Hummingbird Lake Part 18

"Thank you, but I don't think-"

Celeste interrupted her, saying, "You know, your sister is one of my closest friends in Eternity Springs."

"She is?"

"Yes. Sage and I aren't Eternity Springs natives, so we had that in common, and it helped us bond. Now, I must run up and change into my swimsuit. Shall we meet back here in fifteen minutes?"

"Okay," Rose replied. "That will be nice."

To her surprise, the woman reached out and patted her hand. "We'll have us a nice long talk. You know, I think Sage could use a big sister these days."

Rose smiled tremulously and spoke past the lump in her throat. "Actually, Celeste, I could sure use a sister myself."

THIRTEEN.

With the sound of Sarah's scolding still ringing in her ears, Sage took the long way out to her cottage at Hummingbird Lake. She needed time to process the implications of what she had just witnessed.

Colt was here. Rose was here. Which problem did she want to think about first?

Thinking about Colt felt less threatening, so she concentrated on him. The man had come to Eternity Springs. He hadn't called or texted or emailed or sent a telegram or a smoke signal that he was on his way. So, what did that tell her? He was done with her? While it's true they'd spoken on the phone only a handful of times since he left Eternity, between the text messages and emails, they'd actually been in contact quite a bit. Sage had enjoyed the interaction. Based on his response, she believed he had enjoyed it, too. So why wouldn't he let her know he was visiting?

Was this just a quick visit? Had he thought to get in and out of town without her knowing about it? Surely not. Nothing happened in Eternity Springs that everyone didn't find out about eventually.

Maybe he'd wanted to surprise her. Maybe he'd planned on showing up with another gift. "Not another dog, I hope," she murmured. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she added, "While I do think you'd enjoy having a playmate at times, I'm afraid you're too spoiled to tolerate competing for attention on a regular basis."

Snowdrop let out a little whimper, and it reminded Sage that it had been a while since their last potty stop. Not a good idea with Snowdrop and her itty-bitty bladder.

She pulled into the parking area for the park at the northern end of the lake and let the dog out to take care of business, knowing it would take some time since Snow had to sniff extensively to find the perfect spot. While Snowdrop sniffed, Sage's thoughts threatened to drift toward her sister, so she forced them back onto Colt.

He had been the perfect man for her. Sinfully s.e.xy, he had made her laugh. He helped her cry. He had given her such pleasure that sometimes in the teeth of the night she could lie in her bed and remember Colt and hold the nightmares at bay.

Yes, he had been perfect for her. Tall, dark, and temporary.

Safe.

"So what is he doing back in Eternity Springs?"

She could grab her phone and call him and ask. She could send a text or email. Doing that only invited trouble, however. He'd probably repeat his invitation, and she didn't think she could deal with him-with anyone-tonight.

"Hurry up, Snowdrop," she said, speaking more sharply than she'd intended and immediately feeling bad because of it.

Snowdrop, who had finally picked her spot and begun to tinkle, looked at her as if saying, Are you kidding me?

Sage smiled at her puppy and said, "Good girl."

Why was Colt in Eternity Springs? Could business have brought him here? Had an accident of some sort occurred in the area and she'd missed news of it? No. She'd had the radio on part of the way home today. She had listened to news.

So if not his job, then what?

Why do you care? He doesn't owe you an accounting of his travels. We had a fling. It's over.

Snowdrop let out a bark. She'd finished and returned to the car, and she was waiting impatiently to be lifted back into her seat.

"You're right. Let's go home. Maybe take a nap. It's been a long day."

Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into her drive and discovered that her day was about to get longer.

Colt Rafferty waited on her porch, a grocery sack at his side.

Her grimace upon seeing him wasn't exactly how he'd hoped to begin.

She climbed out of her car moving slowly, tiredly, looking weary and sick at heart. Aw, babe. What's the matter here?

It didn't escape his attention that this time she didn't run to him and bury her head against him and burst into tears. Instead, she said, "What about the word no do you not understand, Rafferty?"

"Oh, come on." He tried his best smile. "You didn't mean it."

She shrugged, retrieved the dog from the car and set her on the ground. Colt squatted down, clapped his hands, and the b.i.+.c.hon came running. "Hey there, darling. I can't tell you how glad I am to see you in your naked skin and not wearing some stupid little costume."

"Give it a rest, Rafferty. Please? I'm truly not in the mood for it."

She truly was in a sorry frame of mind. He knew without a doubt that the Snowdrop-in-costume bit had been something she truly enjoyed.

She climbed up the steps and walked right past him, slipping her key into the lock and opening her door. She didn't attempt to stop him from following-apparently she knew him better than that-but she didn't make him welcome, either. Colt gathered up the grocery sacks and followed her and the dog inside.

That's when he noticed the dog's toenails. "All joking aside, Sage, you painted her toenails?"

"It's called Paint My Moji-Toes Red."

"I'm sorry, girl," he said to the dog.

Sage walked into the kitchen, poured a gla.s.s of iced tea, then tossed it back as if it were bourbon. Refilling her gla.s.s and one for him, she asked, "What's for supper?"

"Steak. Baked potatoes. Salad. Since Sarah wasn't around to bake today, raspberry pinwheels from the Mocha Moose for dessert."

"I'm going to go take a shower." She headed for her bedroom, then stopped abruptly. Looking over her shoulder, she announced, "That is not an invitation."

"I'll scrub the spuds."

She stayed in the bathroom a long time. He did the prep work for dinner, then took the ball he'd brought for Snowdrop and let the dog out the back door. They played catch until Sage came outside wearing shorts and a green and gold Colorado University football jersey. Her hair was damp. Her feet were bare.

