Stranded With a Hero (24 page)

“Are you about done with those drinks, dear?” Mrs. Walsh called. “It looks like Derek’s here, and he’s got Angela with him.”

The wave of awkwardness hit again and Kelsey was glad for her drink. She took another sip and then grabbed the glass of eggnog Mr. Walsh had poured for Nate. Then they all stood in the entryway, waiting for Derek to come in, which hello, was pretty freaking weird, but whatever.

As if he sensed she needed it, Nate took her hand.

The next few minutes were filled with greetings and introductions and an awkward beat where she didn’t know if she should go for a handshake or hug with Derek. He hugged her, so she went with it.

Then he made the announcement that he and Angela were engaged. Only the tiniest bit of jealousy went through her when she saw how genuinely thrilled Mrs. Walsh was at the news.

Okay, maybe more than a tiny bit, because that so wouldn’t be the reaction she and Nate would get if they announced they were planning on being together forever.

Together forever
. Her throat tightened. Things were moving too fast. She and Nate had only really gotten to know each other recently. Suddenly she was thinking of moving back to Marion? Planning her life around him?

At least this time she’d been herself from the beginning, but now her brain was concocting dream scenarios with him that were only setting her up for failure. Why did she think she could actually fit into Nate’s life? That he’d want her when he saw how much baggage she really had, between her debt and her trouble fully committing to a career, much less a relationship? Reality was seeping in, and it was cold and ugly. She wished it would’ve waited. Would’ve let her enjoy Christmas at least.

But it dug its claws in deeper, and she saw the future. Phone calls that faded. Visits that never happened. Nate working in Marion, at the police station, and on the farm.

Her alone in Charlotte, crying.

Chapter Seven

The car Kelsey had often begrudged was a little lopsided now, one wheel too high, hood crumpled, with a heavy dusting of snow, both inside and outside. Nate unhooked it from his truck, leaving it right in front of Dr. Joe’s Auto Repair. Kelsey had a feeling Dr. Joe was going to call it DOA the second he saw it. But surely with a little hammering to undent it, and some love on the engine, it’d run again, right?

As much as she’d sworn and cursed the thing, they’d been through a lot together, and the thought of never driving it again sent a pang through her chest.

Nate transferred her metal sculptures to the backseat of his truck. He carried them with such care that tears pushed into her eyes, trying to escape, though she gritted her teeth and held them back.

Everything was ripping at the seams, slowly coming undone. It’d been fun to pretend she could live another life for a few days, one where she got to be with a guy she was crazy about and live in a picturesque little town, where the past was the past, and the future included making sculptures in Nate’s shed, baking in his kitchen, and sleeping in his bed.

She should’ve known leaving their little bubble of thrown-together Christmas awesomeness would screw it all up.
I should’ve never gone with him to visit his family.

It wasn’t really Mrs. Walsh’s fault, just like it wasn’t Nate’s. It would’ve helped if Derek
hadn’t
decided to detail every time they’d gotten detention. Or told the story about how she’d “borrowed” one of the principal’s dresses off her clothesline and made a Mrs. Ballard scarecrow to put in the middle of the football field before the homecoming game.

Nate had cringed through every story, and she could tell he was seeing her for who she really was, confirming her fears that she’d never be good enough for a guy like him. Yes, she’d matured, but she couldn’t change the past, and she’d never be the girl who fit into the role of a cop’s wife. Especially when that cop was perfect in every way, always making the right decision.

Nate was the kind of guy who towed girls’ cars on Christmas and carried their sculptures like they were more than junk.

Kelsey glanced around at the town, a hundred memories of warm summer days and parades and the daily walk from school. Dolly’s bakery was still in the same spot, marked by the blue-striped awning with cute pictures of smiling cupcakes and cookies. When Mom’s shop was slow and the bakery would get backed up, Kelsey would go in and help work the counter. Dolly often brought over baked goods, so she was happy to have some way to pay her back. And whenever Kelsey would go to leave, Dolly, who was a total sweet-grandma-looking type, would hug her and say, “Give ’em hell, darlin’.”

