Page 2 of Unsteady in Love

Maybe it wasn’t smart for me to throw caution to the wind. In my little town there was very little crime, which gave me a false sense of security, or maybe it was the fact that I had nothing else to live for now that my dad was dead except to pay off his medical bills, which would probably take until the next century.

“Prue, are you really going to ignore me?” a gruff voice asked me. There was something in that voice that rendered my body immobile. It was familiar and yet foreign all at the same time.

Spinning around, I was met with the chocolatey brown eyes of my high school sweetheart. I’d know those eyes anywhere. I’d spent countless hours staring into them before he’d up and left, breaking my heart almost four years ago.

Crossing my arms over my chest to keep my heart from falling out onto the parking lot for him to stomp all over, I narrowed my eyes, peering up at the man who was once familiar but now looked like a total stranger.

Since I’d last seen him, he’d grown at least two inches. In high school, Holden was the captain of the football team, and at the time, I thought he was muscular with his athletic frame. But now those once lean muscles had grown muscles. There were muscles on top of muscles. In essence, Holden was now huge. Almost bodybuilder huge. On top of all those new muscles, his arms were covered in ink. His long-ago baby face was now angular and filled with tension. What was once soft and sweet was now rough and rugged. He was definitely no longer the boy I used to know. He hadn’t been for a long time.

“Holden?” My gaze slid down the rest of his body. He was outfitted in tight, dark jeans that looked as if the seams might burst any second from showcasing his magnificent thighs, black motorcycle boots, and a dark gray t-shirt that stretched over his bulging biceps and chest. He was perfection—and I hated him.

“Prue.” The one syllable of my name coming from his lips sounded as if it physically pained him to utter the one syllable.

“What are you doing here?” I eyed the door to the funeral home as people started to trickle out, silently praying they’d keep their distance.

Clearing his throat, he placed his hands in his pockets, making his jeans dip lower on his trim waist. For a brief second, I imagined what he might look like underneath his t-shirt.

Stop noticing his body! This was the man who up and disappeared never be seen again.

“I heard about your dad and wanted to be here for you,” he answered with genuine sadness in his voice.

“You wanted to be here for me?” I asked, my words dripping with sarcasm. “Where were you the day after graduation? Where were you when my dad got his diagnosis? Nowhere is where you were. Gone. I didn’t need you then, and I sure as hell don’t need you now, Holden Montgomery.” Fire burned in my veins as the memories of Holden not being by my side when I needed him flickered through my subconscious. My eyes turned to slits as I reached behind me and gripped the door handle to help keep me grounded. “Go back to where you came from.”

“Please, Prue. I want to be here for you. I can’t…” He faltered, the eyes I once loved filled with sadness. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I know you don’t have anyone.”

“Do you now? Have you been stalking me?” My anger grew into something I hadn’t felt in years. Not since he’d disconnected his phone and left without a trace. All I wanted was to be left alone and go cry in my bed.

“No,” his brows knitted together. “You know me, I’d never do that.”

“I don’t know who you are anymore, and you certainly don’t know me. The boy I knew never would have left me without a reason.”

Closing his eyes, face etched in agony, Holden nodded. “I’m not that boy anymore. The man standing before you wants to explain what happened after graduation. If only you’ll let him.”

Hanging my head, I bit back the sob as I whimpered. “Not today, Holden. Please don’t do this today. I can’t handle it today of all days.”

“When?” he demanded, standing even taller. Imposing. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he’d done it to intimidate me.

“I don’t know. If you have to do it, then give me time. I’m barely holding it together. If you ever cared for me, you’ll let me go.”

Hurt flashed across his face for only a moment before he schooled his features. “I’ll give you time,” he rasped out before turning on his booted heel and walking across the dark parking lot into the night.

I closed my eyes, wanting to yell for him to come back. Maybe he could make the hurt go away even for only a moment. And then I remembered what he’d done to me. He wasn’t here to give me comfort. I had no idea what he wanted or why he came back, and I didn’t care. Long ago, I had stopped caring about Holden and what he wanted.

2

PRUE

My eyesblinked open as the doorbell rang for the third time in thirty seconds. I could barely open my eyes from all the crying I’d done once I got home last night.

The doorbell rang again. And again.

Whoever it was, wasn’t giving up.

Clearing my eyes, I looked at my alarm clock to see it was a little after seven in the morning. Who the hell would be ringing my doorbell so early? It better not be someone with a damn casserole. The only person who ever came over was my neighbor, Alex. Shit, was it her? I did notice she was back in town the other day. Maybe it was an emergency.

Jumping out of bed, I quickly made my way to the front door not even bothering to check to see who was there.

Big mistake.

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