She couldn’t imagine getting sued because all of the kids in attendance had ended up drunk.
Looking back at her own childhood, she couldn’t imagine doing something like that. Both she and Robin had been quiet and amenable children. There had never been a time when either of them had caused or gotten in any trouble. Maybe it was their cousins’ influence that caused the sisters to want to be better?
“Were we this awkward?” Robin whispered as she stopped next to her.
Kara glanced over at her sister and chuckled. “Maybe you were.” She shrugged. “I was never awkward.”
Robin laughed. “Right, and I suppose I’m the one who broke my wrist trying to play football to impress a boy?”
Kara rolled her eyes. “I was eleven and in love.”
Robin smiled. “And Sean Wilson didn’t even notice you.”
“Jerk,” she added without conviction.
“He owns several animal rescue sites now,” Robin reminded her.
“Right, he’s a jerk that’s kind to animals.”
“I would have thought that you’d be over helping Conner move tonight,” Robin said.
“I’m needed here.”
Robin glanced around and motioned to several of the parent chaperones. “I think we’ve got it covered. Actually, I think I have tomorrow night and Sunday morning’s events covered as well.” She bumped hips with her and winked. “If you get my drift. You’ve been in a funk, and I think Conner has the cure.”
Kara’s heart did a little flip at the idea of heading over to be with Conner again. Of being able to spend the next few days with him.
Her sister nudged her shoulder again. “Go on. Go be with your boy toy.”
“Are you sure?” Kara asked.
“Yeah, someone around here has got to get some and since I have no prospects in sight, it might as well be you. Take the truck though. It’s still snowing out there.” She motioned to the large barn doors that were currently shutting out the cold. “If I need it tomorrow, I’ll stop by and get it with my spare keys.”
“Thanks.” She knew better than to argue with her sister when she was being tossed a bone.
Rushing from the back door of the barn and heading down the newly lit pathway towards the cottage, she realized she’d forgotten her coat earlier when a large clump of snow landed on her head, causing a shiver to race down her spine.
She let herself in the back door of the cottage and raced around and gathered up what she expected she’d need to stay over.
She debated over the sexy new pink nighty she’d purchased with Conner in mind and figured she would save that for a special occasion. This was, after all, a spur of the moment decision. She hadn’t even messaged him to tell him she was coming over.
The one other time she’d done that with a boyfriend, he’d had another woman over that night. Being cheated on sucked. Especially when you were pretty sure the guy was the one. She’d spent most of her senior year in high school planning out her very own perfect wedding. But Ben had cheated on her and secretly joined the military. He’d left her the day after she’d found out his secret.
Maybe that’s why she had decided to get out of Portland.
But Conner was not like Ben. Not in the least.
She threw a few other things into her overnight bag, grabbed the truck keys, and headed out, only to come up short when the truck wouldn’t start. She tried everything she knew to get the old thing to turn over. Kicking the tire for good measure, she grabbed her overnight bag. The snow and broken truck weren’t going to stop her from having the Friday night she wanted.
She sent her sister a text message updating her on the truck situation and headed out towards Conner’s place.
It wasn’t as if Pride was unsafe. Actually, a few years back it had been voted the safest small town in all of Oregon, an award the town had been very proud of.
It wasn’t the people or crime Kara was worried about as she hit the halfway mark, it was the cold. She’d grabbed her thick winter coat and had slipped on her snow boots and gloves before heading out, but when a gust of wind blew right through her, she wished she’d had the foresight to grab a scarf as well.
She was so preoccupied with keeping the wind at bay that, at first, she didn’t notice the truck following behind her. It wasn’t until she’d passed the closed flower shop, All in Bloom, that she noticed the truck reflected in the darkened store’s glass.
She normally wouldn’t have worried, but the dark blue color reminded her instantly of the truck that had almost hit her and Conner up at the property.
She stopped at the flower shop and faked as if she was looking at the pretty display inside while actually watching the truck’s reflection in the glass. When it stopped just behind her, she pulled out her cell phone and, in a very loud voice, pretended to answer a call.
“Hey, no, I’m just outside the flower shop,” she said to herself as she watched the passenger side door open slightly. It hung there while she acted as if she was listening to someone. “Yeah, I’ll be there in two minutes. Is everyone else already there?” she asked loudly. “Okay, I’m just outside the floral shop. I’ll see you soon.” She put her phone back in her pocket and took off at a quick pace towards Conner’s place.
She didn’t look back to see what the truck did or if anyone had even gotten out. Instead, she half sprinted down the rest of the block until she could see the bright grocery store sign just ahead of her through the thick falling snow.
She saw Conner’s truck in the parking lot and relaxed slightly. She was heading towards the stairs when a hand gripped her arm, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Chapter Eighteen
“Wow.” Conner jumped away from Kara quickly. A flood of concern washed over him when he noticed how pale she looked and how scared she obviously was. “What’s going on?” he asked, taking her in his arms and scanning the snow-covered parking lot.
“The truck… I think it was following me,” she said into his shoulder. He felt her shivering and started to pull her up the stairs to his apartment. He’d run downstairs to get some basic groceries and had spotted her rushing across the street through the windows. He’d left all his groceries in the cart to greet her.
At first, he’d been prepared to scold her about walking in the middle of a snowstorm, but after she’d screamed, he was too concerned to lecture her.
She stood there as he shut them inside the apartment.
“I’m going to warm you up while I wait for Aiden to get here.” He pulled out his cell phone and shot a text message to Aiden, letting him know what had happened.
Kara stood in place with her arms wrapped around her and continued to shiver. Her soft pink hat hadn’t saved most of her hair from the snow and long strands of her hair were soaked and falling over her shoulders. Her jacket and pants were now as wet as the rest of her since the warmth of his apartment had melted the snowflakes that had covered her.
“Here.” He helped her remove her wet jacket and hat, then hung them on the hooks by the door. “Come over and sit down on the sofa. I’ll make you something warm to drink.” He nudged her towards the sofa and then covered her with a throw blanket. Leaning down, he removed her boots and set them by the front door as well.