Something between a laugh and a sob escaped Kelsey’s lips. Then her gaze went to the next building, where she and Mom used to sell jewelry—or attempted to anyway. There was a floral shop in its place now, and while it was probably nice, bitterness churned in her gut. It felt like she’d gotten a glimpse of her dream life, only to have it taken away.

Unlike Cinderella, she didn’t get till the stroke of midnight. She’d had a couple of fairy-tale days here, so she couldn’t complain. Not when they were more perfect than anything she could’ve dreamed of.

“If Joe can get the car running, you need new tires.” Nate crouched over and examined them, running his fingers across the non-existent tread. “These are a hazard.”

She pulled her attention off the shops, blinking to clear the tears blurring her vision. “That’s what the guy said at the shop, but I thought they could get me to Kentucky at least.”

“Kelsey, you can’t just drive on bald tires, especially in the snow. You could’ve hurt a lot more than your car.”

There it was. More proof. He was responsible, with two jobs, not to mention the way he took care of his family. She could barely balance taking care of herself and she still failed at that more than she should. Maybe if she tried really hard to get her life together. If her art actually sold. If she wouldn’t drag him down.

Or a hundred other maybes that didn’t matter, because she didn’t even live here.

“Who are we kidding, Nate?”

“We’re kidding someone?” He turned to her, and the half-smile on his lips dropped. He shook his head. “Kelsey. Don’t.”

Her eyes burned from the effort to keep from full-on ugly crying. “We knew it was going to end. The spell’s fading. Time to go back to the cinders.”

Nate put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t even know what that means, but it’s not fading. It’s
not
over
.”

Pain radiated out from her heart. “You know I care about you, and I always will. But your life is here. Mine is in Charlotte. Let’s just see what happens. No expectations, no pressure on either side.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“How?” she asked, her voice cracking with sadness and desperation.

He stared at her for an eternity, the muscles in his jaw working. She saw as the truth hit him, effectively shattering the last ounce of hope she was trying to hold on to. Part of her thought he’d find the answer, a magical way to have it all.

Kelsey sniffed, trying to keep her composure. “Let’s not ruin Christmas. I had an amazing time with you. I’ll never forget our mini holiday together.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, taking a moment to memorize his scent and the feel of his clean-shaven skin under her lips. “Thank you for everything.” She started to pull back, but Nate caught her elbow.

“No. I’m not letting you leave like this.”

“Don’t make this harder than it already is. Please.” She let out a shaky breath. “I’ll rent a car or take a bus. I’ll be fine.”

Nate opened his mouth, but his cell phone rang. He swore and fished it out of his pocket. “It’s the sheriff. Just give me a second.”

He turned away and answered. Since Kelsey didn’t currently have a vehicle, and the entire town was closed down, she didn’t have much of a choice but to stand there and wait.

“How long has he been missing?” Nate paced as he listened and rubbed his hand across his jaw, the way he always did when he was thinking.

She told herself it was silly to fall so hard for someone in three days.

Apparently she was silly, because that’s what she’d done.

“Of course. I’ll be right there.” He hung up and looked over at her. “You remember Stuart Fletcher?”

Kelsey nodded, picturing the older guy with his trucker moustache and seventies-style glasses.

“Apparently he went up into the mountains snowmobiling yesterday. His wife fell asleep waiting for him, and he’s still not home. She kept hoping he’d show up, but he hasn’t answered any of her calls, and she’s worried something happened. I’ve gotta go help them look for him.”

“I understand,” Kelsey said. “I really do. I’ll find a ride—even if my mom has to come get me. You go.”

Nate placed his keys in her hand. “Please take my truck. I can’t be worried about you while trying to focus on finding Stu.”

“But—”

He cut her argument off with a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her flush against him, and parted her lips with his, kissing her until she couldn’t help melting into him. “Have fun with your mom. Wish her a Merry Christmas for me.”

A truck pulled up and Sheriff Henderson peered out his window at them. Judging from the scowl on his face, he still remembered her. Nate gave her one last quick kiss, got in on the passenger side, and then they were pulling away.

