Page 80 of Clumsy in Love

“And you didn’t lead with that?” Alex asked.

“You don’t think murder trumps a little action?” Holly countered.

“Little?” Faith said, raising an eyebrow. “Doubt that. And no. Not when that action comes from someone who looks to have some serious skills regarding said action. Spill.”

Holly felt her cheeks flush and cursed them for betraying her. “I mean. You’re not wrong about that. The ‘action’ was pretty grade A. Top notch. Medal worthy even.”

“You love him,” Juliet said, pointing at Holly with a fork.

“Imightlike him,” Holly said, feigning indifference. “No one said anything about love.”

“You never lit up talking about Rick the way you do with Cole,” Tess said. “You guys have the ‘spark’ we were talking about after the wedding. The thing you were missing with Rick.”

They all nodded in agreement. “Tess is right,” Faith agreed. “Cole is hot, smart, funny,andmost important, sparkly.”

“Even if all that’s true,” Holly said. “There’s more to consider. A, he has expressed zero interest in continuing our acquaintance. B, he lives in New York City, and long-distance relationships never work. And C, he iswayout of my league. Can you imagine?”

“I can imagine how gorgeous your kids would be,” Faith said, causing Holly to choke on the sip of water she’d just drunk.

“And it’s not like you’re gonna meet anyone better in this town,” Tess said.

They’d had this conversation many times, wondering how any of them would find love when pickings were so slim. It was hard to meet men in a town where you’d known everyone since birth.

They rehashed the rest of the trip, everyone giving their opinion on what the sex meant and berating her for leaving without saying a proper goodbye. Holly stopped by Barkingham Palace to pick up Lady and headed home.

The trip to New York had cost her three vacation days. The upside was that she’d returned just in time for her weekend, which fell on Thursday and Friday this week.

She slept hard but woke the following morning with everything still weighing on her mind—the meeting with her dad, her thoughts about Cole, and what she was going to do about Rick. Long overdue for a camping trip, she decided to take some solo time on the mountain. That always helped clear her head.

Holly texted Jen to ask about borrowing a horse. After getting the okay, she stuffed her backpack, loaded up Lady, and drove to Jen’s.

“You want some company?” Jen offered.

“You’re worried I’ll get lost,” Holly said. “Don’t be. I only do that in strange places.”

“If you say so.”

“Thanks for letting me borrow Buttercup.”

“She needs the exercise and will love a hike in the woods,” Jen said. “Where are you headed, and what time you due back?”

“Up the back trail to the west side of Arrowhead Lake. I should be home early afternoon tomorrow. I won’t have cell coverage, so don’t worry if you try and can’t reach me.”

Holly had already texted her friends all that info, but it couldn’t hurt to have too many people in the loop. She saddled Buttercup, put some of the overnight stuff in the saddlebags, strapped on her rifle, mounted up, and set off with a wave.

She followed the main road for a couple of miles, Lady jogging alongside, then turned off to start upward. Technically, they were in the state park, but not in an area accessible to just anyone. You had to be familiar with the backwoods trails to even find the entrance. The trail itself wasn’t traveled frequently, and the farther up she got, the more a clear path faded.

The slow clomp, clomp, clomp of the horse making its way through the woods was relaxing and gave Holly time toruminate. Every once in a while, Lady would sprint off into the trees after something but always came back within minutes.

On her list of things to think about, Cole jumped to the top. Her friends knew her well. Maybe better than she knew herself. And if she was objective about it, she had to admit, the thought of being in love with Cole had crossed her mind. Which seemed crazy since she’d supposedly just been in love with Rick. Was she that desperate? Easily swayed? Gullible? Or just so clueless, she wouldn’t know actual love if it bit her in the face?

Three weeks ago, she’d sworn off men and wouldn’t have trusted her own judgment to get her out of a paper bag. But now? Now, the anemic, no-more-men promise was on the verge of flatlining.

One thing she could say for sure. Her feelings for Cole were different—heavier, more intense—than what she’d felt for Rick. If Rick was friendship love, Cole was blow-your-mind, lose-your-mind, drop-everything-and-do-anything-for-him, love.

But that didn’t change the situation. He still lived a completely different life, over three hundred miles away.

Every thirty minutes, Holly would lead Buttercup to the lake’s edge and allow her and Lady to drink. When the sun waned, she found a small clearing close to the water.

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