Chapter 1 #2
“A few.” He chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, I’ve seen you. You really light up the screen. You know that? If I was back in high school, I would have put up a poster of you in my room.”
“Is that right?” His words didn’t make her feel flattered.
They frightened her.
He stepped closer. Too close.
He was now between her and her Tesla.
Rowan shifted, knowing if she made any sudden moves that this man might also. “If you could just point me in the right direction—”
“What’s the rush?” He lifted a shoulder. “I thought our conversation was just getting started. You ever think that maybe we were supposed to cross paths? I, for one, believe in fate. Maybe I even believe that fate brought you to my doorstep right now.”
No, a mistake had brought her to his doorstep.
All her danger signals fired.
He didn’t touch her. But he blocked her path just enough to make it hard for her to leave.
“We don’t get a lot of excitement out here,” he continued. “Be a shame to let it pass by.”
Excitement? What did he mean by that?
Her pulse pounded as she took another step toward her car. “I really do need to go.”
“Sure. Of course, you do.” His tone sounded easy and agreeable, but he didn’t move.
Rowan skirted around him and slid into the driver’s seat.
Before she could pull the door shut, the man’s hand landed on the edge of her window.
Her breath hitched.
What was she going to do? There was no one out here to hear her scream. She had no means of protection.
Images of Vince killing Thayer filled her mind again, and she began to tremble.
“I just want a minute of your time.” He leaned in. “That’s all I’m asking. Is that too much?”
Rowan’s chest tightened.
The man edged closer, his grip firm on the door as he leaned in. “You look scared. There’s no need to be scared, pretty lady. I’d never want to hurt someone like you . . . even if you are a King.”
The way he said “King” made it clear he held no love or affection for her family.
Rowan’s pulse roared in her ears. “I said I need to go.”
“And I said just a minute.” His voice darkened.
Her breath caught.
She yanked the door.
It didn’t budge.
And she wasn’t sure how she was going to get away.
Wes Bennett eased his truck around the curve, one hand resting on the wheel and the other draped near the console. The narrow road wound through dense trees.
He didn’t mind.
After years of crowded cities and constant noise, places like Blue Ridge Hollow felt honest. What you saw was what you got. There was no pretense to this mountain town.
As he turned into the next bend, movement flashed in front of him.
A shiny black Tesla shot out from a gravel drive, tires spitting loose stones into the road.
Wes jerked his wheel to the right and slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the other vehicle.
His truck lurched, and the back end fishtailed before the tires caught again.
Rocks crunched beneath him as he skidded to a stop just short of the sharp drop-off on the other side of the road.
Everything went still as the dust settled around him.
His pulse thudded before finally settling.
Wes exhaled and straightened in his seat. That had been close.
The car in front of him sat crooked in the road. Maybe the other driver was just as stunned as he was.
He threw his truck into Park and looked at his dog, Remington. “Stay.”
Then he stepped out and shut the door with controlled force. There was no need to escalate this conversation. Accidents happened.
Still . . . that driver had been going entirely too fast for a road this narrow and winding.
He paced toward the car, already scanning the vehicle. Was the driver okay? The windows were too tinted for him to see inside.
Finally, the door opened, and a woman stepped out. Before he even saw her face, he saw her jerky movements and knew she was shaken.
Wes slowed. Something about her posture, about her blonde hair, about her slim build caught his attention.
Then she turned toward him.
Recognition hit hard and fast.
He knew this woman.
But the girl he remembered had changed since he’d last seen her. Her hair was lighter, her frame thinner, and she had the presence that belonged on a screen instead of a back road like this.
But her eyes were the same. They always said what her words didn’t—and right now, they said she was scared.
“Rowan?” He nearly whispered the name.
She froze, appearing just as shocked as he felt. “Wes?”
For a second, the two of them stared at each other.
Time folded in on itself. Suddenly, he was back under the stadium lights, with his helmet tucked under his arm, scanning the sidelines until he found her in the stands.
Rowan was there, front row at every game.
Then weeks later she’d pulled him into the front row of whatever play she was starring in.
But this woman wasn’t exactly that same girl he’d once loved.
Something else filled her gaze right now, something sharp and fearful.
He took another step closer, trying to reconcile what he was seeing with what he remembered. “What are you doing here?”
“I—” She glanced over her shoulder, back toward the road she’d come from, and she shuddered. “It’s a long story. But I need to go. I . . . I can’t stay here.”
Wes followed her gaze, noting the gravel drive.
His instincts sharpened. Something had happened to spook her like this. “What’s wrong?”
She touched her ear the way she always did when she was nervous. “Nothing. I just took a wrong turn, and—”
This wasn’t nothing. He knew her well enough to read that. “Rowan . . .”
Something flickered in her expression. “Yes?”
“Did something happen back there?” he asked.
A beat passed. Then she finally nodded with resignation. “I took a wrong turn and ended up on someone’s property. The man there . . . he just made me . . . he made me uneasy.”
Wes’s jaw tightened. “Did he touch you?”
“No.” The answer came fast. “He just . . . wouldn’t let me leave right away.”
Wouldn’t let me leave.
Wes glanced past her at the long stretch of road. He didn’t like the sound of that. In a different life, he might have gone to pay the man a visit. He might have had a stern talk with him.
His attention returned to Rowan instead. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her response came fast. “I’m just tired and not thinking clearly.”
He held her gaze a second longer.
He should let it go. The truth was, Rowan and whatever was happening in her life wasn’t his business—and it hadn’t been for many years.
Not since the day he’d visited her in LA to declare his love and ask her to return home, only for her to reject him. His throat tightened at the memory.
She’d made it clear that their worlds were too different, that they would never work together.
And she’d probably been right. Because he wasn’t going to move to Hollywood, and Rowan had built her life and future there. LA wasn’t his scene—and it never would be.
“What are you doing out here?” His voice came out softer this time.
She blew out a breath. “I’m actually headed to Refuge Cove.”
His eyes widened. “No way. Me too.”
Her brows drew together. “What? You are?”
“It’s my first official meeting with Caleb. I’m doing a security assessment for some new cottages they’re building.”
She only stared at him as if confused.
“I do threat analysis as my job,” he explained.
“In simple terms, I figure out where a place is exposed before someone takes advantage of any vulnerabilities. Since they’re starting a building project, they need to know how to do it safely.
It’s an issue since construction workers will be on and off the property. ”
Understanding flickered in her eyes, followed quickly by something else. Relief, maybe.
“I was trying to get there for a surprise visit,” she said. “I haven’t been in a while, and I got turned around. I think I’m close, but my GPS stopped working.”
He quickly observed her black Tesla. At first glance, it looked nice. But when he studied it more closely, he noticed it could use some maintenance. The tires appeared worn, it was dirty, and a small dent marred the bumper.
“You’re not far away. You can follow me. How about that?”
A beat passed before she nodded and said, “Okay.”
Wes stepped back, giving her space to get into her car. When she was safe inside, he returned to his truck.
As he climbed behind the wheel, his gaze flicked once more toward the road behind her.
He didn’t like how scared she’d appeared.
What wasn’t she telling him? The fear in her eyes seemed to be rooted far deeper than she’d let on. There was more to her story . . . and if he was smart, he’d let it go. He wouldn’t try to figure out what.
But being around Rowan had never led him to smart decisions.