Page 4 of The Promise Of Rain

Tall and leanly muscled with black silky hair falling over his forehead, he was every young woman’s dream.If I was to hazard a guess, he starred in a few older women’s fantasies too.

His dark chocolate eyes, twinkling with curiosity and mischief, enchanted me.But it was his silver tongue that kept me wrapped up in him all morning.

Five years younger, raised in a family as traditional as mine was not, loved by both his parents, and given every possible advantage including a fully funded university education, he was my polar opposite.

I dismissed the possibility of him and me developing into an us before it consciously entered my mind.

Perhaps it was that, along with my surprise at the fervor with which he pursued me, that allowed him to slip under my guard.

He swept me up in a romantic daydream, but I owned the blame for everything that came next.At twenty-six, I knew better than to believe in Cinderella dreams.

And here I was again, falling all over myself as soon as he snapped his fingers.

I consoled myself with the fact that he had once again taken me by surprise, this time by showing up at the bakery just as I locked up.

The whole meeting lasted all of thirty seconds.By the time I’d gathered my wits, he was driving away.

I hadn’t even known he was home.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been back, but it was the first time we’d come face-to-face.

Thank God.

Because the last time he’d been back, the grapevine was all ablaze that their hometown hero brought his wife home to meet the family.

I shuddered and pushed the memory away.

Mesmerized by his sudden appearance and the harsh changes in the face I’d so loved, my blood roaring in my ears, I missed most of what he said.Before I knew what hit me, I’d agreed to meet him for dinner at The Loose Moose.

At the moment, I thought it was our only option because I wasn’t about to let him into my safe space.

That was mine, mine and Ansel’s.

I contemplated spewing out the whole story right there on the sidewalk in the cold, bright light of day, but I couldn’t do it.

I’d waited so long to redeem myself; I deserved the time to explain properly without the risk of someone hearing all the gory details.

And, God, how I longed for him to comfort me now the way he didn’t back then.I had to give him that chance for my own sake.For the Jenny of ten years ago who still cried sometimes in the dark of the night.

I folded my hands on the table in front of me to brace myself.Only the tips of my fingers poked out of my sleeves as I shrank under the weight of far too many eyes.

While most everyone in Moose Lake knew bits and pieces of my story, and some even knew the truth, only Ansel knew all of it.

They’d have a field day when Deacon walked in.

The whole world would know by Tuesday.

Chin tipped down, eyes closed, I worked to slow my breathing, readying myself for a confrontation I’d long since lost hope in ever having.

When the chair across from me scraped across the floor, my head snapped up.At the sight of Deacon’s icy expression, I hissed in a sharp breath and slammed back in my chair.

In the dim light, his warm brown eyes were as black and cold as obsidian.A heavy five o’clock shadow covered his sharp jaw, and the mouth that smiled and laughed and kissed like a god now pressed into a thin, angry line.

Even his silky hair was gone, now cropped close to his scalp, every scrap of boyish joy banished.

Whatever had happened in the past decade, it had sucked all the light out of this man.

I clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering in the presence of this cold, icy stranger who looked nothing like the boy I’d loved.