Page 55 of Don't Burn Bridges
Affection welled inside her. “You're sweet.”
He answered by stealing one last kiss. “Damn right.”
Laughing, she gave him a gentle push toward the parking lot. “Go. Before that search party comes looking for you.”
Still grinning, he headed toward the driver's side of his truck. Halfway there, he glanced back. She stood in the doorway, one hand resting against the frame, and lifted a small wave. He answered with one of his own before climbing into the truck.
The engine rumbled to life, and she remained where she was while he backed out of the parking space. As he drove past, he lowered the window and lifted a hand once more. She waved until the truck turned onto the road leading back to the ranch and disappeared from view.
Only then did she step back inside and close the door.
The quiet pressed in on her. A few minutes earlier, the room was filled with conversation, laughter, and the sound of Seth moving around as he got ready for work. Now, there was only the low hum of the air conditioner and the distant sounds of the small town coming to life filtering through the closed curtains.
She wandered back to the bed and stretched out beneath the covers again, folding one arm beneath her head as she stared at the ceiling. Memories from the night before drifted through her mind without invitation. Dinner that had somehow lasted for hours. Conversations that wandered from one ridiculous topic to another until she'd laughed harder than she had in years. The way Seth looked at her as though there was nowhere else he'd rather be. Waking up in his arms that morning and discovering she hadn't wanted to leave them.
She closed her eyes and replayed each memory, savoring the details instead of pushing them aside.
For a few precious minutes, she let herself enjoy what she and Seth had found together, refusing to think beyond today. Tomorrow would come soon enough, along with the secrets she'd been carrying since the day she arrived in Hazard Falls. When he learned who she really was, everything between them would come crashing down.
But not yet.
She wanted a few more days of Seth being hers, enough that when he inevitably walked away, she'd have something no one could ever take from her.
A sharp knock echoed through the room, and she opened her eyes. For a moment, she remained still, wondering if it was for the door next to hers. Another knock followed, louder this time and definitely on her door. It was too early for housekeeping, and they usually announced themselves. It had to be Seth.
A laugh escaped her. “Forget something?”
The words slipped out before she realized he couldn't hear them. Pushing the covers aside, she climbed off the bed and crossed the room barefoot. It wouldn't have surprised her if he had left something behind or decided one more goodbye kiss was worth being even later to the ranch.
Grinning, she unlocked the door, pulled it open, and froze.
Leaning against the railing as though he had every right to be there was her half-brother.
Not Shane.
Troy.
The asshole she'd hoped she would never see again.
His mouth curled into a smug grin as his gaze drifted past her into the motel room.
“Well,” he drawled, “I thought lover boy was never gonna leave.” His eyes returned to hers, filled with open contempt. “Guess the guy's pretty damn hard up if he's wasting his time with you.”
The floor seemed to disappear beneath her.
Every trace of her pleasant morning vanished in an instant, replaced by the cold certainty that nothing good could come from Troy standing outside her motel room.
He looked much the same as the last time she'd seen him. Greasy brown hair needed a wash, and several days' worth of beard shadowed his jaw and upper lip. A thin scar traced his right cheek, a souvenir from a knife fight years earlier. The crooked nose a police officer had broken during one of Troy's arrests never healed quite right, leaving it bent slightly to one side. Brown eyes that should have looked ordinary instead carried the same calculating edge she'd grown up seeing whenever he wanted something.
At six feet tall with a lean build, he wasn't especially intimidating until people noticed the tattoos winding down both arms and creeping up the left side of his neck. Worn jeans, a faded T-shirt, and scuffed sneakers completed the picture.
He sniffled and dragged a finger beneath his nose.
Shylo had seen that often enough to have a pretty good idea what he'd been doing before showing up at her motel room.
“What do you want?” she demanded. “And how did you find me?”
Instead of answering, he pushed past her into the room as if she’d invited him.
