Chapter Twenty-Six
Joel’s cryptic voice mail had said nothing more than he wanted to meet her by the river at nine.
Vicki fought her sadness. Her life was packed into a shockingly small pile of boxes and the two panniers of clothing for her bike.
It seemed the final days of living in her hometown should be faced with more fanfare. Things still weren’t perfect, and her family continued to haunt her. The past memories burned, and the current snide comments and the accusations she didn’t deserve had slowed but not vanished.
Add in the icy-cold reception she’d gotten from Jesse Coleman the few times she’d been unlucky and met him while on her own, God, it was enough to make her crazy.
Even running into Eric Tell and having him pass by without attempting to rile her up wasn’t as sweet with the bitter taste of Jesse and Joel’s ruined relationship flavouring everything.
Getting out of Rocky was the only way to save herself and Joel more pain. It was as if she were cutting out her heart and leaving the best of her behind, though.
She’d debated this over and over. Saying something about how she felt would be horrid, and like hell would she give any indication she was dying inside. Two more days until she turned her bike north and left forever.
The tears she wiped from her eyes were the only weakness she’d allow.
She taped the lid of the final box. Wrote a note to Hope who had offered to store the boxes in the shed at her and Matt’s place. Hope hadn’t said anything in condemnation when Vicki had told her she was leaving, only her eyes had looked volumes. As if the woman knew this wasn’t what Vicki really wanted, no matter how much the words from her mouth insisted it was.
If Joel had been her first real best friend, Hope had become her first girlfriend. They hadn’t spent many nights together in the apartment before Hope and Matt got married, but enough that Vicki was going to miss her. And she felt like crap for not having shared more about her plans in the first place.
Another reality of having people you considered family? She’d hurt others without intending to.
She pulled the apartment door shut after her. Hope and Matt would grab the boxes later that night. Now, all she had were Saturday and Sunday in Rocky before her life changed for good. Joel had asked her to spend them with him.
One final weekend in his arms. It wasn’t just the sex they would share, it was him. Being with him, having him near. There was no way she could refuse the invitation even though she should have. She would have to hide her emotions the entire forty-eight hours.
She took the steep stairs down from the second-story apartment and made her way to her bike.
A bouquet of wildflowers was strapped to the handlebars.
Vicki stood without moving for a full minute before she threw the panniers into position and reached for the card poking from the foliage.
I’ve never given you flowers and that’s something a boyfriend should do. Hope you like them. See you at the river? I have one more surprise.
It wasn’t safe riding with tears in her eyes, but she had no choice.
His truck was pulled to the right of the tree where they’d first met so long ago. She parked to the side, not worrying this time about hiding her wheels.
The entire lanky length of him stepped out from behind the vehicle, and she soaked in the sight.
He waited until she’d removed her helmet before coming over and picking her up. Bodies meshed close as she gave in and let herself enjoy being in his arms. Once more savouring his strength as he held them together, their mouths connected, tongues and lips battling hungrily.
Vicki wrapped her legs around him, the strong muscles of his torso so familiar now, so wonderful to touch. She pulled back and sighed. “Hey, you.”
He stared into her eyes, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe. “Thanks for coming.”
They stood there, not talking. Not kissing or anything, yet unable to turn away from each other. She forced out a whisper. “This is crazy. You should put me down.”
Joel nodded and lowered her. “Sorry. I’m a little distracted.”
“Me too.”
Joel tilted her chin with a stroke of his fingers. “Hey. No long faces. You did it. You did the most important thing you set out to do.”
Yeah, she had. She’d also done what she’d never intended. She’d fallen in love.
“Thanks to you.” Vicki accepted the hand he held out. “So, you going to have a busy summer?”
Joel cleared his throat. “Before I answer that, I have to apologize.”
Vicki thought back, but couldn’t see why. “Umm, for what?”
He pointed toward her bike. “There were a couple things I missed. Like the flowers, and something else. And if we’re going to finish this, I have to make sure it’s done right.”
He talked so easily about things being over. Vicki pasted on a smile and forced herself to copy his nonchalance. She followed him around the tree. “Goofball. What else did you forget?”
He turned her to face the tree, tugging her body back to lean on him.
There was an enormous heart carved into the wide trunk, with Joel + Vicki filling the center of the space. The raw wood looked fresh, the marks recent.
She sucked for air, but none seemed to be available to fill her lungs. Joel stroked his hand down her side as he knelt behind her, creating a place for her to sit on his strong thigh. He turned her face toward him, cupping her cheek. “It’s supposed to be self-explanatory, but to make sure you don’t miss the message, I’ll say it as well. I love you.”
“Oh my God.” Vicki blinked back tears. “You do?”
“Like crazy. Completely, totally, head over heels.” He smiled, the sweet sexy version that made her knees shake and her body ache. “If you keep staring at me with those wide eyes of yours, not saying anything, I’m going to think I freaked you out forever.”
“You love me?”
Joel grinned. “Vicki, darling? You going to—?”
Maybe she was supposed to do something else, but there was no other response. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him until she needed to let go or pass out from the stars spinning in her head.
When she leaned away, his grin had grown wider. “You got anything to say?”
“We’re insane. How can this be? What’s going to happen? I leave in two days, and oh my God, you love me?”
Joel held her face tenderly. “One step at a time. I’m not going to let you go anywhere until you say it. You do love me, don’t you? I didn’t imagine you feel the same as me?”
“You didn’t dream it up. I’m…how did you say it? Crazy about you. Totally and completely, head over heels.” She shook her head. “But this wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m moving away. I can’t cancel on Karen now. Not with the other last-minute changes she’s had to deal with.”
“I don’t want you to cancel. I think you should go work for the summer.” Joel rearranged her so she was curled up in his lap, his broad back leaning on the tree beside where he’d posted for everyone to see how he felt.
“You want me to leave you?”
“Oh hell, no. Part of me wants you to stay right here, close. Now that I’ve told you how I feel, I want to spend the next days and months and years saying it until it sinks in for real. Only…” He wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Only…we’re young. We’ve got so much time ahead of us, and so many things to look forward to. Maybe, if you and I think about it together, we can figure out what’s right for both of us, now and down the road.”
Vicki’s heart pounded. “But you love me?”