Page 71 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

An hour later, I’d lost count of the number of stories the group had told about Liz’s family or tales from her bar. She fit into the mix so well, that with each one, my status as guest felt more and more obvious.

Liz had been Cash’s date to their senior prom. Liz had thrown Katherine’s twenty-first birthday party. Liz had gone skiing with Easton a few years ago and had come home with a broken nose, courtesy of a tree branch.

Liz. Liz. Liz.

She was sweet. She was funny and charming.

And she was infatuated with the man who’d been sharing my bed.

The way she smiled at him was subtle, like a girl who’d learned to hide her long-time crush well. Unless you were looking closely—which I was—it might seem like a tight friendship. But her eyes were on him a tad too often. When he laughed, her cheeks flushed. She made to stand beside him, casually shifting whenever he moved.

And the part I hated most was that he’d be better off with someone like her.

By the time we sat at the dining room table, I’d lost my appetite. The three glasses of wine I’d consumed had given me a sharp headache.

Easton held out Liz’s chair, taking the seat beside her, per Carol’s seating assignments.

I was ushered to the chair directly across from them, giving me the perfect seat to watch the two reminisce.

But he didn’t look at me, not once. Easton was keeping up his end of the bargain, pretending like I was nothing more than the fleeting guest.

Even if we weren’t pretending, what could I contribute to this trip down memory lane? I couldn’t razz him about the time in college when he’d brought his girlfriend, the vegetarian, home to a cattle ranch only to have her dump him one week later. I didn’t know the name of his dog that had died in eighth grade or the truck he’d driven in high school.

I didn’t know much about Easton’s past because he’d never offered much up.

No, I was the headcase we normally examined. I had to give him credit. Easton listened like he cared, but really, I doubted he’d wanted to know the horrid details.

It hadn’t stopped me from blathering on though, had it? God, I was so stupid.

I didn’t fit here. These were nice people, but even Katherine fit in better. She knew where to get the silverware from Carol’s kitchen to help set the table. She knew where the dishes went after unloading the dishwasher. She offered to fix Jake and JR a drink and knew without asking how they took their whiskey.

“You okay?” Katherine whispered at my side as we passed platters and bowls of the feast around.

“Yeah,” I lied. “Just a bit of a headache.”

Katherine knew Easton and I were sleeping together, but whenever we’d talked, I’d downplayed my feelings for him. She thought we were casual. She thought we were fleeting. She didn’t know how much I’d grown to care for him and she definitely didn’t know I’d had a jealous breakdown about Liz.

“Do you want me to get you some Advil?” She pointed toward the bathroom down the hall because she knew where they kept the medicine. That shouldn’t have annoyed me, but it did.

“I’ll be fine.” I scooped a heaping spoonful of stuffing on my plate. “Nothing some carbs and more wine won’t knock out.”

“Amen.” She picked up her fork and dug into her candied yams.

With any luck, we’d all be too busy eating for much more conversation. And once this meal was over, I’d explain my headache was unbearable and return to the cabin where I’d barricade myself in the bedroom, hide under the covers and if Easton showed up, he’d find the door locked.

“So, Gemma. You and Katherine grew up together, right?” Liz asked.

“That’s right.” I looked to Katherine who gave me a slight headshake, which meant she’d told the Greers about our childhood, but not the local bartender.

I doubted many others outside this family knew how we’d grown up because it wasn’t easy to share.

“And you’re working at the lodge?” Liz asked.

I nodded. “Just while I’m here. Katherine was nice enough to give me something to do until Christmas.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were leaving. I thought you lived here.”

“No, she doesn’t.” Easton spoke before I could answer. He finally dared to make eye contact.