chapter 41

Nita took longer than she anticipated showering, dressing and packing her bag. By the time she returned to Ky’s cabin, Jess was there but there was no sign of Ky.

“Hi,” she said to Jess. “I’m heading out, don’t want to wait until it’s too dark before I go. Do you know where Ky went?”

Jess winced, her hands gripping some oven mitts before she finally threw them on a counter. “There’s a problem he went to handle. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

That didn’t sound good. Especially not the way Jess said it.

“I guess I’ll go home then.” Shit. She’d really wanted to see him. Maybe kiss him goodbye. Give him a hug. Ah, damn. She was much too attached to the big guy. Distance was probably a good thing. “He has my number and we’ll talk when he isn’t so busy.” She strolled forward to give Jess a hug. “Thanks so much for feeding me while I’ve been here.”

“Oh, you’re very welcome.” Jess sighed. She patted her on the back and marched to the front of the house where Nita’s energy saver was parked. “I’m just happy you’re back.”

Nita stopped by the car door and turned to Jess. “Back?”

Jess’s sparkling hazel eyes filled with happiness. “Yes! I’m so happy that Ky finally got you back.”

Say what? “Got me back from where?”

“Oh,” she gushed. “You know. You were his first love back in high school.”

Oh. My. God.

It couldn’t be real. She had to be kidding. Ky wouldn’t have withheld that kind of information. Would he? “His first love?”

“Let me think.” Jess’s brow puckered. “You guys were like fourteen or fifteen I think. Anyway, he’d gone to live with one of our uncles at Silver Falls. He and my dad didn’t get along. But that’s another story. You went to the same school.” Jess grinned. “I’m sure you’ve talked about it already, but I just think it’s so awesome that you’re here. And he’s got the woman he always wanted.”

Silver Falls. The word resounded in her head like a painful drum.

Jess’s words were drowned out by the painfully loud beat of her heart. He’d been her high school best friend?

Jess gave her another hug. “Drive safe and come back soon! I know Ky will be counting the minutes until you do.”

“Right,” she mumbled and slid behind the wheel of her car.

She got lost in her thoughts. Hours flew, one after another, and her mind turned to a complete mess of questions. Why hadn’t he told her who he was? She felt like a fucking idiot for not putting two and two together.

He didn’t look so much like he had back in school that she’d assume he was the same person. The vile taste of acid rolled up the back of her throat.

Bastard!

“How?” she asked herself.

Her phone rang repeatedly but she refused to look at it.

She was hurt. Angry. Frustrated. An emptiness took hold of her chest. He’d lied to her. It didn’t matter that it was by omission. For every mile she drove, the sense of desolation and sadness grew.

She got home late that night, having spent hours stuck in traffic with nothing to do but think. Hectic sounds of the city surrounded her once she hit the main roads. None of that mattered.

After a quick shower, she lay on her sofa, trying to decide what to do. The days with him had been so nice. So...perfect. Why would he choose to not tell her about their past if he’d had feelings as Jess said.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

She jerked up on the sofa, her heart beating double time. Had the building fallen around her and she hadn’t noticed?

“If you’re in there open up, Nita!” Tally yelled, her knocks bouncing off the door. “I’m ten seconds from calling the police and filing a missing person’s report.”

Scurrying to open the door, she almost fell over her slippers. She cursed her tendency to trip over her own two feet and jerked the door open.

Tally shoved her way in without waiting for an invitation. “Come in,” she said sarcastically.

“What the hell, Nita?” Tally asked with shock. Then she gave her a once over and frowned. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing happened. I’m tired.”

“Bullshit!”

Argh! She hated that Tally knew her so well she could tell when Nita was upset.

“Really, Tally. It’s not a big deal. I’m unsure where this is going with Ky.”

Tally marched for the kitchen, ignoring Nita’s words as if she’d said come in instead.

“What are you doing?” Nita asked. She followed after Tally into her small but open kitchen.

“Tea. It’s too late for coffee.”

“I’m surprised Theron and Connor aren’t here with you,” Nita said of Tally’s mates. Wherever Tally went, the men followed.

Tally sat down on the breakfast nook and motioned her to take a seat. “They don’t need to be here with me. This is girl talk.”

Nita raised a brow. “What did you do, leave them in the car?”

Tally sighed. “No. I’m an independent woman. I can get around without them. I did it for most of my life.” She shrugged. “Plus, I warned them that if they even suggested coming along I’d probably stab them in their sleep with a fork.”

“That sounds more like you.”

“Forget about me,” Tally stated. “What happened to you? Why do you look so...sad?”

Tally stood and got teacups and sugar, and then proceeded to unwrap something from a bag she’d carried in.

“Is that—?”

“Yes. Cake. I knew that if you weren’t answering me you’d need this.”

Okay, maybe she wasn’t too upset that Tally had shown up. Besides, Tally was probably the only person she trusted enough to tell how she felt and discuss what happened.

“Tally, you didn’t have to.” She forked a piece of cake and shoved it in her mouth. “But I am glad you did.”

Tally sat down again, her arms resting on the kitchen table. “Okay, so what happened that things went from you having a great time with Mr. Beautiful Eyes, to you being home moping?”

“I’m not moping,” she grumbled. Disgusted with herself, she slammed the fork down on the plate. “He lied to me!”

Tally’s scared wide-eyed stare almost made her laugh. “Lied how?”

She inhaled sharply, trying to rein in the anger over the bear’s sly omissions. “He is the Ky I knew back in high school.”

Tally’s eyes got even wider. “Wait. The one you said was your best friend?”

“That one,” she growled.

“You didn’t notice this when you first saw him?” Tally sounded as confused as she felt. Welcome to the club, sister.