Page 72 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

Those eyes were unreadable. The tone of his voice wasn’t flat or annoyed or cold, it was just matter-of-fact.

I didn’t live here.

So why stay until Christmas? This dare, his challenge, didn’t matter. I had nothing to prove, not anymore.

I’d already lost.

“I’m on my way to California,” I told Liz. “I just came to visit Katherine.”

“Ah.” She nodded and there was no mistaking the hint of relief in her gaze. She’d pegged me as competition, even though Easton excelled at making sure I looked insignificant to him. Liz nudged Easton’s elbow with her own. “I’m going snowmobiling next weekend. Want to come?”

“Maybe. What day?”

“Saturday. Mom and Dad will be back to cover the bar.”

I held my breath, waiting to hear his answer. Saturdays were our day. Or at least they had been until I’d opened my mouth and told him about Mom.

“Let me see how the week shakes out,” he told her. “Maybe.”

Maybe.

He hadn’t said no.

My nose stung with the threat of tears but I kept them at bay, taking a long drink of my wine and concentrating on the meal.

Conversation around me continued, light and jovial and festive. But the delicious food had lost its flavor. The wine wasn’t numbing the pain. And the headache I’d lied to Katherine about began pounding in my temples.

It was only by sheer force and years of practice that I managed to hold a slight smile through dinner. But when Jake mentioned giving it an hour before eating dessert, I knew my façade wouldn’t survive the rest of the night.

“Excuse me.” I stood from the table and went to the powder room, closing my eyes once the door was locked and dragging in a shaky breath.

I just wanted to go home.

But where was home? Boston? California? The cabin?

None of those places were home. I was filthy rich and utterly homeless. The closest thing I had was that Cadillac outside.

Maybe it was time to get in it and get on with my life.

I washed my hands and gave myself a few minutes to compose my emotions, then I returned to the main room, finding Carol and Liddy in the kitchen clearing plates. “Thank you both for an incredible meal.”

“You’re welcome.” Liddy smiled. “Would you like more wine?”

“Actually, I think I’m going to get going. I’m getting a nasty headache and I don’t want to infect everyone with a lousy mood.”

“Oh, no.” Carol rushed around the island for a hug. “Do you want to rest in the guest bedroom and see if it passes?”

“My sweatpants are calling. I think I’ll just sneak out.”

“You go on ahead. We understand.”

Liddy came over and hugged me goodbye, then without returning to the dining room, I gathered my coat from the hook beside the door and slipped into the night.

The Cadillac’s tires crunched on the hard snow as I steered the car on the bumpy road to the cabin. It was quiet outside, not a breath of wind rustled through the trees. The black and soundless night only made it more obvious I was alone.

That there was only one heartbeat in the car. There were only one set of footsteps in the fresh snow outside the cabin. There was only one jacket to hang on the coat hook.

Easton’s scent clung to the air and I could smell his spice. I dragged in a deep breath, wanting so much to curl into a ball on the couch and cry.