Page 5 of Love Me Boldly

The freezing air slammed into my face, making my eyes water as soon as we reached the sidewalk.

“What the hell was that about? That guy puts his hands on you andweget kicked out?”

I shook my head. It hadn’t come from Graham, and Tracey knew better. I left her to figure out what to say, even though it didn’t matter. After tonight, I never had to worry about them returning to Deer Creek.

Lucky guys.

“Bye!” I called out and kept hurrying. Maybe it wasn’t cold air stinging my eyes. Maybe that was pure embarrassment.

By the time I reached the gravel parking lot, booted steps were slapping behind me.

“I’m sorry!” Tracey called out.

“It’s fine!”

“I didn’t think they’d really react like this.” She reached me at the back of her SUV, huffing and puffing. “Southern hospitality and all.”

I snorted. Southern hospitality was real all right…until your dad did what mine did and the entire town turned on you.

“I can’t wait to get out of this damn town.” I moved toward the passenger door.

Once we were buckled, the car was on and the heaters along with the heated seats were blasting at full power, I faced Tracey. “What happened to the guys?”

“Who cares? You’re the only one that matters.”

At least I mattered to someone, and she was right about the boys. Who cared?

After tonight, neither of them would cross a sidewalk to say hi to me ever again.

It wasn’t like I wanted them to.

Freedom.One more semester, and then I’d have it.

TWO

HOLLY

Winter was brutal. Wind whipped through me as I shoved my gloved hands into my puffer coat pockets and headed across campus. My scarf was wrapped around my neck, and I buried my mouth into the knitted, scratchy fabric. My hat was tugged low over my ears, and my toes were still freezing even though I was wearing boots and had doubled up on socks. We were in the midst of a heavy storm, with several inches of snow expected, but we were also a mountain town.

Life didn’t stop. Classes were only cancelled when blowing snow reached blizzard conditions, but today’s snow wasn’t severe enough despite the burn stinging my cheeks. I wasn’t the only miserable one. Days like this meant there wasn’t time to stop and chat in the quad or throw a frisbee around in the open spaces outside dorms. Not that I ever did much of that, but chatter and shouts were nonexistent as I buried my face further into my scarf. The campus felt more like a ghost town even though there were dozens of us out.

My feet sank into the couple of inches of snow as I hurried up the steps to the business building, careful not to slip on packed snow that was already icing over. I stomped loose snow off the bottom of my feet as I reached the top step and covered area and tugged open the doors. Immediately, a blast of heat slammed into me, making me shiver in my coat, but it was enough relief to unwrap the scarf from my neck and face.

“Ugh,” someone said behind me. “Is it March yet?”

I recognized Dallas Bronx’s voice and glanced back as he tore off his stocking cap and shook off his mop of thick blond hair.

“Bad day?” I asked.

“When isn’t it? You ready for the test?”

“I better be, or else there wasn’t a point in driving in today.”

His brows arched. “You drive in this stuff?”

Southern kids. Most towns outside our area came to a complete halt at the mere threat of snow or ice. Granted, I knew we weren’t as tough as those who lived in the Rockies or farther north, at least from what I’d heard, but kids like Dallas who grew up on the coast thought every heavy snowfall was the end of civilization as we knew it. “You could always transfer back to Wilmington if you can’t handle it,” I teased.

“Please. I can handle just about anything. Doesn’t mean I’m not waiting for the sun to start shining again, though.”

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