Chapter Nine #2
She swallowed against the knot in her throat. He looked stressed, pained, worried and…scared. He was scared for her. “I’m okay,” she said firmly, unable to look away. Her hand fumbled for his. “See?” She laced her fingers through his. “I’m right here. Nothing happened.”
“It could have happened,” he said quietly.
“But it didn’t,” she insisted. “I’ll get new locks. I’ll get a security system for the house. This won’t happen again. Okay?”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if he’d gotten past Riot.”
She didn’t want to think about that. Closing off the possibilities, she faced the road again. To soothe him, she brought their joined fists to her face. She rested her cheek against the link, fighting the urge to close her eyes and sink into his strength.
She was supposed to be strong for him. It was his turn to lean on her, not the other way around.
“Do you think they’re related?” he asked. “The alarm at the gallery and the break-in last night?”
“Nick, we’ve been over this. Nothing happened at the gallery. The alarm was a glitch.”
He didn’t seem convinced. Like a dog with a bone, he wasn’t going to let his assumptions about what had happened that night at the gallery rest.
When it came to his own, Nick was nothing if not doggedly devoted.
He needed a distraction. Perhaps this trip to the rez was a good thing for him. “I’m stopping by Ava and Chay’s house first. I want to see baby Gracie and check in with how Ava’s doing.”
He nodded, a fraction of his tension draining. “I haven’t seen Gracie in weeks.”
It had been Nick who had found her abandoned in the baby box at the fire station. He’d been as thrilled as Sassy had been when they learned that Ava and Chayton would be adopting the baby girl and starting a new life together on the reservation.
He reached across the console and turned the volume knob. The eighties’ hit song made her smile across the cab at him. In answer, he turned it up to blast, and they both joined in as Freddie Mercury took them through the roller coaster highs and lows of the ballad.
She didn’t let go of his hand as they crossed into Navajo territory.
* * *
Not only were Ava, Chayton and baby Gracie home, a whole Colton contingent had arrived before Sassy and Nick pulled into their driveway.
“What’s going on?” Sassy asked apprehensively as Riot trotted after them into the house, drawn by the voices echoing from within.
Ava and Chayton’s living room was bursting at the seams. On one couch sat Sassy’s uncle Sam Colton, former mayor of Dark Canyon.
Tall and lanky, he had packed himself onto the couch with the others like a sardine.
Sam had lost his first wife, Kate—mother to Jacob, Mark and Noah—to cancer.
Kate had been deceased for four years, and Sassy missed her dearly.
Wedged between Sam and the arm of the couch was Sassy’s aunt Sherry Colton, Ava and Ryan’s mother.
She was married to Sam’s brother, James.
Sassy had envied Ava and Ryan growing up, thanks in large part to Sherry’s free-spirited parenting style.
They’d been able to do whatever they wanted.
Though somewhat flighty at times, Sherry had stepped into Kate’s shoes as the matriarch of the Colton family.
Her warmth knew no bounds. She rocked slightly on the couch cushion, cooing at the baby in her arms.
Gracie, Sassy saw with a smile. Born Ella Ross, she wasn’t even a year old and already she’d been through so much.
The only clue to her family was the Navajo blanket she had been wrapped in before she was surrendered at the fire station.
After DNA testing, it was determined that Annie Ross, the woman found dead in Dark Canyon Wilderness in January, was her mother.
Chay, an officer with Navajo Tribal Affairs, had wanted her raised on the reservation.
He and Ava had recently won guardianship of her. They were engaged to be married.
Chay and Ava sat hip to hip on the love seat.
Sassy noted the protective hand Chayton laid across his fiancée’s shoulders.
They were still reeling somewhat from Ava’s abduction in February.
Ava visibly relaxed when she recognized Sassy and rose to greet them.
“I forgot you were coming,” she said. “My parents called this morning and said to expect the whole gang. I barely had time to rustle up a meal.”
“What’s the occasion?” Sassy asked as she drew her cousin into a hug.
“Colton Foundation meeting,” she said. “They all wanted to check in with Gracie, so they decided to kill two birds with one stone.”
Sassy wrinkled her nose. “I always hated that saying.”
“Me, too,” Ava agreed. Her eyes widened on Nick. “You brought Nicholas!”
