Blinding Rain, Season 2, Episode 7 (Rising Storm) (4 page)

Brittany jumped out of the booth and both girls let loose those high-pitch girl screams women do when they see an old friend and wrapped their arms around each other. And as he watched, Logan’s chest filled with something light—or maybe it just didn’t feel so damn heavy anymore. He knew Delia had been teasing him a few minutes ago. She hadn’t loved him back in high school any more than he’d loved her—which was only as much as he’d needed to love her to get in her pants. But seeing her again felt good, familiar, easy in a way nothing had felt easy in a long time. And as he slid into the booth next to her and the four of them launched into stories about the good old days, he found himself smiling and laughing and barely thinking of Ginny at all.

He glanced at Delia and caught her gaze. And as she smiled and nudged her shoulder against his, for the first time in forever he thought...maybe. Maybe Marcus was right and he really could move on with his life. Because if he had someone like Delia Bruce in his life again, distracting him and keeping him busy, he just might be able to let go of Ginny Moreno for good.

* * * *

Brittany watched Logan closely as the four sat in the back booth long after Logan was supposed to go back to work, feeling both happy and guilty at the same time.

She wasn’t betraying her friendship with Ginny by encouraging some kind of rekindling between Logan and Delia, was she? No. She and Ginny weren’t friends anymore. She didn’t even know if Ginny was upset over her breakup with Logan. For all she knew, Logan Murphy had just been another notch on Ginny Moreno’s bedpost.

But even as the thought hit, Brittany’s mood sank lower. Regardless of Ginny’s shortcomings, Brittany knew the girl was a wreck over losing Logan. It was as plain as the nose on her face anytime the two ran into each other in town. Though, that wasn’t Brittany’s fault, now was it? Logan was the one who’d called things off with Ginny. Logan, like Brittany, had been devastated by Ginny’s lies. The guy deserved to have fun and find someone else just as Brittany deserved to move on with her life with Marcus and try to forget the fallout from the storm that Ginny Moreno had unleashed on all of them.

“Well,” Logan said with a sigh when laughter at their table died down. “I hate to break up this party, but I’m getting the evil eye from the kitchen so I’d better get back to work.”

Brittany glanced toward the bar and the open kitchen counter where Sonya Murphy was watching them. Brittany lifted her hand and waved. Sonya smiled and shook her head, looking back down at whatever food she was prepping behind the half wall.

“Oh, really?” Delia reached for Logan’s hand as he slid out of the booth. “Are you sure you can’t stay just a little longer?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Logan glanced over his shoulder toward the bar but didn’t, Brittany noticed, try to pull his hand away from Delia’s. His gaze drifted back to Delia. “I may get fired if I don’t get my ass over there soon.”

“You’re breaking my heart all over again, Logan Murphy.” Delia crossed her arms over her chest in a mock pout.

Logan chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

“The only thing that will make it up to me is dinner tomorrow night. The four of us. And no working.”

Logan’s smile wobbled, and he looked to Brittany, then Marcus. “Uh...”

“I’m free tomorrow night.” Marcus glanced Brittany’s way. “Can you make that work, babe?”

Another whisper of guilt washed over Brittany but she pushed it away. “Yeah. Sounds like fun.”

Delia grinned and looked up at Logan expectantly. “Well?”

Logan’s nervous eyes skipped from face to face. He seemed unsure. Brittany’s whisper turned to a full-on rush. “Just dinner?”

“Well, dinner and whatever,” Delia said with a wink.

Unease flashed in Logan’s eyes, but it quickly faded when he blinked. He smiled down at Delia. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Awesome.” Delia bolted out of the booth and planted a kiss on Logan’s cheek. “You can pick me up at six. I’m staying with my folks. Use the door. You’re older now. I don’t want you breaking any bones trying to climb through my bedroom window like you did when you were seventeen.”

Logan looked a little dazed when she drew back, and Brittany realized he’d just been ambushed into a date he might not be up for so soon after breaking things off with Ginny. “Okay,” Logan said. “I guess I’ll see you at seven. Marcus. Brit. Later.”

He still looked a little stunned as he wandered back to the bar.