Kelsey glanced at Nate’s truck. Sitting in there, smelling him, seeing him in every inch of the cab and then having to bring it back would only make this harder. And it was shredding her apart already.

So she placed the keys under the floor mat, grabbed her suitcase, and called a cab.

Chapter Eight

Mom passed an icing-covered Christmas tree–shaped M&M cookie to Kelsey, despite the fact that they’d barely finished eating caramel popcorn balls. The ABC Family channel was on, playing one of those cheesy romance movies she and Mom loved.

“Ugh, why does she keep going back to the chump?” Kelsey asked, gesturing at the screen with her half-eaten cookie. The sugar coma was going to hit any moment—or maybe she should solidify it with another cookie, just in case. “How can she not see what’s in front of her? Someone seriously needs to shake her.”

Mom glanced at her, eyebrows raised.

“What? Don’t tell me you actually
like
the chump.”

Mom kicked her feet up on the coffee table. “No, but I think that sometimes people choose not to see what’s in front of them. Or maybe they get scared.”

Kelsey sighed, seeing where this was going. “Telling you about Nate was a mistake.”

“
That
was the mistake?”

Kelsey tossed the last bite of cookie in her mouth and wiped her hands together. “I told you why it wouldn’t work. Movies always make it look easier than it is.” She frowned at the screen. “Stupid Velveeta movies.”

“You know, when I first started dating Chris, and he lived all the way up here, I thought it wouldn’t work either,” Mom said, obviously not willing to drop the subject.

Since Kelsey had arrived, Chris had given them plenty of space to do girly things and cram in everything they’d missed while she’d been stranded in her winter wonderland with the hottest cop this side of the Mississippi—or any side, for that matter. But Kelsey was slowly getting to know her stepdad better, too. Maybe even understanding why Mom relocated her entire life to be with him. But Mom had always been willing to pick up and start over.

For five days, Kelsey had held back the tears—she’d certainly cried enough when she’d driven away from Marion. Now they were coming again, though, unstoppable and immune to rapid blinking.

“Unlike the girl in this movie, I’m not blind. I know that Nate is perfect; I see how amazing he is. But I know who I am, too. I’m not the quiet girl who’ll fit right into the community. I’m the girl who’ll stir things up at the town meetings and get pulled over by Sherriff Henderson on a weekly basis. And I might be able to deal with that, but I don’t know if Nate can. I saw it when Derek was telling old stories from high school—I embarrass him.”

“How very Bridget Jones of you,” Mom said, and Kelsey scowled at her—how dare she use yesterday’s movie marathon against her. Mom twisted toward her, tucking her leg underneath her. “Anyone who’s embarrassed of you is an idiot. But I don’t think you should jump to that conclusion without at least talking to him about it.”

“He hasn’t called, though, just sent me a text to tell me they’d found Stuart and brought him down from the mountain.” She’d been the one to tell him it wasn’t going to work, and now she was cursing herself for pointing it out. They could’ve pretended for a while longer. It’d be more painful, but right now her heart ached so damn bad that delaying the inevitable seemed like a good alternative.

She pressed a hand flat against her chest, even though she knew from the multiple times she’d tried it over the past few days that it didn’t make it any better. “How can it hurt so much when our time together was so short?”

Mom brushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’ve seen you fall in lust with guys before. You’ve got good taste looks-wise, but all in all, they were shitty dudes, Kels. Like the hugest assholes in all of Assholia.”

Yeah, as many swear words as she’d learned in Dad’s welding shop, and there’d been plenty, Mom could out-swear them by a mile.

“And Nate Walsh is one of the good guys, looks and personality,” Mom said. “Every time he came around, I could see he adored you. Honestly, I kinda hoped you’d dump the twerp and go for him.”

Kelsey raised her eyebrows and Mom shrugged. “When it comes to my daughter, I want a traditional good guy. So sue me.” She patted Kelsey’s knee. “What I’m saying is, I’ve never seen you like this. That hung-over feeling that won’t go away? That’s love.”