“I insisted on tagging along,” he said, bringing her into a one-armed embrace. “Sorry. If I’d known you had a full house…”
“No trouble,” Ava said with a wave of her hand. She reached down to pet Riot. “We’re happy to have you. What have you done to your hand?”
“It’s just a sprain,” he excused.
Sassy rolled her eyes. Typical Nick, playing off his pain like it didn’t exist. “So how is our newest family member?” Sassy asked, turning Ava’s attention back to the baby.
“A little fussy,” Ava said truthfully. “She had an ear infection earlier this week. I think she’s doing better, but Chay was up with her all night again last night. We’ll revisit the doctor Monday if she has another rough one.”
“Are any of you sleeping?” Sassy asked.
Ava smiled. “How is any parent with a ten-month-old sleeping? We’re all still settling into a family routine. It’ll get better. Chay and I knew what we were doing when we adopted her.”
“Bless you both for doing it,” Nick said, eyeing Gracie fondly. He’d been as invested in her well-being as anyone involved in her case.
The door opened at their backs. Sassy’s eyes widened as another couple walked in. “Mom? Dad?”
Richie, the baby of the Colton brothers, looked young and fit for his fifty-seven years. His dark hair had gone slightly gray and his blue eyes were the opposite of his wife’s. As Dark Canyon’s most trusted veterinarian, he had been caring for the town’s fur babies for decades.
At his side, Bly Colton looked petite and trim, her black hair worn back, making her dark eyes look prominent in her oval face.
Like Chayton, she was a member of the Navajo Nation, having grown up on the reservation.
After marrying Richie, she’d reluctantly moved off Navajo land.
Still, she was as dedicated to her cultural roots as she was to her family.
Her handcrafted garments designed for the Navajo Nation were famous on and off the reservation for their beauty and authenticity.
Bly held Sassy close for a moment. In her characteristically quiet voice, she murmured in her daughter’s ear, “We heard what happened in town yesterday.”
Oh no. Between what had happened with the truck, the visit to Fern then Nick’s accident, she’d forgotten to call her parents. “I’m so sorry,” she scrambled to say. “You should’ve heard it from me…”
“We should have,” Richie agreed, not waiting for his wife to release Sassy. He gathered them both in his arms for a collective hug and rested his cheek on Sassy’s head. “You’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” Sassy said quickly. “No injuries. Just shaken a little.” A lot. The idea of the F-150 coming at her, the sound of the tires skipping over the curb, the front bumper staring her down, took her right back to Main Street.
She thought of the police’s visit to her house this morning.
This wasn’t the place to get into that, though she’d have to tell them both sooner or later if she didn’t want them finding out from someone in her neighborhood.
Dark Canyon might not be as safe as it once was, but it was still a tight-knit community, and people inevitably talked.
“We’re glad you’re okay,” Bly said, running a hand down the surface of Sassy’s hair. She pulled back and grinned warmly at Nick. “Are you looking out for her?”
“Actually—” Sassy began, but he cut her off.
“Absolutely,” Nick interjected, accepting her mother’s embrace. Over her shoulder, he gave Sassy a meaningful look.
He didn’t want to dwell on his injury. Neither did he want to be the center of the Coltons’ attention.
She sighed, because she could handle it.
And she had the perfect excuse to change the subject.
“I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d like to donate one of your garments to the Colton fundraiser at the gallery.
Nick and I will be driving around to various artists today asking for donations. ”
“You’re auctioning art, not clothing,” Bly pointed out, bringing the folds of her colorful Másání scarf together over her chest.
“Your work is art, Mom,” Sassy told her, not for the first time. “Please.”
Bly released a breath through her nose, contemplative. “Come by the house this next week. I’ve been working on a storyteller skirt you may be interested in.”
“It’s not a custom order for someone else?”
Bly shook her head. “It’s more of a personal project. If it’s not something you think will be suitable for the auction, say so outright.”
“No,” Sassy said. “A storyteller skirt will be perfect, especially with a visionary like you behind it.”
Bly pursed her lips, modest as always. “Come by and take a look,” she said again.
“Okay,” Sassy agreed.
Ava stared between them before blurting, “Have you thought of asking Chayton’s grandmother to donate one of her crafts?”
“Yes,” Sassy admitted. “It’s another reason I wanted to visit you and him first. Do you think she’s up for a visit?”
