Chapter Six

Skye looked up when Callie came through the door to the bakery and smiled.

"Hey, girl."

Callie grinned and waved.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to work," Skye said. Her friend was a realtor in town, and she was always busy with clients.

"I do. I just told them I had a quick errand to run. I wanted to tell you something." Callie looked around. "Can you take a minute?"

"What is it?" she asked, handing her friend her favorite cookie.

Callie looked around. "I'll tell you, just not in front of anyone."

Skye waved to Leslie. "I'll be right back."

They walked into the back room. Skye turned to her. "Now tell me."

Skye watched her friend get anxious and started to worry. "Callie…"

"My boss just sold a house on the outskirts of town. The old Benson place on Twenty-second Street?"

"Yes, I know the place. No one has lived there in a while."

"You're right. It needs work, but it has good bones," Callie said.

Skye curled her hand. "Okay. Tell me."

"Jared is the one that bought it."

It took a moment for Skye to understand. "You mean my Jared?" A month or so after Jared had left town, Skye had broken down and told her two best friends. They were shocked, to say the least, but they also knew how attracted she was to him. There had never been a time in the last several years that she'd regretted giving her virginity to Jared. He'd been extremely gentle with her. It was a night she'd never forget. To this day, she hadn't wanted another man to touch her because she was afraid it would tarnish her memory of Jared. She tried to fix it so she could move on with her life, but nothing had worked so far.

The last sight she had of Jared was him getting dressed in her bedroom. He'd been quiet because he had thought she was sleeping. She almost cried out when he bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Take care, my little Skye. I will remember you always."

She listened to him walk down the stairs and the front door open and close. She heard a car down the street start and drive away a moment later.

She remembered the first sob that caught her by surprise. She cried until she had nothing left and lay there until the sun came up, unable to sleep. She knew she'd never see him again, so little by little, she had tried to get over him enough to move on with her life.

She graduated from high school two years after he left and then started working full-time in the bakery in town. She had always loved baking, so it was a nice fit, and when the store owner, Leslie, decided to retire, Skye would buy the place. It sounded like it would happen sooner rather than later because the old owner had arthritis and a few other illnesses that slowed her down and tired her out quicker every month.

Callie touched her arm, bringing her back from the memories.

"Why is he back?" Skye asked. "He said he'd never want to live in this town again."

"All my boss told me was that he was injured pretty badly, and the Navy discharged him because he could not do the job anymore, and he didn't want the desk job they offered him."

"Yeah, I can't see Jared sitting behind a desk," Skye said. "But why come back here? I thought he hated it here."

Callie shrugged. "I have no idea."

"I wonder what injuries he obtained."

"Listen, I have to get back, but call me later if you want to talk. The three of us need to get together with wine, popcorn, brownies, and a movie."

"I love that idea. We're all so busy we don't get a lot of time to hang out anymore."

They hugged, and Skye waved as her friend walked out of the bakery.

Leslie touched her arm. "Is everything okay, hun?"

Skye inhaled and nodded. "Yes. It's not a big deal. Just an old friend that moved back to town."

"Oh, all right."

Skye smiled. "I'll get back to work."

Skye stayed as busy as she could for the next two weeks because every time she was idle, Jared would fill her thoughts.

Just the idea of going to see him made her body heat up, and her cunt spasmed and grew wet for him. It had never done that with another man, and she knew it would be like that forever.

It was a Friday night when she got the guts to go see him. She packed a box with treats and checked her makeup and hair again before leaving the bakery parking lot.

Her palms grew sweaty, and her stomach tightened with nerves. She'd put this off for a few weeks, but no more. Every day was worse, and she felt that somehow the space between them grew wider. She didn't understand it, but she usually went with her gut. It hadn't let her down yet.

She slowed and turned into the driveway. The outside had been cleaned up. The house still needed to be painted, but it already looked like a new place.

Skye parked her car and grabbed the box from the back seat before walking up the porch steps. She knocked and waited. She thought there was a chance he might not be home, until she heard the heavy footsteps.

The door was jerked open, and there he stood. He looked years older than he had since the last time she saw him, but he was still as handsome as sin. He wore old, faded jeans and a t-shirt that had seen better days. He was taller and more muscular than the last time she saw him. The fact that he was barefoot made him seem more vulnerable, and they were even sexy.

She cleared her throat when he stood and stared at her. "Hi. I don't know if you remember me…"

His jaw hardened. "I remember you. What are you doing here?"

She tried not to let his harsh tone affect her. "I heard you were back and wanted to welcome you and give you some treats I made."

He hadn't taken his eyes off her, but he stayed silent. She also noticed he kept his head turned so she could not see the other side of his face. Callie had told her he'd been hurt, but she hadn't had any other information.

"If you're busy, I can come back," she said.

If the muscle in his jaw got any tighter, he was going to crack a tooth. He stood with his legs apart, and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why are you really here?"

"I'm here to welcome you back."

The side of his mouth tilted up in a sarcastic smile. "Really? You're not here to get fucked again?"

Skye stiffened. She knew he must be hurting but never thought he'd turn into a bully again. Weren't they too old for that?

"No, Jared. I'm just here to say hi."

"Did you get it in your pretty little head that I was missing you or wanted to see you?" he asked.

She sighed. "No." She held the box out to him, and when he didn't grab it, she let it drop onto the ground. "Fuck it. You never have to worry about me, Jared. I'll stay as far away from you as I can. All right?" She turned and headed back to her car without waiting for a reply.

She didn't expect him to say anything but was still disappointed. She opened the car door and was ready to slide in when she looked up at him and caught his expression, and it wasn't the distant, cruel one he had on his face just a moment ago.

Skye tried to guess what was going through his head, but he was a hard man to read in high school. Now, it would be impossible. Did she really want to know anything about him? Yes, she could fool other people, but not herself.

She sat in her car after she parked it in her driveway. Pictures of Jared flashed through her head—the ones of him sitting solitary in the lunchroom, the way people would avoid him if they walked past him. The times he held her against the building could be construed as violent, but at no time had Jared hurt her physically.

Then thoughts of the way he looked while on top of her. She would never forget the tenderness of his loving and the sweet way he looked at her. Jared definitely felt something then. Now, most people would see how he treated her as loathing, but she was getting to see the real Jared, and she suspected no one had ever taken the time to break down the walls he erected.

Call her crazy, but it didn't feel right just giving up that easily. Fuck, maybe she was nuts. Who else would put themselves through the pain of his rejection? No one. Except her.