Chapter 2

Cain clutched his shoulder and rubbed.

Shit. That actually hurt.

Realizing they had an audience, he took her hand and pulled her to the side. Now that she wasn’t pressed against him, he looked her over, then drew her against him again and held her tight. He’d missed her. He always missed her. She felt so good against him. “I guess I deserved that.”

Cain smelled her hair and felt the soft curls against his hands. They didn’t speak for a few moments until she pushed away and said, “I know we haven’t been as close lately as we used to be, but at one time we were inseparable. I think, at the least, you owed me a call or an explanation. Something. You don’t just leave without calling me. Without telling me anything. What if you hadn’t come back?” She swiped at her tears with the palms of her hands and then looked down at her shirt. “I’m so mad at you I don’t even know what to say. And why are you all wet? Now I’m all wet.”

“It’s raining,” he told her.

She looked at him—really looked at him. He seemed to be taking her in as well.

“You’re all dressed up,” he said.

“Don’t change the subject, Cain. You left for a long freakin’ time. You didn’t even bother to call.” He’d never seen her so mad. “I should get the hell up and leave and never speak to you again. I swear, I don’t know why I put up with your shit!” Her arms were crossed and her chest heaved with emotion. She had even cursed, a rarity.

“I’m sorry.” He ran his hand down his face. “I’m so sorry. Please. Don’t be mad.” She just stood there, her eyes shooting daggers at him. Another rarity. “You look very pretty,” he said, trying to placate her.

“I’m dressed up because I’m on a date.” Suddenly she went from being upset to contrite. “Oh, man! I’m on a date. A blind date. JL’s going to kick my butt—this can’t be good.” She wiped her face again but this time with his shirt, which made him chuckle. She had black shit smeared under her eyes and her lipstick was gone. She sniffled and then cautiously looked over her shoulder at JL, who stood at the bar with a scowl, her arms crossed. Next to her stood a confused-looking man, who Cain inferred was her date. Violet put a little distance between her and Cain.

“You’re on a date?” Cain asked.

Before Violet had a chance to answer, they saw JL whisper something to the man as they both looked at Violet and Cain. Then the guy stomped out of the bar, looking upset. JL gave her a final glare and a scolding shake of her head before she turned her attention to a customer who’d just sat down.

“Was,” she said wryly, her eyes still on the door. “Apparently I’m not on a date anymore.” She sighed and then looked back at Cain. “Why are you looking at me as if the thought of me on a date is the most preposterous thing you’ve ever heard of? I can date.”

“That’s not it.” He pulled her to a corner table away from everyone and they sat. “You look tired, Vi. What’s going on?” His eyes bored holes into her.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment and then almost immediately blurted out, “Daddy died.”

Cain didn’t say anything.

When the silence had lasted too long, she said, “I know you’re not much for talking, but this is the point where you say, ‘I’m sorry to hear that, Violet. Are you okay, Violet?’ ”

“Jesus Christ.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I am so sorry, Vi.” He reached for her hand across the table and squeezed. “How are you holding up? How did it happen?”

She pulled her hand free and wrapped her arms around herself. “Massive heart attack.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Go figure. He was always hassling me over my weight, and then it turned out he had high cholesterol and his arteries were clogged.”

“Fuck, Violet. I’m so sorry.” He slammed his fist down on the table, briefly startling her. “I should’ve been here.”

“Yeah, you should’ve been here. It happened just a few days after you left.”

The words stung, but she was right.

“I’m okay,” she went on. “It was a shock, but I’m getting by. We’d grown kind of distant. He was a hard man to love, but I did, I loved him. He was my dad, ya know?” Violet swiped a finger under her eyes and shrugged. “So, are you going to tell me where you were?”

“In Libya.”

“Libya, seriously? That’s dangerous. Maybe it was best that I didn’t know. I’d have worried.”

“Nah. I’m not out in the field much. I work with IMC, mostly doing computer kinds of things for them.”

“What, you’re a military IT guy now?”

Cain chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

“But you were still in Libya, so you could’ve been hurt. It’s still dangerous.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m careful.”

“As opposed to everyone else? Come on, Cain, who do you think you’re talking to? I was raised right there with you at the base—I know how it goes. One crazy wearing a vest in the market and you’re as good as gone. What if you hadn’t come back?”

She was worried—he understood that. But the problem, really, was the heavy unspoken words—what she hadn’t said. What neither ever spoke about. The constant undercurrent of their relationship.

Jeremy.

The space between them filled with a palpable sense of sadness and discomfort, making Cain suddenly unnerved.

“I need a drink.” Cain stood, walked to the bar, and ordered a beer and a Coke from JL. She glanced over his shoulder at Violet, rolled her eyes, and poured the drinks. He returned to the table and slid the Coke over to Violet.

Violet looked at the soda, then at Cain. “I could’ve used a cocktail or another glass of wine, especially after the night I’ve had.”

“You’ve had enough,” Cain said as he drank his beer.

“Excuse me? You don’t even know how many drinks I’ve had. You just got here.”

“I don’t want you driving home drunk. Your eyes are glassy.” He reached over and touched her lips with his thumb. “And your lips are stained pink. Trust me, you’ve had too many drinks.” His fingers on her lips felt strange. Intimate. He pulled back as if he’d been shocked. Luckily, she must’ve not felt it.

“Have you lost your mind? You can’t just walk back in here and again start telling me what I can and can’t do. Before you left, you were a jerk and we were bickering constantly. That’s not something I’m used to. I don’t bicker with anyone and especially not with you. Since I moved to town, I’m like this person you hate. I don’t want it to be that way again. My father died, and you’re the closest thing to family I have left, and you left. I don’t know if I can forgive you this time.” She stood up and grabbed her purse.

He held her wrist. “Don’t go, please.”

Violet pointed over to the other side of the bar, where their friends were playing pool. “Go hang out with the guys. My date’s gone. I ruined it just like I ruin every date. I don’t want to get into it with you now. I just want to go home.”

“Let me drive you.”

She pulled her hand away. “You know me, Cain. You know me better than anyone else. I am forgiving. Maybe too forgiving. But this time I can’t just brush it off like nothing happened. I’m going to go and you’re not going to drive me or follow me.” She marched to the bar, said something to JL, and left without so much as a single glance back at him.