After the Rain (The Callahans) Read online

  “Paul is an ass, Kylie. Trey isn’t that way.”

  “Trey isn’t interested in me anyway. Why are you pushing this?”

  “Because I think you’re comfortable around him and I haven’t seen you like that around a man in a long, long time.”

  “I was comfortable enough around Paul.”

  “Until he touched you.”

  Kylie felt her skin grow hot. She knew Faye was right; that had been the crux of her breakup with Paul—and of all the other boyfriends she’d had, though none had stuck around as long as the two years Paul tolerated her. Of course, he had been cheating, so she couldn’t really count him as loyal.

  “I’m not trying to hurt you, Kylie. I know what you’ve been through. I’ve been there every step of the way, even though we’ve lived states apart. I just want to see you happy. I want to see you find someone caring and kind, like you are. And I want nothing but the best for Trey either.”

  “Then find him someone normal,” Kylie said, standing up and turning away from her. “He’s already had one screwed up woman in his life, Faye. He doesn’t need another one.” She left Faye staring behind her, and headed for her room.

  8

  Trey cursed as he heard a knock on the door of the guesthouse for the eighth time. He had been hoping the person would turn around and go away, but apparently, they were persistent. He shoved out from under the sink in the kitchen, where he was attempting to fix a leak, and walked through the small hallway to the front room. Faye stood outside the door and he grimaced. Now what? It had been almost a week since he and Kylie had gone riding. He hadn’t seen Faye and he’d been avoiding her. She would want more details than he was prepared to give. All the same, what could he do? She knew he was home and Faye wasn’t the type to give up. He opened the door so she could enter.

  “Took you long enough. What’s your problem?” she groused, coming in without an invitation. “This place is a disaster. Why don’t you clean it up and throw some pictures on the walls?” She went to work picking up garbage from the coffee table and floor, tossing it into a trash can across the room.

  “Did you stop by for a reason or are you the maid service this week?”

  “I stopped by for a reason, of course. What are you doing? You’re soaking wet.”

  “I’m trying to fix a leak under the sink. At least I was until you starting pounding on the door with a vengeance.” He headed back into the kitchen and slid under the sink, wrench in hand.

  “Don’t let me hold you up,” Faye said dryly, following him.

  “I don’t plan to. I have to get out and do rounds soon and I can’t leave this the way it is. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you have an intent look on your face and I know that look.”

  She smiled halfway. “That’s what I like about you. You don’t beat around the bush.”

  He shot an irritated look at her. “Could you just get on with this?”

  “I’m throwing a party for Kylie tonight at the bar.”

  He waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, he met her gaze. “And?”

  “And, what do you think?”

  “Of what?”

  “Of her meeting some people. I think it might make her more comfortable here. She’s been holed up in that room of hers all week. Either that or swinging on the swing out back. She’s by herself too much.”

  He hadn’t realized Kylie had been hanging out on the swing out back. He hadn’t seen her at all. Of course, he’d been avoiding her. Too many complications, he reminded himself.

  “Would you say something?”

  He sighed. “What do you want me to say?”

  “I know you like her, Trey. Don’t deny it. I’m good at sensing these things.”

  “Are you good at sensing when people don’t like you?” He twisted the wrench tighter than necessary, irritated that she was here badgering him when he’d been doing his best to stay out of Kylie’s situation.

  “She likes you too.”

  He didn’t want to hear this. It didn’t matter. “Stop.”

  “Trey, she let you touch her.”

  He stared up at the leaky pipe above his head, not wanting to think about touching Kylie. Thoughts like those couldn’t go anywhere. Not where she was concerned.

  “Look, I didn’t come over here to nag you about your feelings for Kylie—although I really think you need to reevaluate them. I need a favor. It’s about the party tonight.”

  “I have to work.”

  “No, you don’t. You and I both know you can always be reached by phone, even if you are on duty.”

  “I don’t have time to party all night, Faye. I’m busy, as you can see.”

  “You don’t need to party all night. I just need you to get Kylie to the party. It’s a surprise so I don’t want to outright tell her. I have to set up during the day and Dusty will be helping me. Joe’s on shift. That leaves you.”

  Trey inwardly groaned. “Give me a break, Faye. Have Elle do it.”

  “She can’t. She has the baby.”

  He swore under his breath and then met her gaze, annoyed. “I know what you’re trying to do here and it’s not going to work. She’s a nice kid, okay? But she’s not my type.”

  “I never said she was.” Faye folded her arms over her chest, determination in her brown eyes. “I’m not asking you to date her. I’m asking you to bring her to her surprise party, so she can meet some people and make some friends. It’s pretty pathetic that you can’t help your future sister-in-law—who’s three months pregnant, planning a wedding and working full time in your family’s restaurant—by giving her best friend a ride to a party.”

  The guilt trip worked and Trey winced. She made him sound like a jerk. He sat up straight, resigned. “She’s going to leave eventually. You know that, right? No matter how many friends she makes or how attached to this town she gets, she’s a runner. Terror can do that to a person.” He could see by the look in Faye’s eyes, that she knew he was right. All the same, she shrugged her shoulders.

