Dominic Robb, her boyfriend and business partner, had broken up with her on his way to London, where she’d assumed she’d be joining him. He’d used the business venture they’d developed together and parlayed it into a new position at a top investment firm in England.
Without her.
Now she had no boyfriend and no business.
How had it come to this? She was the naturally suspicious one who always told her friends not to trust a man, especially a smooth-talker like Dominic. How had she been so blind? They had the same dreams. He wanted to succeed, to be the best. They were perfect for each other, or so she’d thought.
How wrong she’d been. She didn’t usually make catastrophic mistakes like that, and it had shaken her to the core. Over a year later, she still hadn’t so much as gone on a date with a man.
She glared at Jason. Her crushed dreams weren’t his fault, but this silly victim scenario was. “You said to act ordinary. That’s what I’d do if you guys charged into my house like that.”
“Well, apparently you’re not ordinary.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“More of a compli-sult.”
She remembered that long-running joke from their locker-buddy days in high school. “The dreaded compliment with an insult hidden inside? How dare you.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “How long do Patty’s bursitis episodes usually last?”
“It varies. Sometimes I think they last as long as it suits her.” She put a hand over her mouth in exaggerated apology. “Oops, I didn’t just say that. Don’t tell Patty.”
“You’re afraid of Patty?” His face brightened. “Good. I’m going to tell her what a godawful victim you are if you don’t shape up.”
She was starting to feel sorry for him. “You’re sounding desperate. Okay, fine, I’ll be good.”
“Okay. Thank you.” He gestured to the crew. “Places, please.”
Now it really was starting to sound like a movie. Kendra sat in the folding chair again. She checked her watch. Almost seven. Pretty soon she had to wrap this up and get her ass over to the Blue Drake. But for now, she was enjoying the spotlight, she had to admit.
As the firefighters charged toward her for the fifth time, she let out a bloodcurdling shriek, and convulsed onto the floor, where she twitched and moaned dramatically.
All the firefighters stopped in their tracks.
“She’s having a medical event!” Jason shouted. “What do you do in case of a heart attack or a stroke?”
When no one moved right away, he ran to her himself. He crouched down next to her and put his hand near her neck. Not quite touching her skin, but nevertheless, she could feel the warmth of his hand.
“You check her pulse. Make sure she’s breathing. Do your ABCs. What are the ABCs?” he continued.
Colleen piped up. “Airway, breathing, circulation.”
“That’s right. You check all of the above. Sure, she’s a potential suspect, but her medical situation comes first.” Jason’s hands were moving around her body, indicating her throat, her mouth, her chest. Clearly he knew what he was doing. His skill shone in every movement, even though he didn’t actually complete any of the actions he was describing.
She felt herself relaxing on the uncomfortable concrete floor of the garage. It was very uncharacteristic of her to do something so dramatic. She’d done it to throw them off and annoy Jason some more. But it hadn’t exactly worked out that way. It was soothing to watch him do his thing. If I ever had a real medical event, I’d want Jason to be my paramedic, she thought dreamily.
“Okay, you’re fine,” he said brusquely. She glanced up at him. They’d never been this close before, not even when they used to sling friendly insults at each other from locker to locker. His eyes were such an intensely dark blue, as if an artist had wanted black, but pulled back and gone for blue instead.
Her gaze dropped to his upper lip, searching for…there it was. That scar. She’d never forget the night he got that scar.
After all, he’d been defending her.
Two
“Do you guys remember when I nearly started a brawl at the Cue Ball pool hall?” At the end of the long day, Kendra sat with her besties Carly and Gina at the bar at the Blue Drake Club and Resort. A jazz combo played on the iconic stage with its enormous statue of a blue duck.
Recently, her father had taken over the restaurant portion of the club and renamed it Alvin’s Burgers and Blues. After they stopped serving, the bar stayed open until midnight. That was when she could finally relax and enjoy the acts that came through town. Thanks to Steven Gault, Carly’s father and Alvin’s close friend, this tiny spot on the map was a top destination for some of the best musical talent in the world.
“I heard something about it, but it was just you and Brooke, right?” Carly sipped from a bottle of nonalcoholic beer. She’d just gotten married this past New Year’s Eve and was due to give birth any day—or minute—now. She sat astride the bar stool, the heels of her boots hooked on the rungs. Her dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail and she looked tired. Kendra kept trying to get her to slow down, but she was a constant ball of energy.
“Yes, and really it was all Brooke’s fault,” Kendra said. “She was the instigator.”
“Well, of course. You were such a good girl.” Gina pulled a sassy face, her dark curls dancing as she bopped to the music. “By which I mean you were more careful not to get caught.”
Kendra laughed and clicked her vodka tonic with lime against Gina’s wine glass. Gina had recently fallen in love, too. So had the fifth member of their friend group, Trixie, back in Lost Harbor, Alaska. Only Kendra was currently single. Well, and Brooke.
It’s me and you, Brooke. She toasted her friend’s spirit. Me and a ghost, we’re the only ones still single.
Gina ran a finger around the rim of her wine glass. “Do you know how many times I think, WWBD?”
Kendra cocked her head. “What would Brooke do?”
“Yes. And the answer is always the opposite of what most people would do.”
They all laughed. Brooke the Rebel. “Do you think if she’d lived, she would have stopped being such a revolutionary?” Kendra asked her friends.
“No. Not Brooke,” Gina said instantly.
“I’m not so sure,” Carly mused. “If she’d lived, she would have been a mother to Danny. She might have toned it down for him.”
Kendra took a sip of her ice-cold vodka. “She probably would have dragged him to protest marches.”
They all laughed, knowing it was the truth.
“I still miss her,” Kendra said softly.
“I do too,” said Carly. “Especially being back in Lake Bittersweet. It’s like she’s just around the corner, and if I move fast enough, I’ll catch her. I love hearing stories about her, especially if I can tell them to Danny.”
When Carly had married Thomas, she’d become stepmother to Danny, who was now a teenager. Danny was the result of one experimental night between Thomas and Brooke, seventeen years ago. Tragically, Brooke had died while giving birth to him, and Thomas had raised him alone. Kendra couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than Carly stepping into Danny’s life at this point.