“Don’t come here leading my sister on again. She doesn’t need your stupid head games, Noah. You have done nothing but hurt her. She loved you, and you stepped on it for some worthless slut.”
Noah closed his eyes. His shoulders and neck felt tense again. “I know you will find this hard to believe, but I regret what I did. I wish I had the power to go back and do things right. I haven’t touched Cora in years. I am not sure I would have kept the date with her even if she hadn’t confronted Alana. All I have done these last six months is search my soul, and I realize what I did was wrong. Losing Alana hurt me, but it guts me more to know what I did to her.”
Ray searched his face but didn’t reply. His anger didn’t seem to lessen, so Noah figured Ray didn’t believe him. He would just have to prove it. He had changed, and it was time to show Alana and her family that. Noah changed the subject. He had to be patient.
He told Ray what Alana remembered. “This is good news. A tattoo will verify his identity.”
“That is great news.” Ray looked less angry now. “I was standing behind her, but I kept my eyes on his face. Besides his blue eyes, nothing stood out. I was trying to see hair color or anything like that. I knew he had a knife, but I thought it was just a scare tactic. I never thought he would hurt her.”
“It’s unusual. He had no valid reason to go for her with the knife,” Noah admitted. “Places are robbed at gunpoint or knifepoint, but when people cooperate, no one gets hurt. It makes me wonder if he was high on drugs. We have had problems with outsiders sleeping on the edge of town. It’s hard to monitor with just the four of us, but I am trying to hire more deputies.”
Noah hesitated on talking about Alana with Ray, but he was worried enough to brush away his hesitation.
“I am concerned more with the emotional side of things. Sitting here all day alone can’t be good for her mental health.”
Ray didn’t get angry. Instead he looked thoughtful. “The first few days we took turns staying with her. Then she insisted we all go back to our normal schedules. I think us hovering over her was annoying. Mom got Mrs. Williams from next door to come and check up on her. Alicia leaves work before it gets dark and stays with her. She says she is not ready to face people’s curiosity yet.”
“I suggested counseling. She said she would think about it,” Noah told him firmly. He waited for Ray to argue, but to his surprise, he didn’t.
Ray agreed. He told Noah he had suggested it, too, but his parents didn’t like the idea of her retelling what had happened to her. They thought it better if she just forgot.
“I’m giving her another week. Then I’ll take her myself. I see how depressed she is, and it bothers me, but I don’t know what to do. She was already like this before the robbery, Noah. She loved you, and you publicly humiliated her by making a date with Cora while you were supposed to be dating her. I know you had no idea what Cora would do, but still it devastated Alana. She worked, but she stopped laughing and smiling. She withdrew into a shell we couldn’t penetrate. This incident hasn’t helped at all.”
“I was a fool.” Noah felt the heavy weight on his chest. The thought of Alana being depressed because of him sent a pain to his chest. “I let my doubts get in the way. I should have done things differently. She is so much younger than me and so different than the women I like to date. I was afraid to trust in what she said she felt.”
Ray sighed, looking torn. “Just don’t mess with her head, Noah. That is all I am asking from you. If you pursue her again, you better make damn sure this is what you want.”
Noah left the Garcia house with a heavy, guilty heart. He had established contact with Alana again. That was a start. He was not giving up on her. Knowing she could have died had scared the shit out of him. His goal was to prove to her and her family that he wasn’t a complete coldhearted bastard, just a foolish one.
Chapter 7
“Alana, you have to come with me,” Alicia pleaded with an exaggerated pout. She even added her puppy dog eyes.
Alana smiled at her younger sister. They were sitting in Alana’s bedroom. She knew it sounded strange for a twenty-four-year-old to live at home, but she worked all the time and didn’t see a need to spend her money on an apartment she would hardly see except for bed. Alana sat cross legged on her bed, flipping through a magazine. The sun was pouring into the room, and Alana wanted to shield her eyes from the brightness. She had had another bad night and had slept only an hour or two total. She kept that to herself. She didn’t want to burden her family. She remembered the fear and sadness she saw in her parents’ eyes when she had woken up at the hospital. Alana was born and raised in Red Hook, and they had never had such a violent experience here. Red Hook was a safe, sleepy town with small petty crimes. One year a bunch of teens had toilet papered the businesses for Halloween and threw eggs at passing cars. There were fights between people, drunk driving, and things like that, but nothing like what happened to her. How had her life become so out of control? When she made the mistake of falling in love with a man who couldn’t be faithful to one woman. That was her burden.
Alicia had her own room across the hall, but she was not giving up on the idea of Alana joining her. Ray lived in an apartment above the restaurant but came by often to check on the girls. He took his role as big brother seriously, too seriously sometimes, but Alana loved him just the same.
“That look only works with Papa.”
“It’s been three weeks since you were released from the hospital, and you haven’t been outside to even get fresh air.” Alicia pouted again. “You’re wilting away into nothingness.”
“I sat in the backyard all day yesterday, sunning,” Alana reminded her sister. She had only done it to make her mom happy, but she had done it. “What if I panic with the large crowds? What will your friends say?”
She was still sore but no longer in pain. Her stitches had come out, but the cut still looked ugly to her eyes and reminded her of what had happened. It was a symbol that this town wasn’t always the safe place she thought it was. Being in a large crowd sounded scary. What if he was there? She wouldn’t even know.
“Who cares what my friends or anyone else says? We won’t stay all night,” Alicia begged. “Tonight is the town’s first night of the summer fest. I want a caramel apple and to ride the Ferris wheel with you, two sisters having fun like before Sheriff Romeo ruined it all.”
Alana didn’t want to think about Noah. He was confusing her. He had come by with her favorite coffee one morning last week after everyone left for work. They sat on the porch talking about nothing specific. He had done most of the talking, and she had let his voice just wash over her and relax her. The br
ight sun had hurt her eyes, and she had been tempted to go back inside where she didn’t feel so vulnerable, but Noah wouldn’t let her. He held her hand tightly and kept on talking.
Two days later he dropped off some library books and even read her a few pages from a steamy romance book until she blushed and grabbed it out of his hands. He had chuckled at her rosy cheeks. Why did he want to be her friend, a person he already rejected as not worthy of his heart? Maybe a night out would clear her head. Her heart still longed for Noah Blake, but she couldn’t handle another problem right now.
She knew she was going to give in to Alicia. She had to start making an effort to do better. Feeling sorry for herself was not helping any. She was tired of the looks of pity and concern coming from her family. She was not going to ruin her sister’s joy, too. Alicia loved the summer festival and never missed it. Alana had always just tagged along to keep an eye on her but always ended up having a good time.
“Okay, fine.” She gave in with a dramatic sigh.
Alicia clapped and cheered. She jumped off the bed with a huge smile.