a sucky thing to do. What a sucky person Biggs was in general.
“I’m up for long distance if you are,” Val told Mark. Her words made her heart pump faster but not with trepidation. It was exhilaration that filled her. Joy. And an anticipation for the future.
“Yeah?” Astounded would be the best term to describe how much emotion Mark had packed into that single word.
“Yeah,” she said, her glee at the idea making her smile.
“Too bad I don’t know when I next be able to see you.”
That sobered her up. In a perfect world, they could simply go on dates and become attached like other people who dated did. But this wasn’t a perfect world, and they each had responsibilities that pulled them apart. Still, they’d figure something out. Make the time to be together whenever their busy schedules allowed.
It might not be ideal, but it couldn’t be that hard. Could it?
As the weeks marched onward, Val found out precisely how hard it could be. Any meetings they might’ve arranged became thwarted at every turn. Their issues were multi-layered. When she had free time, he didn’t, and vice versa. Her dad would be getting out of his skilled nursing facility in four weeks, but at no point during that window did Mark have more than a few hours where he could drive to Billings to be with her.
And once her dad was due to come home, Val would have to take at least a few days to get him settled and find out what his new normal looked like. She still wasn’t certain if he could be left by himself without someone to watch over him. Not that he was an invalid. But two major surgeries in such a short time meant his endurance was almost nil, even with all the physical and occupational therapy his nurses had been undertaking with him.
One time, when Mark had called in some favors to take a day off that he hadn’t originally scheduled, a dangerous top-security fugitive escaped during a transfer, and Mark and every other member of law enforcement within a five-hundred-mile radius had been required to be on alert for him. That had meant no time off and no abandoning Rocky Ridge to travel to a special residence with a horse barn and flower gardens just outside of Billings.
Her residence.
That left them with email, texts, calls, and face-to-face Zooms. They spoke every day, sometimes more than once, updating one another on how things were going and funny or peculiar things that had happened.
“Hear from Mr. Peterson today?” she asked Mark, referring to one of his frequent complainers lately. She’d learned that most of his job as sheriff hinged on vital duties, but a few of them were plain old annoying.
Mark blew out a sigh. “Oh, yeah. You know how yesterday he complained about the songbirds singing in the mornings?”
“Yeah.”
“Today, it was about an owl hooting in the middle of the night.”
“He knows you can’t control wild creatures or the behavior of nocturnal birds, right?”
“Apparently, he does not. I’ve been trying to explain that, but after saying it for the fifth time in a row, I finally just said, ‘Sure, Mr. Peterson. I’ll get right on that,’ and hung up.”
Val laughed. “I’m amazed at what some of these people think a sheriff does. Everybody on the circuit is all abuzz with the new scandal, have you heard?”
“Scandal? I don’t think so. What happened?”
“Down in Kissimmee, Florida, there’s a lawsuit alleging that a group of organizers had rigged the competition for gambling purposes. It’s going to be a multi-million-dollar suit against five people.”
“You ever ridden there?” Mark asked.
“Yes, but not for several years. My dad was with me when I did. I never noticed anything amiss, but then again—as you know—I tended to be a bit unworldly until recent events.”
“That’s not your fault.”
“Isn’t it?” she challenged him, stuck on the subject of Biggs. “At what point do I stop ignoring the fact that I stayed in an unhealthy situation for so long? I was the one who was there. I witnessed how Biggs behaved. I should have suspected that he might be guilty of worse.”
“What he’s done is on him. That you never imagined what he or anyone else with nefarious intent might be capable of isn’t an indictment against you. If anything, it means that you’re so honorable that such a thing goes outside your thinking. It’s something I appreciate about you. It’s a breath a fresh air compared to some of the people I sometimes have to deal with, if you want to know the truth.”
“Are you complimenting me, sheriff?”
“Definitely,” his voice took on this drawling quality that she adored. He was flirting with her, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
“You know what I wish right now?”
“What?”
“That I could see your eyes. That’s one of the things I remember about meeting you. Your eyes. That periwinkle color. They’re so handsome. Even spellbinding…” Val trailed off, and when she realized that he’d made no response, felt embarrassed. Had she said too much? Let him see too far into her feelings and attraction for him?
“Don’t think anyone’s ever called me spellbinding before,” Mark replied at last. “I mean, Blair’s called me irritating and a workaholic, but that’s about it.”
“You definitely don’t irritate me.”
See, this was what Val was talking about. She would’ve given anything in that instant to be with Mark, to gaze into his face and gauge his reactions, but she couldn’t. Physically couldn’t. Because they weren’t in the same location. They were almost never in the same location.
He had such a limited staff, too. Like two other people. Lately those people had been unavailable. One had gone up with a burst appendix—which sounded terrible—and one had suffered a family emergency in Hawaii. Val understood obviously, but it sure complicated their attempts at having time together.
Even as often as they communicated, and as much as she treasured every call and text as well as every sentence of every email he sent her, they felt more like pen pals than a couple in a relationship.
Something would have to change soon. They’d at least have to meet up again, even if it only lasted for a handful of hours. She needed to be reminded what it was like to breathe in his leathery cologne and to be held in those arms that were both sturdy and tender.
Should she say something now or wait? Such a confession could have some pretty awful consequences, mainly that he might break up with her. That wasn’t what she wanted. What she wanted—craved even—was the opposite. But how could this work if after fate uniting them five months ago, she could count the number of hours they’d shared on her fingers? Not days but hours ?
Could she hang with this no-contact romance or not? Would there ever be a compromise or some place they could meet in-between? She didn’t think so. She knew Mark had sought out every method he could think of to unearth even the tiniest opening to spend with one another. She’d been doing the same. But they’d come across nothing. No opportunity that would enable them to share any appreciable amount of time together. Not once travel was taken into account.
It was so infuriating. And she didn’t know if that would ever get any better.