“God, he is way cuter than I remembered.” Delia dropped back into the booth with a sigh. “Why the hell did we break up?”

Brittany remembered. She’d been a few years younger than Delia and Logan, but Delia Bruce’s affair with Mr. Phelps had been the talk of the town. Word was Delia had been making eyes at the teacher long before Logan had left for the military, though no one knew for sure if that was true. No one but Delia.

“Well, this was super fun,” Delia said. “But I gotta get going. I should probably be the good daughter and get home before my folks fall asleep in their recliners.” She slid out of the booth. “It was so awesome to catch up with you both.” When Marcus stood she gave him a hug, then did the same with Brittany. “I feel like dancing tomorrow night so pick someplace fun. Bye, you two.”

She swept out of the bar the same way she’d swept in, like she owned the place. As she reached the door, she caught Logan’s gaze and shot a sultry smile his way before disappearing into the dark.

“Well,” Marcus said with a lift of his brows as he turned Brittany’s way. “She is exactly the same as she was in high school.”

“And what is that?”

“Exhausting.”

Brittany laughed and easily moved into Marcus’s arms when he reached for her. “I’m so glad I’m not the only one who felt that way. That woman is high energy. I could barely keep up with all her stories.”

“That’s because you weren’t drunk. Trust me. Gets easier when you’re drinking.” Marcus’s lips curled as he pressed a kiss to her neck then drew back. “She liked to party. Which, now that I think about it, is probably the reason Logan ran off and joined the military. It was either get the hell out of town or turn into an alcoholic.”

Brittany chuckled. “You are so full of it.”

Marcus closed his hand around hers and led her toward the door. “I’m totally serious. You saw the three vodkas she sucked back while we were chatting. Did she seem drunk to you?”

“No.”

“To me either. That woman’s got a high alcohol threshold. She always did. Dangerous for a guy. And expensive.”

Brittany smiled. “And we both encouraged him to go out with her. We’re terrible friends.”

Marcus shook his head as she tossed Logan a wave and opened the door for her. “In all fairness, we didn’t know it was a date until after we agreed to dinner with them tomorrow. And actually, that makes us good friends because we’re saving him from being alone with her.”

They walked to his car, and he pulled the passenger door open for her. She hesitated before getting in. “In all seriousness. Do you think it’s a good idea? Logan and Delia going out?”

Marcus considered for a moment then shrugged. “It’s not a terrible idea. They dated for over a year. I know she was his first. While I don’t think they were ever madly in love, they cared about each other once. If there wasn’t still something between them he wouldn’t have been laughing and smiling tonight.”

Brittany wasn’t so sure. Yes, Logan had seemed to be having a good time, but there’d been something missing in his eyes. Some spark of happiness she’d seen in him not that long ago.

“I’d just hate for us to, you know, encourage him to date if he’s not ready.”

“Babe.” Marcus slid an arm around her waist and drew her against all his firm, masculine heat. “The only way Logan’s going to get over Ginny and what she did is to move on. And if he can do that with someone fun like Delia, then why the hell not? No one’s saying he has to marry her. No one’s saying he has to fall in love with her. He just has to get out there and start living again. I, for one, think it’s a good thing Delia’s back in town. She might be exactly what Logan needs right now.”

Brittany rested her hands against Marcus’s strong chest and looked down at the three buttons on his henley. “You use that word love like it’s a bad thing.”

His finger nudged her chin up until her eyes met his. “For Logan, who fell hard and fast for someone who betrayed him? Yeah. Love is a bad thing. For me? It’s exactly what I want. You are everything I want, Brittany Rush.”

Warmth spread through her chest, stinging her eyes with a wave of emotion. Lifting to her toes, she pressed her lips against Marcus’s then groaned when he opened to her and drew her into his mouth.

“Get a room, you two.” Dillon Murphy’s voice drifted to Brittany’s ears. Tugging her lips away from Marcus’s, she glanced over his shoulder toward the sheriff, who was pulling the door to the pub open with a wry smile. “I don’t want to get any calls about indecent exposure in the parking lot of my family’s establishment.”

Marcus’s lips curled as he turned to look toward the sheriff, not letting go of Brittany. “We’ll try not to keep it decent, Sheriff.”

