Chapter 14 Jace #3
“I’m not your girlfriend!” Holly snapped back, her eyes flashing anger.
“You heard her,” Jace growled. “The only person bothering her right now is you.”
“How long have you known her, five minutes?”
Jace’s wolf rose up inside him, refusing to back down from the challenge. “You’re right, I haven’t known her very long, but I bet I know her better than you do. Which one is her favorite sister?”
Rob looked confused and angry. “What does that have to do with anything? I barely even know her sisters! I haven’t seen any of them in fifteen years.”
“Yeah? Maybe there’s a reason for that. Because I haven’t even met them, but I do know.
What does she like to do when it snows? What’s a Christmas thing she misses doing with her mom?
What’s her favorite place on the farm?” This was one thing that Holly hadn’t told him, but he had seen her in the Christmas tree farm, just wandering between the rows of trees, looking peaceful and happy.
“What’s her favorite breakfast food? Does her dog like you? ”
“Cupcake can’t stand Rob,” Holly said.
“Who or what is a Cupcake?” Rob demanded, baffled.
Holly turned to face him head on. “Even Merry didn’t like you, and Merry loves everyone. My sisters hated you, Dad hated you—I just wish I’d listened. The one whose taste I really should be questioning at this point is mine!”
“Don’t let him make you blame yourself, Holly,” Jace said. He bared his teeth at Rob. “The blame is all his. And it’s like the lady said. We are leaving.”
“Leave me alone, Rob,” Holly put in, stepping away from him. “If you come near me again, I’m calling the police. I’m serious.”
“Go ahead and try,” Rob sneered. “My dad knows Sheriff Farrell. They get together to watch the game every Sunday. Just try it, I dare you.”
“We’re walking away now,” Jace growled. “You try to follow us, and you’ll find out how much of a scene I’m prepared to make.”
He put an arm around Holly, at once possessive and comforting. She leaned against him, whether seeking comfort or going along with the demonstration, he wasn’t sure. But he could feel that she was shivering. Jace turned both of them around and started walking away, holding her close.
For the first few steps, he half expected to feel Rob’s fist connect with the back of his head.
But Rob was, as he’d suspected, a base coward.
Jace finally gave in to the temptation to look back, and saw that Rob was standing where they had left him, staring at them with his fists clenched.
Seeing Jace looking at him, Rob spat on the sidewalk, turned on his heel, and strode away.
“Is he gone?” Holly asked tightly.
“Yeah. Do you want to keep shopping or just go?”
“I’d rather go. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Jace said. “Never apologize for that guy.”
He felt Holly pull back. She had become so comfortable against his side that he had almost forgotten he was holding on to her. Reluctantly, he let her go. Holly shoved her hands in her pockets and glanced nervously back to reassure herself that Rob was no longer in sight.
Jace flexed his fingers. Still human. He had to fight down a laugh of triumph. He and his wolf had gotten through that entire confrontation in perfect sync. His wolf hadn’t broken out of him. He figured his eyes had probably been shifter-gold, but Rob was too single-minded to even notice.
We got through that okay.
At least for now.
“Is he telling the truth about his dad and the sheriff?” Jace asked.
“Yeah, I mean, they know each other.” Holly looked tired. “Everyone knows everyone in this town. His dad runs a string of banks throughout the county, so he’s pretty well connected. Why do you think I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of this?” She gave him a sideways look. “Are you judging me?”
“Me?” Jace asked, genuinely taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. I’d judge me if I knew I used to date Rob. I mean, in some sort of scenario where I got amnesia and forgot about it or something. I wish I could get amnesia about it,” she muttered. “Very selective amnesia would be great.”
“Everyone makes mistakes. I’ve made plenty. Though I admit I can’t figure out what the hell you ever saw in that guy ...”
“We dated in high school, and all I can tell you is, he was different then,” Holly said.
“He was still kind of a jerk, I guess, but he was the school quarterback, and he had a lot of friends. He had all of these big plans for after he graduated. Athletic scholarships, working at his dad’s bank .
.. but it turned out that, like everything about Rob, it was all talk. ”
“Did he already have the pornstache?”
Holly choked. “It’s not a pornstache! And no, he didn’t have that.”
“So are you saying he’s stalking you after you broke up, what, fifteen years ago? That’s delusional.”
Holly shook her head and gave Jace’s arm a little tug.
“Come on, let’s keep walking. Remember how I said word gets around in this town?
” Indeed, people were craning at them from doorways.
“When I got back to town, I sort of dipped a toe into getting back together with Rob. Then I found out what he’s like now.
You know that feeling when you see someone you haven’t seen in a decade or so, and in your head they’re still the same, but in real life they’ve moved on? ”
“Sort of,” Jace said.
“And sometimes they were an ugly duckling who grew up super awesome, and sometimes they had all this potential that got squandered? Rob is the second kind. When I left Pine Junction, he was going to get a job at his dad’s bank, but these days, he can barely handle seasonal work.
He drinks a lot, gets into fights, and basically wouldn’t know what to do with an opportunity if one landed on his face. ”
This gave Jace a sudden, vivid image of Holly landing on his face. With spread legs. He missed a step on the sidewalk and nearly toppled off.
“Careful,” Holly said, catching his arm. “Curb’s kind of high there .... Anyway, we went on a couple of dates—uh—do you mind me talking about this? I want to be honest about it.”
“You have a past,” Jace said. “Me too. That’s just part of dating in your thirties.”
“Right. So we got to first or second base a couple of times. And that’s all it was, meaningless and unsatisfying.
Back in high school, I thought we could have been something, and I wanted to know if we could be something, if I could maybe turn Rob around, or turn me around .
..” She trailed off for a minute. “I was pretty unhappy when I came back from the city, after all. And I mean, I’ve moved back into my old childhood bedroom, so it’s not like I’m a model of figuring my stuff out, either. ”
Jace caught hold of her arm and turned her to face him. “You listen to me. You’re nothing like that guy. Nothing at all.”
“Maybe not. But I did want to find out if I was just dismissing Rob because he stayed in my hometown and I went to the big city. I didn’t want to be a snob, you know?
It turned out I shouldn’t have bothered.
Rob says that by getting to know him again, I led him on and gave him the idea that we were going to get serious.
I don’t think I said anything like that . ..”
“I think I can say with absolute confidence that’s all him,” Jace said firmly. “You didn’t do anything. And if he comes around again, I’m more than happy to make it clear that he’s not welcome.”
Holly smiled up at him, and his chest clutched. “I’m not worried at all,” she said. “Not with you here.”