“I’m sure she’d love to see you,” Ava asserted, “and make a donation. If you wait, I’ll ride to her house with you. I think they’re wrapping up the business discussions here.” She nodded to Nick. “Jacob and Ryan are out back, if you’d like to say hi.”
“Sure,” Nick said. With a wink for Sassy, he patted his knee. “This way, boy,” he said to Riot. The dog followed him to the back door, stopping to accept rubs from those assembled in the living room. Nick’s progress was slow as he shook hands with Sassy’s uncles and Chayton along the way.
“Do I want to know how he was injured?” Bly asked.
Sassy lifted her shoulders. “You know Nick. Always trying to be the hero, even when it’s to his own detriment.”
Richie cleared his throat. “Seems somebody needs to take care of him, too.” This comment earned a ribbing from his wife. “What?” he asked plaintively, rubbing his side.
“We agreed we wouldn’t pry,” Bly stated, raising her brows, a silent entreaty for him to behave.
Sassy narrowed her eyes at the two of them. “Pry?”
Richie looked torn between the need to confess and the urgency to keep things copacetic between him and his wife. “It’s nothing.”
Sassy dropped her chin, giving him her best Bly stare from beneath her lashes.
He fumbled. “It’s just… I was speaking to Ryan the other day and he mentioned that he thought the two of you…that Nick would…that you’d…”
If he danced around it anymore, they’d have to dress him up as a clown and enter him into the circus. “Yes?” Sassy prompted.
Ava groaned. “I think I know where he’s going with this. Nick and Sassy are just friends, Uncle Richie.”
“I know that,” he said. “But…”
“Oh,” Sassy realized.
“Hear me out,” Richie said, accelerating his explanation now that all three women were looking at him incredulously. “Ryan thinks Nick would be perfect for you.”
“Ryan said that?” Sassy repeated. Was her cousin in the matchmaking business? Between his firefighting hours and his frequent visits to Fern’s bedside, Sassy wondered sourly where he found the time.
“It does make sense, in a way.” When Sassy and Bly turned on her, Ava raised her hands. “Your personalities mesh beautifully. I can understand, though, how vital your friendship is to the two of you. You’ve been through a lot together…”
Bly patted Sassy’s arm when she could only gape. “Don’t listen to your father. He sees James and Sherry holding their grandbaby. Baby fever is catching.”
“Grandbaby?” Sassy blanched.
“Richie,” Bly said, studying Sassy’s dumbfounded expression, “get your daughter some water. You’ve just scared ten years off her life.”
Richie apologized profusely and went to do just that.
Sassy stared into her mother’s eyes. “You think Nick and I should…”
“I think,” Bly interrupted smoothly, “that you and Nick are what you are and we have no right to ask for anything more of either of you.”
“And Dad needs grandbabies?” Sassy asked incredulously. “Now?” She’d never felt the weight of being an only child like she did now.
“No,” Bly answered for him. “That will come later, if you wish it. And only if you wish it. What I’d like first is to see you settle down.
” She laughed when Sassy wrinkled her nose.
“You enjoy your life. I know you do. But I’ve been married to your father for thirty years, Haseya, and as much as I enjoyed my life on the reservation before, I can’t imagine a life without a partner.
I’ll admit when I imagine someone for you, my mind drifts to Nicholas, because friendship is the foundation of any good marriage. ”
“Marriage…” Sassy needed to sit down. Fast.
“Your father shouldn’t have said anything,” Bly noted. “He’s spooked you off the idea completely now.”
Richie returned with water. Ava drew her to a chair. Sassy sat and sipped until she could feel the blood in her toes again. Next time her parents dropped a bombshell, she’d like to be prepared.
What made it worse—so much worse—was that their expectations were now mixed up with the mess in her mind that were these newfound feelings for Nick. Unrequited feelings. Nick didn’t want her like that. He didn’t want her, period.
She wished she could go back to a simpler time—seventy-two hours ago, at least—before she realized that her ’80s music fiend, sci-fi movie–loving best friend wasn’t just her friend.
He was a man. A single man, sweet and sexy, who color coordinated his sock drawer, rescued stray canyon dogs and made her heart flutter.
She resisted the urge to drop her head between her knees. There was no way out of this. She, Sassy Colton, had a devastating crush on Nick Malone, and it didn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.