Page 112 of Rocky Mountain Home

“The last email I got from him. He never came back to Heart Falls.”

Stupid, rotten, miserable motherfucker of an asshole. “What’s his name?”

Dare tapped him on the nose. “You are not tracking him down to peel off his skin, or any other of those oh-so-imaginative threats I’ve already heard from my brothers. We were both kids, and he acted childishly. Yes, it hurt my feelings enormously, but I should have seen it coming, and it was a long time ago.”

But it meant she knew what it was like to be alone on a level that Jesse had never had to face except because of his own actions.

His own stupid behaviour reared up to smack him in the side of the head all over. “Well, he was an ass. Anyone who would treat you like that doesn’t deserve to get to be around you, anyway.”

“Agreed. Which is what Ginny has told me numerous times.”

Jesse rolled over her, bracing himself on his elbows as he pinned her into place for a moment. “Kiss me.”

Her gaze darted toward the door and back. “Tamara’s going to do you bodily harm if she catches you in that position.”

Probably right. Jesse stole a quick kiss before continuing his roll, all the way to a standing position beside the bed.

A knock on the door sounded a second after his feet hit the floor, followed by a chorus of hellos.

He glanced back at Dare to find she was grinning. “You’ve got horseshoes up your butt,” she teased.

“God, I hope not.” But he linked his fingers with hers as another portion of the family stopped in to say hello.

Chapter Twenty-One

~Text exchange. Grade Eleven science class, Heart Falls High School~

Ginny: Tiffany said Marisa told her Brant said Tyson told Mike he liked me

Dare: well, that was a waste of words

Ginny: why?

Dare: d’uh. You can tell Tyson likes you because he’s always watching you

Ginny: omg, really?

Dare: you’re as observant as a brick wall

Ginny: shut up. Go back to where you said he likes me and tell me more…

Dare had made a shocking discovery, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

During the wonderful chaos that was time with the invading horde of Colemans, she’d slowly come to a few conclusions.

She liked these people. Jesse had returned to being the stand-up guy she’d known in Heart Falls. Quick to laugh or make a joke except when—

Well, Dare wasn’t blind. It was clear the only time he morphed back into awkwardness or being inconsiderate was when Vicki was there. He’d drift around the room, talking with his parents, joking with his brothers, all comfortable and steady until he turned and came face to face with her.

It was also clear that while Vicki wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with him, her unease was a whole different type. More like secondhand discomfort. She felt awkward because of the way he acted.

Any fool could see that Vicki and Joel were wildly, totally and completely in love. There was no faking their level of connection. The little glances, the touches. They probably weren’t even aware of them most of the time, until they were. Joel pressed a hand over Vicki’s hip, and she looked up and offered a smile that made Joel’s eyes flash—Dare had to look away, it was too private a moment to intrude upon.

Which is why she found herself pondering the things that she knew, and dropping them into a logical order.

A) Jesse had left his family suddenly last February

B) he got the black eye from Rafe regarding some issue with “a woman”