Colt wanted to cross the lawn and take her in his arms and give her the kiss he'd dreamed about since the day he left. Yet, everything about her, from the way she stood, to the way she moved, to the way she managed to look everywhere else rather than meet his gaze warned him to step carefully. She was fragile. Brittle. On the verge of breaking.

Not because of him, he thought, but because of her sister.

Well, maybe a little bit because of him.

He started with something easy. "Snowdrop has grown."

"Nic says she's going to be on the big side for a b.i.+.c.hon. Especially a female. I've been in the car all day. Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Sounds great."

She didn't say anything as she donned her shoes and socks, lifted a dog leash from a hook by the back door, and affixed it to the dog's collar. The three of them stepped out into the late afternoon suns.h.i.+ne. Colt paused to take a deep breath of mountain air and smiled. He was here in Eternity Springs with Sage. The rightness of his decision settled over him like a song.

They took the path that trailed alongside the lake. He decided to wait for her to start the conversation. If she ever did, that is. She walked with her head down, her manner closed off. Luckily, Colt had the patience to wait.

His patience finally paid off when she asked, "What brings you to town, Rafferty?"

You, he wanted to say, but instincts told him to take it slower. The woman was skittish as could be. "I love this town. I'm happy here. When I went back to work after my trip here in February, I missed it." Walking beside her, he gave her a sidelong look. "I missed you."

Was that a hint of a smile on her lips? "You should have let me know you were planning a visit. I might not have been here. I almost stayed in Denver for a few extra days."

"I didn't exactly plan a visit."

"Even with a spur-of-the-moment trip you can spare time for a phone call."

"I wanted to surprise you. You liked my surprises in the past."

In a droll tone, she said, "Hey, what girl doesn't like a new tube of lip balm?"

She let out a long sigh, then said, "Okay, Rafferty, here's the deal. Under other circ.u.mstances I would hold out and teach you a lesson, but frankly, I can use a distraction right now. You a.s.sumed a lot by showing up here. I could have had a date tonight."

He jerked his head around in surprise. "Are you seeing somebody else?"

"I could be. That's my point. Just because we had a fling a couple months ago doesn't mean that you can wing back into town and pick up where you left off. You have no hold on me and I have no hold on you."

"What if I want to change that?"

She took a dozen steps before replying. "Colt, look. I enjoyed the time I spent with you, but that wasn't real. It was fantasy-land cabin fever, and I'm really not that kind of person. I like being your friend. I enjoy our long-distance communications, but I don't want to be where you go for vacation s.e.x."

"Wow, you don't think very highly of me, do you? You think I came all this way for a booty call?"

"I don't know why you've come here. You haven't shared that piece of information with the cla.s.s."

"I quit my job."

She stopped abruptly. "Why?" Then almost immediately, she added, "Don't tell me you got into another fight."

"I didn't get into a fight the first time," he responded. "I quit my job at the CSB because working there didn't allow me to accomplish the job I went there to do in the first place. I think I can be more effective outside government than inside."

"How is that? You won't have the big stick of government regulation in your pocket."

"I don't have that now. Unfortunately, I can't wave a wand and get regulations put on the books and wave it again and get everyone into compliance. However, since I do have that government stick, people tend to spend all their time covering their a.s.ses and looking over their shoulders for lawyers instead of listening to what I have to say."

"All right, that makes sense. But what can you do outside of the CSB?"

"Do you remember the woman who came with me to your show in Fort Worth?" He told her about the chemical spill that had killed Melody Slaughter's husband and how when they'd spoken, Melody had expressed her regret that Colt hadn't given his presentation at the plant where the accident occurred. "She said the owners are good people, and that they'd have made the changes if anyone had identified the problem. I've seen that myself dozens of times. Owners don't want to have industrial accidents, but they also don't want to borrow trouble in the way of citations and fines. I've gone into business as a consultant, Sage. I have the paperwork all done."

Interest lit her gorgeous green eyes. "So you'll, what, inspect factories like an OSHA guy?"

"I'll do inspections, but instead of giving them governmental grief, I'll give presentations like I did in Fort Worth. I have some pretty horrific stories I can tell. They tend to get people's attention."

"People are ghouls," she snapped. Then she closed her eyes and gave her head a little shake. "So you'll travel all around the country?"

Now he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "I will do some traveling. Based on the research I did prior to making this decision, I could go every week if that was what I wanted. But that much traveling would get old fast, so I decided to do something else, too. I'm going to return to teaching."

"Really? Are you returning to Georgia Tech?"

"No. I'm going to teach science cla.s.ses. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll be sort of a roving teacher for everyone from kindergarten through high school. It'll give me a nice balance between travel and staying put."

"You have a Ph.D. You're going to teach first graders?"

"They have inquisitive minds. That appeals to me."

"I'll give you that." She nodded. "But what about middle school? Do you really want to attempt to teach thirteen-year-old boys?"

He grimaced. "Well, no job is perfect."

She laughed, then asked, "So, what school district is lucky enough to get your services, Dr. Rafferty?"

Well, here goes. Judging by her reaction so far, he suspected she might not throw herself into his arms out of joy when he told her. Hope her response is warmer than the water in Hummingbird Lake. "This one. Starting in September, I'll be teaching at Eternity Springs Community School."

Sage halted abruptly. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I'm moving to Eternity Springs. Actually, I have moved here already."

The expression on her face was a discouraging mixture of alarm and shocked dismay as she repeated, "You moved here?"

"Yes."

"Permanently?" Her voice squeaked.

"Barring the unforseen, yes."

She closed her eyes. "Can this day get any more worse?"

She's making Hummingbird Lake look tepid. "You know, that's downright insulting. I thought we were friends."

"We are friends. We're long-distance friends. You can't come here. This is my town."

Now she was getting under his skin. He folded his arms and said, "To quote your sister, it's a free country."