“Stellar,” Kelsey dead-panned. “I can see why there’re so many songs written about it.”

Mom laughed. “Well that’s why, when it’s real, you do whatever you have to do to work it out. Screw stability. Forget common sense. Make a move.” Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes going wide. “I know! Invite him to our New Year’s Eve party! It’s perfect. Booze, music, kissing at midnight.”

Kelsey couldn’t help thinking how different her mom was from Mrs. Walsh—and pretty much any other mom for that matter. She was right, too. Love at first sight, falling quickly—those were things she’d made fun of. And while she wouldn’t call Nate love at first sight, there was definitely love there now. The realization terrified her almost as much as it thrilled her. It meant more risk, a harder fall if it went wrong. “It’s definitely a tempting idea, but I don’t think he could just pick up and leave.”

“You’ll never know till you ask.”

…

Nate peered under the hood of his truck, stringing together every single swear word he knew, and some he’d made up on the fly.

Everything was going wrong.

First, Kelsey had left, not even taking his truck, and he was sure he’d been dumped. Especially since she’d only sent a “Glad you’re safe,” text in reply to his. He’d wanted to call, but he’d also wanted to know what to say besides “I just know we’ll figure out a way to work,” with no actual ideas on how. So he’d spent the past few days deciding what he truly wanted. What he was willing to give up to be with Kelsey.

Of course he’d missed her call, because that was the week he was having. He’d decided to give her time to be with her mom, then head to Charlotte as soon as he knew she was back—he wasn’t letting her give up on them. The burning sensation in his chest every time he thought about her told him all he needed to know.

When he’d listened to her message, his heart and mind had raced, as if they were in a competition to see which could go faster. She didn’t say she missed him or that she was miserable—he certainly had been. But she did mention a New Year’s Eve party. While she was trying to sound casual about it, he could tell that she actually wanted him there, which renewed his hope.

He’d spent the last few hours making sure Derek could help Dad take care of the farm and rearranging his shifts at the station. He wanted to surprise Kelsey—and honestly, he was afraid that over the phone, she’d talk herself out of giving them a real shot. In person, he could be much more convincing.

So he’d gotten all dressed up, packed an overnight bag, and threw it in his truck. But his truck decided to not start, topping off the awesomeness that was his life since Kelsey had left it.

He’d narrowed the problem down to the alternator, but say by some miracle Joe didn’t actually have to order it, there was no way he could get it in and make it to Kentucky in time. Even in the squad car, lights blazing, it’d be impossible.

He sagged against the truck. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Not him and Kelsey, but this party, this night. He thought of her alone at midnight, people all around her celebrating, and it was a punch to the gut.

I
need
to be there.
An idea popped into his head. It was a long shot, but he had to try. He pulled out his phone and dialed up his cousin. Wes answered on the third ring.

“Dude, I know this is completely crazy and that it’s New Year’s Eve, but I need a huge favor. See, there’s this girl…”

…

Kelsey stood in the center of the room, watching the blur of people around her laughing and talking, music providing steady background noise. She’d put on her silver party dress with the frilly skirt, the one she’d lusted over on ModCloth for two months before ordering. She’d darkened her purple highlights, added in a few blue ones, and had gone a little crazy with the glitter eyeliner—she probably looked like the silver ball about to drop.

Since she hadn’t heard back from Nate, she did feel like she was about to drop to the floor and never get up. She shouldn’t have been such a chicken and called him right after her and Mom’s movie fest instead of waiting until this morning. She told herself that his not calling her back meant that he didn’t have time to come to the party, that was all.

It didn’t mean that he was done with her.

Right?

She inhaled a deep breath, telling herself to stop being a fun-sucker. This was a party after all. And she had on her five-and-a-half-inch studded purple pumps. She made her way over to the drink table.

And almost cried when she saw the eggnog.

Stupid disgusting drink, making me get all misty.
Kelsey pulled her phone out of the bodice of her dress—not like this thing had pockets—and glanced at the display. Still no calls.
Maybe I should try him again. Tell him I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work, just to please give me a chance.