Dillon laughed and disappeared into the bar.

As the door closed behind him and the laughter and music from inside faded, Marcus finally released her. “Come on. We should probably get you home. I won’t win any bonus points with your aunt and uncle if I bring you home too late.”

Brittany sighed as she climbed into the car and Marcus closed the door for her. “I doubt they’d notice,” she said when he slid into his seat next to her. “Uncle Travis is barely around and Aunt Celeste spends most of her time in her room.”

“Not exactly the happy home you hoped you were moving into, huh?”

Brittany rolled her eyes. “Not even. At least Mom is happy. And Jeffry is so much more relaxed away from my dad. He’s like a whole different person.”

“Then it’s all good.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of her hand as he drove.

All that warmth she’d felt when he kissed her came steamrolling back, and when he laid their hands on her knee, she tightened her fingers around his wishing they could have another night together like the one they’d spent at the motel. She rested her head against the seat and watched his profile as he drove. God, she was crazy about him. She just hoped everything with her parents and his parents settled down so they could be together again like that soon.

He pulled to a stop in front of the Salt home and killed the engine. And as she glanced at the warm glow in the windows, all that warmth inside her grew cold.

“Hey.” Marcus squeezed her hand. “You okay?”

Brittany’s gaze held on Jacob’s dark bedroom window—what had been Ginny’s bedroom window when she’d lived with the Salts just after Jacob’s death. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He tugged on her arm, drawing her gaze his way. “I know fine, baby, and you’re not it. You’ve been sad all night. Is it your mom and dad?”

She huffed, feeling like an idiot. “No. I’m happy they finally split. It was way past time.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced back at the house. “I guess it’s being here. And maybe having drinks with Logan. It’s all familiar, you know? Except...”

Her chest pinched, and the words died on her lips.

“Except Ginny’s missing,” Marcus said softly.

Tears Brittany knew she shouldn’t be feeling burned the backs of her eyes. “Yeah. That.” She looked back at Marcus. “Stupid, huh?” She swiped at a useless tear that didn’t want to stay in her eye.

“Not stupid. Not at all. You two were close.”

They had been. Until Ginny ruined everything. “It makes no sense. She’s the one who betrayed me and Logan and everyone, and I, for some reason, am the one who feels guilty.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure she’s the one who feels worse.”

Brittany knew that. But it didn’t make her feel any better. Closing her eyes, she fought back the futile sadness and told herself she should be angry, not sad.

“Do you want to talk to her?” Marcus asked quietly.

Brittany’s eyes floated open and she stared through the windshield at a tree down the street. Did she? Her chest tightened at the thought, but just as quickly her skin prickled with a heat that told her the answer. “No. Not yet, and I don’t know when or if I’ll ever want to talk to her.” She turned to Marcus. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“Not at all.” Emotions softened his features as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re the best person I know.” His lips brushed her temple. “When and if you’re ready to talk to her, you’ll know. And if you never are, then that’s okay too. There are plenty of people who love you right here.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. Tears burned her eyes again, and she turned her face against the soft skin of his neck and breathed him in. She was so thankful for him, for everything he was and the way he cared for her. No one else had ever been there for her like him.

“I love you,” she whispered.

His arms tightened around her, and he pressed his lips to her temple. “Not nearly as much as I love you. I know I’m not the same as Ginny, but you’ve got me. You’ve always got me.”

She closed her eyes as her heart swelled. A few months ago, she hadn’t realized how lonely she really was. Then Marcus Alvarez had walked back into her life and everything had changed. Things that were dull suddenly became vibrant. Her heart had felt as if it had finally started beating. Now, she couldn’t imagine living without him, and she never wanted to go back to a world where he didn’t exist. He was her everything, and she would do anything to hold on to him.

Her eyes slid open, and her thoughts drifted to Ginny. And before she could stop it, she wondered if that was why Ginny had told so many lies. So she could hold on to the one thing that had given her a reason to live.

Chapter Three

Lacey Salt looked from her mother, seated on the couch studying her clasped hands in her lap as if they held the mysteries of the world, to her father, sitting tense across the room in his favorite recliner with a perturbed look on his face.