  “Okay,” he finally relented. “Just how do you expect me to get her to come with me?”

  “Invite her to dinner or something, I don’t know. You’ll think of something.” She smiled at him. “I knew there was a reason you’re my favorite brother-in-law to be.”

  “As long as I cooperate with your schemes, I am.”

  She didn’t deny the fact. He grimaced and went back to the pipe he was attempting to fix.

  In the days that followed their horseback ride, Kylie didn’t see much of Trey. Apparently, he was either very busy or he was avoiding her.

  Part of her was relieved. Spending so much time with him had been a bad idea from the get-go. She had thought she’d felt something serious for Paul during the time they’d dated. Her feelings hadn’t been nearly as intense for him, as they were becoming for Trey. She trusted him more in a week, than she’d trusted Paul in two years. This was only going to cause her a world of hurt—she knew that. Yet she still couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  Over the past few days, she’d spent her time taking leisurely walks around the Callahan property. She’d enjoyed several swims with Faye and played in the backyard with Elle’s daughter, Amy. With each day that went by, she grew more and more comfortable here. She wasn’t sure that was such a good thing either. After all, inevitably, she had to go home.

  She’d talked to her mother the night before and listened to half an hour of lecture on why she should come home now and give Paul another chance. He’d only been frustrated because of Kylie’s lack of interest in the relationship. He was willing to give things another try.

  Kylie wasn’t. She’d been firm with her answer to her mother. They had argued and disconnected in anger. Nothing had been accomplished in the conversation.

  Walking through the backyard, Kylie sauntered over to the swings behind Trey’s house and sat down on one. She’d hung out there several times over the pas
t week, liking the serenity of staring up at the stars and collecting her thoughts.

  “You wanna go up on the hill and see the sun set for a change?”

  The voice startled her. She knew it was Trey, so she didn’t turn around. She waited until he stood in front of her, blocking her view, before she looked at him. He was dressed casually, like always, in jeans and a T-shirt. He had his badge and gun on, so she assumed he was on duty. Sunglasses covered those blue eyes she’d become accustomed to looking into. Nerves ate at her, instantly. Every time she looked at him, she became more uncertain of where her feelings for him were going.

  “Well?” he prodded, lowering his sunglasses to get a better look at her. “I want to take my bike out and I know you haven’t seen the sunset yet.”

  “Bike?”

  “I have a Harley.” He gestured over his shoulder. “In the garage. Beau has one too. We ride together occasionally, when he’s in town.”

  “I’ve never been on a motorcycle,” she heard herself say.

  “You did okay on the horse, didn’t you?” He shoved his sunglasses back into place. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

  She looked at his gun again. “Aren’t you working?”

  “I have a cell phone. They’ll call if they need me.”

  She hesitated.

  “Trust me, you’ll love this,” he insisted, indicating that she follow him.

  Reluctantly, she got up and trailed him to the garage beside the guesthouse. Inside was a black motorcycle, complete with the ever-popular Harley Davidson logo. The bike looked rather intimidating until he straddled it and wheeled it out of the garage. She watched with interest, as he climbed off the bike and reached for a helmet, offering it to her.

  “I don’t know about this.”

  “Trust me.” He stepped closer and she stiffened slightly when he reached forward and placed the helmet on her head. He watched her eyes as his fingers messed with the straps, pulling them tight under chin. “How’s that?”

  “Okay,” she said, stepping away from him as quickly as she could. He stared at her briefly, before turning and reaching for his own helmet. Then he climbed onto the bike and waited for her.

  She just stared at him—and at the seat behind him. It was close. Very close. She would basically be glued to him. Her heart began to pound wildly.

  “Just climb on and wrap your arms around my waist.” He tossed a glance over his shoulder at her. “Keep your legs away from the tail pipe. Burns like hell.”

  She still didn’t move.

  “Kylie?”

  “Yeah?” she heard her voice say.

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  She knew he was looking at her so she avoided his face and remained quiet.

  “What can I do to make this easier?”

  The words made her look at him. He had removed his sunglasses and his blue eyes were intense as they stared at her. An uncomfortable silence followed until she finally shrugged her shoulders.

  “You were pretty close to me at the lake, Montana. This isn’t all that different.”

  She knew she was acting irrational again and she hated herself for it. This was the kind of problem she’d had with Paul—an inability to deal with normal touching.

  “Just give me a minute,” she decided, knowing she needed to take this step, and taking it with him was the only answer.

  “Take as long as you want.”

  She stared at the motorcycle for another minute, before walking over closer to it. She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms, her eyes roaming over his shoulders. He still had his holster on and she wasn’t sure how she felt about the gun.

  “I’d take it off but technically I’m on duty. It’s safe,” he said, reading her mind. Then he smiled easily. “I promise I won’t shoot you or anything.”

  She had to smile at that. Letting her hands drop from her arms, she forced herself to reach out and grasp his shoulder. She let him help her swing her leg over the back of the bike. The intimacy of their positions wore on her, fleetingly. Her legs clasped his hips.

  “Okay?” he asked, quietly.

