LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Two

      Kevin stood on the sidewalk under the hotel’s blue awning, obviously arguing with one of the valets, as Sienna pulled the Porsche to the curb.

      “You stole my car,” he yelled as she got out, stalking toward her. “What the hell were you thinking?”

      She took a moment to adjust her skirt and ran a hand through her hair, then tossed the keys to the relieved young man in the valet uniform gaping at them both.

      “What were you thinking?” she countered, strangely empty of emotion at the moment. Her heels made a soft clicking noise on the pavement as she moved to stand in front of him.

      “Come in the hotel, Sienna. We’ll work this out.”

      “There’s nothing left to work out.” She reached in her purse and handed the valet a twenty-dollar bill. “Thank you,” she told him with a serene smile. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole Bennett climb out of the Jeep that had the words Crimson County Sheriff emblazoned across the side.

      Under normal circumstances, Sienna loathed drawing attention to herself. Right now she couldn’t find the energy to care.

      “Don’t be ridiculous,” Kevin snapped. “I made a mistake. It was one night. I didn’t even know her.”

      “That doesn’t make it any better,” Sienna said through clenched teeth.

      “Ready to head out?” Cole asked as he came to stand beside her.

      “Who the hell are you?” Kevin demanded.

      Cole flashed an aw-shucks grin that would have done Andy Griffith proud and pointed to the badge on his chest. “Good morning to you, too, buddy. I gather you can read as well as cheat on your girlfriend?”

      Kevin narrowed his eyes as he gave Cole the once-over. “A cop,” he muttered.

      “Sheriff,” Cole corrected.

      “I want this woman arrested.” Kevin pointed toward Sienna. “For grand theft auto.”

      Sienna felt her body go rigid, then Cole put a hand on her back, whether as comfort or as a silent reminder not to flee, she couldn’t tell.

      “A fan of video games, I take it,” Cole said conversationally. “‘Grand Theft Auto’ is good but I prefer ‘Call of Duty’ myself.”

      Kevin’s hands clenched into fists. “This isn’t a damn joke.”

      “I borrowed the car because I needed to compose myself,” Sienna said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “Then I returned it.”

      “She has a witness,” Cole added. He pointed to the young valet. “You saw her return it.”

      The gangly teen swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

      Kevin lifted a brow. “Come with me and work this out, and we’ll let it go. Otherwise, you’re going to have to explain to your parents why you were arrested for stealing a car. Mommy won’t like it when that hits the news cycle, and what a blow after she just finished chemo.”

      He reached for her, but Cole moved forward, effectively blocking his access. “The only thing you’re letting go of is Sienna,” he said, all trace of civility gone from his tone. Sienna had a sudden twinge of sympathy for whatever bad guys were lurking around this section of the Rocky Mountains. Cole Bennett was clearly not a lawman to tangle with.

      “This is none of your business, Sheriff.”

      “Are you joking?” Cole threw up his hands. “You’re going to force me to use the ‘I’m making it my business’ line? I try not to veer into TV cop stereotypes, but if that’s what it takes...”

      Sienna raised a hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle. The situation was no laughing matter and Kevin had the right of it with his implied threat about her parents. Both her mom and stepdad assumed her marriage to Kevin was a done deal, the engagement just a box to check off the official wedding to-do list.

      Maybe she was light-headed from lack of oxygen at this altitude, but she realized she not only had other options in life but wanted to explore them. To see who she could have become without the rigid constraints of the life her mom had orchestrated. Her mother had gone through her own emotional journey during her battle with cancer, one that had culminated with reuniting with the son she’d left behind. But Sienna wasn’t on the path of reconciliation, and certainly not with Kevin.

      She pointed at her ex-boyfriend. “You have a saggy butt.”

      The valet snickered as Kevin’s mouth dropped open.

      Cole turned to her, one corner of his gorgeous mouth twitching with amusement. His honey-brown gaze held hers for a moment. “You went there,” he muttered. “Really?”

      “I deserve better than you,” she continued, moving around Cole to go toe-to-toe with Kevin. “I deserve better than how you treated me.”

      “Keep telling yourself that,” he said, and she wondered why she’d never noticed that when he smiled it looked more like a sneer. “If you weren’t such a stuffy prude, I wouldn’t have had to find another woman to warm the bed. This is your—”

      His head snapped back as her fist connected with his nose. She yelped, as surprised by the fact that she’d punched him as she was by the pain in her knuckles. Kevin cried out, covering his face with his hands.

      “You saw her. Assault and battery,” he shouted through his fingers.

      “I’ll keep that in mind,” Cole promised. He gestured to the valet. “Get him a towel and some ice.” Then he grabbed Sienna’s arm. “I think you’re done here.”

      “I didn’t mean—”

      “No more talking,” he told her, half leading and half dragging her across the street to his Jeep. “Let’s just get out of this town before you cause an even bigger scene.”

      She stopped a few feet from the car. “Are you going to make me sit in the back seat?”

      “I should after that stunt,” Cole said but opened the passenger door for her. “Get in. Your saggy bottomed ex has gone into the hotel. We should be gone by the time he comes out again.”

      Neither of them spoke as Cole drove out of Aspen. The upscale shops and restaurants housed in historic brick buildings gave way to apartment complexes and other, newer structures and finally changed to open meadows as he took the turn onto the highway that led to Crimson. It was the third time today she’d driven this stretch of road.

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