Chapter 6

Rainey

There werepeople in your life who you were supposed to be able to trust. A father was one of them. Sadly, that trust had been squashed long ago when it became clear my father cared more about his career than he did his only daughter. Little girls don't realize that sometimes unwanted pregnancies happen, and as much as I loved my father back then, the love was not returned. All I knew was that Dad was constantly annoyed with me and even that attention was only when he deigned to acknowledge my existence.

Which led me to Zeke. He'd been a respite for me when my father passed away and I'd been moved to an unfamiliar town to live with my grandma. I'd trusted him as much as a girl who'd learned not to trust anyone could. I knew I'd hurt him when I up and left Blueball without a backward glance, but to ruin my future so thoroughly just because I didn't mail home a postcard every now and then? To butt his nose into my life when I was finally one tiny step away from not having any man determining my fate like I was some puppet on a string?

To say I was livid would be a gross understatement.

Heads swiveled as I ran through downtown on the sidewalk. Moms with their little ones running errands turned to stare. Shopkeepers lifted an arm in a hello I could not make myself return. My eyes had glazed over with a sheen of volcano red so vibrant I could barely make out where I was running. And these damn shoes! While they were the most attractive footwear I had—a splurge over a year ago when I'd gotten a rare Christmas bonus—they were not built for a sprint. I took one wrong turn at the new pergola built in the middle of the park, but with a quick dart around a park bench, I was able to get back on track.

I slid to a halt in the wet mid-morning grass, my lungs burning almost as much as my eyes. The bridge lay before me, a recent coat of stain making it shine as beautifully as the day I'd left town. The trickle of the stream below hit my ears as it always did in this spot, but everything else was unfamiliar.

Instead of a patch of flattened grass leading to dirt underneath the bridge, there was an ornate wooden bench, clearly a hand-carved work of art. The patchy grass had been replaced with a small field of wildflowers that would have taken my breath away if I hadn't already been doubled over trying to breathe. It was gorgeous. And also not the spot it used to be.

"I thought I'd find you here," came a deep voice from behind me.

My spine snapped straight. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to figure out the conflicting emotions swirling in my chest. I was so mad at Zeke right now. I was sad our spot had been changed over the years, becoming something else entirely. It was like our entire friendship had been erased, and while I'd done a fine job of that by disappearing, seeing Zeke again had made me wish for a friendship like that. Combine all of that with a touch of panic about how to still inherit that money and I welcomed the new bench as I sank down onto it.

Zeke moved closer, but he didn't sit next to me. "About a year after you left, I built the bench. The city let me install it and plant the wildflowers."

"Why?" I asked, numbly. From my perch on the bench, I could just barely see the stream and the matching wildflowers on the other side of the embankment. It was a beautiful view and far more comfortable than when we'd wedged ourselves on the rocky ground as teens.

"In the off chance you ever came back home," Zeke said simply, like that explained everything.

My head dropped and the first tear rolled down my cheek. He was so sweet, and yet I desperately needed that money. He didn't understand what he'd done.

"I'm so mad at you." It was barely a whisper, not one lick of fight behind the tone. So unlike me I scared myself. If I didn't have that fire burning bright in my chest, I wouldn't have survived the last twelve years. It couldn't fail me now.

Zeke didn't answer right away. He slowly moved around the bench and had a seat next to me, taking over most of the space on the wood slats and forcing me to hug the side. The man had certainly grown since he was eighteen. I was mad at him, but I desperately wanted to rest my head against his shoulder and just breathe him in like I used to. He used to make me feel so safe.

"And I'm mad at you, Rain," he finally said.

I nodded, still not able to look at him. I was afraid if I looked up into those eyes, I'd either say something that would further damage any friendship we'd had or I'd beg him to rescue me. Neither of those options would improve my situation. A bird tweeted from the tree above, perhaps irritated we'd interrupted her morning.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, genuinely curious if our friendship could be revived. Or if I wanted it to at this point. He'd just screwed me out of close to a million dollars.

Zeke turned toward me, the bench creaking below us. His knee bumped mine, causing my gaze to fly to his face. The wedding crasher was smiling.

"We're going to go back to the courthouse and get married. Duh."

