Page 22 of The Cowboy and His Beauty
I smile and shake his hand. "She was a bit of a troublemaker even back then."
When he steps back, Sarah pulls me into a hug. "It's good to see you again, Corey. I'm glad you made it home safe and sound," she says before returning to her husband's side.
"It's good to see you again. And it's Dash now, no longer Corey," I correct.
"Oh, Nick sent a care package for you. Mac, will you get it from the truck?" Sarah says.
"Who’s Nick?" I ask.
"He’s the chef at the local bar and grill in town. His wife is Sarah's sister-in-law. Well, kind of. His wife is a sister to Jason's wife and Jason is Mac's brother so..."
"You lost me again. I’ll never keep them all straight." I shake my head.
"It's a small-town thing. Sky, why don't you help Mac? He’ll sit there and snack on it if you don't watch him," Sarah says, her eyes on me. I know her intent is to talk to me alone.
Sky realizes and hesitantly looks at me. I nod to let her know I’ll be fine.
Sarah gets down to business the moment Sky is out the door. "Let's cut to the chase. You hurt Sky big time when you left the way you did. She never got over it and she built walls so high, you'd need Thor himself to smash them down. Don't get her hopes up if you don't plan on sticking around."
"I know I hurt her. I'm not going anywhere, but I don't think she’s staying here. Her dreams are too big for this town. I don't have rose-colored glasses this time. I enjoy being around her, and I want to know who she is now, but most of all, I want to give her the closure she needs. I owe her that."
Sarah stares at me for a moment before she nods. "Just don't hurt her again."
I don't get a chance to answer because Sky and Mac walk in with a box full of food.
"Jenna just called. She’s on her way over," Sky says as we head to the kitchen. She unloads the box and shares a few samples of food with us. Whoever this Nick guy is, he sure can cook.
We eat some and talk. It's good to talk with people about something other than work.
"Did Sarah tell you she was always my alibi?" Sky asks with a laugh.
"I can see that." Mac nods.
"Once, Dash and I were watching a movie at Sarah's when her parents were out of town."
"My parents always had a nanny to watch me and were rarely home. The nanny was more than happy to have us there so she could watch us than us sneaking around," Sarah adds.
"Well, my mom called because I wasn't home and it was an hour past curfew. Sarah convinced my mom we had sleepover plans she’d agreed to and forgotten. The nanny covered for us and everything," Sky says with a laugh.
"If I remember correctly, you two were cleaning toilets and polishing silverware the next day as punishment," I add.
"Oh, yeah. We paid the price for that one, but nothing as bad as my parents finding out," Sky says.
There’s a hesitant knock on the door. Sky moves to answer it and I stop her.
"It's just Jenna," she says.
"It probably is, but Let me answer, just in case."
She nods and stays back with her friends. I don't grab the shotgun because I don't want to scare Jenna off, but it's in range if the person on the other side isn't Jenna.
"Hi Dash, I'm Jenna." She extends her hand, and I shake it.
Just like Mac and Sarah, she looks at me and not my scar.
"They’re waiting on you in the kitchen. Come on in," I tell her, and she follows me into the house.
"Jenna!" Sarah greets her with a huge hug.