She didn’t care if she occasionally embarrassed him or didn’t seem like the obvious match for him, as long as he’d stick by her side anyway. She’d made strides on her debt and she’d commit to whatever career it took to get herself all the way out if it meant having Nate in her life. In fact, if she ever got ahold of him again, she was going to wrap herself around him, arms and legs, clamping on for dear life. She was stronger than she looked, she could hold on a while.

At least long enough to use her lips to kiss his neck and mouth and convince him he didn’t want to let her go.

Kelsey poured herself a glass of wine and stared out the window at the large golf course Mom and Chris lived on the edge of. This house was certainly nicer than all the ones she and Mom had lived in. And while the party crowd was a bit older, it was nice to see Mom had found a place she fit in so well.

A bright light glowed through the darkness outside, moving lower and lower. Kelsey stepped closer to the window and squinted at it. The object started to take shape as it came in, nose, big windows, a propeller on top.

Why is a helicopter landing on the golf course?

It touched down, the light so bright Kelsey could hardly look at it. But she couldn’t look away at the same time, because it was so odd. Chris must have an eccentric friend who only traveled by helicopter. Or maybe the guy just really had a hankering for a golf game—Kelsey glanced at the time—eight minutes till the New Year.

A figure emerged, hunkering down as the helicopter kicked wind all around it. She could see that the guy was tall, built, dirty blond hair, but she couldn’t make out any other details.

He walked right up to the house, though, and then the doorbell rang.

No one else seemed to notice, so Kelsey set down her drink and went to answer the door. When she swung it open, she blinked, unable to believe her eyes.

“Nate?”

He ran his eyes up and down her, a total deer in the headlights look, his mouth going slack. “Wow,” he said, and butterflies erupted in her tummy.

She smiled at him, taking in his black button down and gray slacks. “Wow back.”

One corner of his mouth turned up, and she was pretty sure she melted into a puddle of a girl, unable to speak or breathe, and seriously tempted to drag him into a room and have her way with him.

“You came in a helicopter,” she said, because she didn’t know what else to say.

“It’s my cousin’s. I hope I didn’t ruin his and his fiancée’s New Year’s plans, but I was desperate. I knew if I didn’t get here, I’d regret it forever.” He reached out and took her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “See, I wanted to be the last one to kiss you this year, and the first one to kiss you next.”

He tugged her to him, wrapping his other arm around her waist, and crushed his mouth to hers. She parted her lips, ran her hands up his strong arms, and linked her fingers behind his neck, sinking into the kiss.

“That’s for this year,” he rasped, his chest rising and falling against hers, and she heard someone upstairs announce that the ball drop was about a minute away. Nate’s hand slid lower on her back and intoxicating heat wound through her entire body. “I love you, Kelsey. Maybe it’s stupid to have fallen in love with you all those years ago, when you barely knew I existed, but I did. And I fell all over when you came into my life again.”

Kelsey ran her fingers up, over his hair. “I’m the stupid one. I shouldn’t have left like that. But are you sure you’re ready for all of me? I’ve made mistakes. I swear and I speed and I might embarrass you—I know those high school stories Derek told about me on Christmas did.”

Nate’s eyebrows pulled together. “No they didn’t. I don’t give a damn about any of those stories.”

“But you looked all frown-y.”

“That’s because I could see my time with you ticking away.” Nate cupped her cheek. “Kelsey, if you’d consider moving to Marion, we could find you a hair salon, or if you just want to do your artwork, you can have my whole shed to use as your workshop.”

She opened her mouth, but he put his finger to her lips. “But if you’re set in Charlotte, I know I can find a police job there. I even talked to my dad about it, and he told me that it was my choice—he’d support me whatever. And I choose you.”

Kelsey’s heart expanded as happiness tingled through her veins.

In the living room, the countdown grew louder as ten seconds remained in the year. Nine seconds…

“Did I tell you that I love you too?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Nate said, brushing his nose against hers.

Five…

“Well, I’m in love with you, Nate Walsh. Completely, totally in love with you. And just so you know, I plan on you being the first one to kiss me every year, from here on out.”