Rose had been working to save up the money to pay Johnny back ever since she’d escaped his clutches. She’d reasoned that he’d leave her be if she could pay him back—with interest.
She was so close to having enough money. And then she could get her life back.
“I’m sorry I avoided you for so long,” she said quietly. “My breakup really did me in.”
“Seven years is a long time to get over a broken heart.”
“Six,” she murmured. “We were together a year.”
She’d made the lame excuse that Johnny had broken her heart and had cheated on her. She hadn’t wanted Heath to see her at her very lowest. She’d struggled with odd jobs, lived in seedy apartments, and had barely survived. But she’d clawed her way back from the horror of her past, and she refused to let anyone take advantage of her ever again.
If that meant she’d live the rest of her life alone? So be it.
“I’m not sure one less year makes a difference.” Heath smiled sadly. “I’m glad you’re here, Rose. I’ve missed having you around.”
That made her want to cry, but she choked back any tears that threatened. “I know. Although I’m not sure how you can stand to live in a town this small. Everyone knows you.”
“It’s worse when you’re a teacher. The kids never ever leave you alone.”
“Poor Heath. You could’ve been anything else, you know. A fireman. Park ranger. Tree surgeon.”
He raised his eyebrows. “A tree surgeon? Now you’re just making stuff up.”
Rose, never one to have anyone think she was wrong, pulled out her phone to prove to her brother that tree surgeon was, in fact, a viable profession. After that, they finished unpacking her things, Callie lying down on her dog bed in the corner.
“I’d ask you to stay for dinner, but it’s going to be ramen noodles for a little while before I get my paycheck,” Rose admitted. At Heath’s concerned look, she added, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“You keep saying that, but it’s not really working.”
“I know this might be hard to believe, but I’m not that stupid twenty-year-old girl anymore.”
He chucked her under her chin. “You still look young, and you’re my baby sister. Tough luck.” He looked away, his expression going serious. “Speaking of which…”
Rose really didn’t want to hear where this segue was going, but Heath was too stubborn to keep it to himself. She sighed inwardly.
“About Seth Thornton. Watch yourself.”
“What, does he have a cellar full of bodies somewhere?” she joked.
Heath didn’t laugh. “I don’t know him well, since he’s been in the military until last year, but from what his brothers have told me, he’s not the same guy they knew. He went through some shit; he’s basically disconnected from his family entirely.”
“But he came back to Fair Haven anyway?” Now Rose was even more intrigued.
“I guess. Look, just be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”
Rose barely bit back a smile. “I’m not interested in dating anyone. I’ve decided to become a nun, actually. Now, are you done lecturing me about the monsters under my bed, or should I get a chair and sit down?”
“You’re a brat.” He kissed her cheek and then said goodbye.
Rose sat on the floor next to Callie after Heath left, rubbing the dog’s silky head. She’d spoken the truth when she’d said she didn’t want to date. After Johnny, she couldn’t date. She’d gone on two dates that had been disasters: one had resulted in her accidentally punching the guy in the nose, while the second had ended with her leaving the guy without a word when he’d asked her to come over to his place.
She was messed up. Broken. No guy wanted a girl who was too scared to let a guy so much as hold her hand.
“What do you think, girl? Have I made a mistake moving here?”
Callie woofed quietly and wagged her tail.
Rifling through her suitcase, Rose found the safe where she kept her most precious possessions: a ring from her mother; a watch from her father; her passport; and a wad of cash that she counted whenever she needed to find some sense of calm.
She counted the bills, knowing the amount exactly but needing to confirm the number anyway. She was so close to paying Johnny off, she could taste it. It had taken her years of saving, but by the end of the summer, she’d have the money.
The last item in her safe? A gun she’d bought the day she’d run from Johnny.
The gun was small, unassuming, yet it had provided her with peace of mind ever since she’d bought it and taken shooting lessons. She wasn’t a sharpshooter by any means, but she could protect herself. Combined with Callie as her guard dog, she felt almost safe.
She knew it was an illusion, though. Until she paid Johnny off, she’d never be fully safe.
Chapter Three
“Shh, Bea is napping,” Lizzie cautioned as she let Seth in. “She should be up in a half hour, though.”
Seth wanted to tease his twin sister about how much she’d changed in the last year—who would’ve imagined Lizzie worried about waking up a baby?—but considering what his sister would do to him if he woke up the baby…
“Trent’s at La Bonita until this evening. How are you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“It’s been a week, Lizard.”
Lizzie, with her dark hair and bright green eyes, looked like one of the Thorntons, although she and Seth only resembled each other in their hair and eye color. She was the opposite of him in every other way: slender and of average height, she was quite a bit shorter than him and had been since he’d outgrown her in junior high.
Despite having given birth only two months ago, Lizzie looked radiant. Tired, definitely, and a little harried: her hair was frizzy, and Seth saw what looked like spit-up on her t-shirt, but she was happy. After a long road of ups and downs, she and her soulmate, Trent Younger, had finally gotten back together.
Now they were married with a daughter. Seth felt old. Or maybe more left out. While his siblings married and reproduced, he was—doing what? Whittling and building tables?
“Have you been sleeping?” he asked Lizzie. Last time they’d talked, Bea hadn’t exactly enjoyed sleeping through the night.
“Somewhat. We’re getting three to four hours without her waking up. It could be worse. At least she isn’t screaming all day long.”
“Do babies do that?”
Lizzie laughed. “You’re such a guy. Yeah, some babies are colicky and scream no matter what you do.”
At the thought, Seth paled. He’d been to war, seen men die, yet the thought of an infant screaming nonstop for hours every day? He shuddered.
Lizzie cocked her head to the side. “Oh, she’s up. I’ll be right back.”
Seth hadn’t heard a thing, but he put it down to mother’s intuition. A few minutes later, Lizzie returned with Bea in her arms. At two months old, Bea still had blue eyes, although they’d turned a little grayer in the past few weeks. She had a shock of dark hair sticking from the crown of her head and the softest skin Seth had ever felt.