I stared at him like he'd grown another head. Teenage Zeke had been cute with his shy smile and steady confidence, but grown-up Zeke was absolutely gorgeous. In that suit, he should be gracing every magazine cover out there. His hands were big and scarred and told a woman he knew how to work with his hands. His hair reminded me of a hockey player, a little too long to be considered stylish, but somehow dangerously attractive. I was embarrassed to admit that it took me this long to understand why he'd shown up at the courthouse in a suit. The man planned this whole thing.

"Why are you doing this?"

Zeke didn't answer. He stood and offered me his hand. Without thinking, I slid my palm against his, shocked at how right it felt to let him pull me to my feet just like old times. He didn't let go right away either, instead inclining his head toward the nearby tree. I knew what tree he meant. I'd spent an hour one afternoon carving our initials into it when we were seventeen. It did not escape my notice that I'd also carved the number thirty below our initials.

Fuck. That stupid pact.

"You're serious?"

As was his way, Zeke didn't answer with words. He tugged me up the embankment and back onto the soft grass of the park before letting go of my hand. He was careful to slow his long gait as I navigated the expanse of lawn in wedges that weren't made for a stroll in the park. He'd always been considerate like that, a trait I had taken for granted until I went out there in the real world and saw what sorry excuse for men were single.

We finally made it to the sidewalk and Zeke put his hand on my back to steer me in the direction of the courthouse. This time, as people raised their hands or voices in a hello as we walked by, Zeke waved back and I tried to smile. Considering they'd all seen me sprint through here just moments earlier, I felt a little foolish now. Some of the faces looked familiar, but now was not the time for reminiscing and catching up.

Zeke stopped us next to a faded blue truck parked outside the courthouse that had seen better days. He opened the driver's side door and leaned in while I waited on the sidewalk. I glanced up and down the street, my brain spinning a million miles a minute. Was I really going to do this? Marry my old best friend just to inherit some money? I could feel the seconds ticking away like sand through an hourglass while I debated what to do. My birthday was in four days. There was no way I'd find anyone else who would marry me. Not without me having to pay them off, which would defeat the whole point of inheriting a stack of money. I needed that cash to start a new life.

"A bride should have flowers on her wedding day. Something your douchebag fiancé should have thought about."

Zeke stepped back on the curb holding a simple bouquet of wildflowers tied with a white ribbon, much like the flowers down by our spot. He handed them to me while I clutched them to my chest and wondered why my ribs ached from this simple gesture. When was the last time a man had given me flowers? I wracked my brain and came up empty.

His hand warmed my lower back again as he ushered us up the steps of the courthouse. His other hand grabbed the handle of the glass door and I dug my heels in, my hand gripping his bicep as I tugged him to a stop. He looked back at me, a questioning look on his handsome face.

"Why are you doing this?" I repeated. I needed to know, needed to understand what was in it for him. Did he want my money? Was I so pathetic that he was willing to put up with a short, fake marriage to help me out of a tough spot? My pride had taken a beating over the last decade, but I still had some left.

Zeke looked away, scanning the street. "I watched you, Rain. All four years I knew you, I watched you. I observed how you lit up when people paid you attention. I saw how much you needed that attention and I figured it was because your father never gave it to you. You wouldn't tell me about it, and that was my fault for not being someone you could fully trust. Probably because I was just a dumb kid with stars in my eyes and a lack of impulse control when it came to you."

When he mentioned my father, I felt like I'd been stripped naked right there on Main Street for all to see my childhood wounds. I sucked in a deep breath. Zeke didn't talk much, but when he did, I always listened because it was usually something important. Maybe that's why Zeke was so insightful. He didn't chatter constantly like other people. He saved all that energy for observing people. He saw more of me than I cared for.

Zeke's gaze swung back and nearly glued me to the ground with his intensity. His voice came out low, intimate in the way it scraped across the air between us. "But you're back now. And I'm no fucking kid."

My knees began to shake. He dipped his head until he was looking at me from my height. I couldn't have looked away even if I wanted to. "I'm marrying you because you deserve to know what it's like to be someone's everything. Even just once in your life. And I can give that to you, baby girl."

Then he swung open the door and pushed me inside the courthouse.