  She nodded, slowly getting used to things. Being close to him was as nerve wracking as she had thought. He smelled good, for one thing. Like something spicy and fresh. The scent immediately went straight to her head and she stiffened.

  “Put your arms around my waist,” he told her over his shoulder as he started up the bike.

  She did what he instructed, careful to avoid his gun at all costs. She was surprised at how comfortable she felt behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist tightly. The contact wasn’t really terrifying at all. Unnerving, but not scary.

  The bike started with a roar and a moment later, they were off. As each mile went by, she grew more comfortable, eventually, to the point where she didn’t think twice about shielding her face from the wind, by burrowing her head against the back of his neck. She was actually disappointed when he brought the bike to a stop and turned off the engine.

  “So what do you think?” he asked, pulling his helmet from his head and turning to look at her.

  “Wow,” was all she could say, smiling from ear to ear. Suddenly, she noticed their surroundings. She had known they’d climbed a rather steep hill but she hadn’t paid as much attention to the environment as she should have. The view from where they were parked was breathtaking. She could see the entire valley and the hills above, where the sun was beginning its descent.

  “Pretty amazing, huh?” He climbed off the bike and set his helmet down, before reaching over to help her undo hers. Their fingers meshed and for a moment, neither of them moved. Her heart pounded erratically and she froze.

  “I’ve got it,” he finally said, untangling their fingers and pulling the helmet from her head.

  She quickly got up and climbed from the bike.

  “This is a classic make-out place. I bust kids up here all the time.” He motioned for her to follow him closer to the bluff. When they neared the edge, where only a wire fence stood between them and a fifty-foot fall, he sat down, motioning for her to sit next to him.

  She did, wrapping her arms around her knees as she stared out at the land before her. “I would never want to move away from here if I were you.”

  “It’s pretty addicting,” he agreed, resting his hands behind him and crossing his legs at the ankles. “Just like anywhere else, when you get used to something you take it for granted though. I rarely have time to come up here and just take everything in.”

  “The proverbial there’s always tomorrow?”

  He grinned. “Yeah.”

  They watched in silence, both soaking up the peace and quiet.

  “What are you thinking?” he finally asked.

  “That I didn’t realize a place like this existed.”

  “City people miss out on this kind of peace.”

  That was for sure. She rested her chin on her knees as she stared out at the world below. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Shoot,” he said, easily.

  She still avoided his gaze, knowing that what she was about to do was the biggest step in her healing that she had ever taken. “What did Faye tell you about me?”

  “She didn’t tell me anything,” he said, without hesitation.

  Kylie wondered whether to believe him or not.

  “Maybe you should just tell me what you’re so worried about me finding out and then we can go from there?”

  “I’m not worried about you finding out anything.” The lie rolled off her tongue, easily.

  His silence spoke a thousand words.

  “I get the feeling that you already know.” The words were soft and for a moment, she wondered if he’d even heard her.

  “I can tell you what I sense if you want. Or you can just tell me what happened to you.” He sat up straight and bent his long legs, letting his hands dangle between them. “I’m a cop and I’ve seen a lot of stuff, Montana. Trust me, nothing will shock me or make me think any differently of you.”
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  She felt her insides clamp, her adrenaline beginning to pump, nervously. In eleven years, she’d never trusted anyone enough to talk about what had happened to her on that night, so long ago. She’d never even considered telling Paul what had really happened, which was most likely the reason he’d finally given up on her and cheated.

  “Faye and I hung out all the time when we were young. Did she tell you that?” she finally asked.

  He nodded.

  “She had braces so she had to go to the orthodontist a lot. When she wasn’t around, I would go hang out with our friends myself sometimes. A couple of them lived in a different part of town….” Her mind began to wander and she grasped a quick hold on reality to keep her sanity. She felt herself starting to tremble, so she took several deep breaths. “I’ve never talked about this with anyone.” For some reason she needed him to know that. “Not even Faye.”

  She heard him shift, felt his hand on hers a moment later. She looked over at him as their fingers entwined. She couldn’t see the eyes behind those glasses but she knew they were looking at her, intently. Somehow, that gave her the guts to go on.

  “I shouldn’t have been out after dark. My mother would have picked me up but I didn’t call her. She didn’t like the kid I was hanging out with.” She dropped her gaze to the land below the bluff, which was a hell of a lot easier than looking him in the face. Then she said quietly, “I didn’t think walking home alone was that big a deal. You know how it is when you’re young. Bad things only happen to other people when you’re fourteen.”

  The words obviously slapped him in the face because he tensed and let out a hiss of breath.

  “I don’t know exactly what happened—only that I was walking and then someone grabbed me from behind. I was so shocked that I didn’t fight at first. Then I fought so hard I thought he might kill me just to shut me up.” The words suddenly began spilling out. All the anguish and shame—the terror—finally came to a head.

  “I thought if I could just get away, I could find my friend and get help. I thought everything would be okay,” she babbled on, feeling the beginnings of that all familiar hysteria. Her fingers clenched his tightly. She felt the tears swarm into her eyes and the shame of her reality began to surface.