Gabe eyed him far too knowingly. “And Vicki?”

“She and Hope are packing. Nothing but clothes left, and they said they didn’t want any guys around.”

His cousin sipped his beer then stared up at the ceiling. “I heard she’s leaving.”

Fuck. Joel couldn’t speak for a moment. It wasn’t that he didn’t know this was coming, but every time the reality hit, it hurt a hell of a lot more. “Yeah. She’s cooking for Karen’s crew for the summer.”

“She’ll be back in the fall?”

Joel swallowed hard. “Don’t know. Probably not.”

There was nothing to bring her back, and a lot to keep her away. Once she’d found a chance outside of Rocky, he couldn’t ever see her wanting to return.

“You okay with that?”

Joel glared at his cousin. “You interfering again? I thought your wife was curing you of your need to be everyone’s savior.”

Gabe grinned. “Once an Angel, always an Angel…”

Joel tossed a napkin in his face.

His cousin sobered. “I thought you two were good together. I’d hate to see you making some kind of mistake because you’re too afraid to go after what you want.”

A string of curses rose inside, but he held them back. He and Gabe were close in temperament. If he’d spent years saving Jesse, Gabe had done the same for most of the rest of the Coleman clan. Guardian angel was right.

He met Gabe’s eyes steadily and confessed the truth. “It’s not a case of being afraid, asshole. It was an act. Us being together. Couple reasons for it, but it was only meant to last until now. And if you ever share that with anyone I will call you a liar, and then I’ll bury you.”

“It was an act?” Gabe wiped his mouth for a moment, and Joel wasn’t sure if the man was trying to figure out what to say or hiding a smile. Definitely a smile. Gabe leaned forward. “Well, if you want to know a secret, me and Allison? Started out pretty much that way as well.”

Joel thought for a minute. Nope. Couldn’t see any connection between his cousin’s marriage, and his and Vicki’s little ploy. “Bullshit.”

“Not bull, but never mind that for a minute. You happy she’s going?” Gabe glanced at the nearly empty beer pitcher.

Joel sighed. “No. But it’s what she’s always wanted. Rocky is full of hurtful memories and stupid people who keep on tormenting her. How the hell can I ask her to give up on her dreams because I like having her around?”

“Oh, well, you can’t.” Gabe sat back and lifted his glass. “That would be totally stupid.”

The instinct to fight was rising. “Fuck off, Gabe, and tell me what you’re playing at.”

Gabe glanced down the length of the room at his wife who was perched on the arm of a chair chatting with her sister. Allison caught him looking and smiled back, the expression shining out like a rainbow. Gabe didn’t take his eyes off her as he spoke. “Liking someone is for when you’re in high school. Loving someone is what makes people change their lives for another person.”

Joel froze.

Gabe turned back. “Makes a huge difference, you know. You want to be like Jesse and sleep your way through all of southern Alberta for another couple years? Or are you grown up enough to know what you want is what you’ve already got? Worth fighting for.”

Joel ignored the question of Vicki for a minute, because what he wanted didn’t seem possible. “Jesse hates my guts right now.”

“So?”

Shit. “Didn’t expect that response.”

His cousin shrugged. “You need his approval to live your life?”

“Hell, no. Just seems as if he could not want to follow me and still get along. Instead he’s cut himself off from the entire family. I’ve lost my brother.”

“You haven’t lost him, he’s chosen to run off and be an ass.” Gabe paused. “You can’t blame yourself for others’ actions. You can’t fix them unless they want to be fixed, and even then they have to do the changing, not you. It’s a tough lesson, Joel, but it’s real.”

Joel pondered that for a minute. He’d been trying his best to be forgiving. He hadn’t given up on connecting with his brother even while he was damn pissed for the way Jesse had treated Vicki. Some day he hoped they’d be able to mend that situation. But he wasn’t going to change to make Jesse happy, which kind of meant, right now, Jesse wasn’t going to be happy. As sad as that truth was, it seemed to be the only choice.

But Vicki?

“I don’t want her to go,” he confessed.

Gabe stared over the table. “Then don’t. I mean, don’t let her go without telling her.”

“Asking her to stay somewhere she hates is damn selfish. I don’t want her to give up her dream.”

“What if you’re part of her dream? Why would you deny her, and yourself, everything you could have?”

Joel played with his empty glass. “There’s no easy solution.”

Gabe cleared his throat. “Not when you try to find the answers all by yourself, idiot.”

His raised brow was the final punctuation mark Joel needed to light the fucking fire under his ass. Good grief, Gabe was right. And Joel was wrong, in so much of what he’d focused on over the past two months.

He threw money on the table as he shoved his chair back. “You mind if I run out on you?”

Gabe shook his head. “Nothing to mind. Go get her, tiger.”

Joel pushed through the doors of Traders, his brain whirling with possibilities.

He and Vicki had started this with three goals. The first had been met beyond their expectations. The second, well, he’d learned small-town gossip refused to let up completely, but it was time to finish up the third with a bit of flair. Maybe he wouldn’t have to lose the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Only if he wanted to do it right in the short time he had remaining, it was going to take a little planning…

Chapter Twenty-Six

Joel’s cryptic voice mail had said nothing more than he wanted to meet her by the river at nine.

Vicki fought her sadness. Her life was packed into a shockingly small pile of boxes and the two panniers of clothing for her bike.

It seemed the final days of living in her hometown should be faced with more fanfare. Things still weren’t perfect, and her family continued to haunt her. The past memories burned, and the current snide comments and the accusations she didn’t deserve had slowed but not vanished.

Add in the icy-cold reception she’d gotten from Jesse Coleman the few times she’d been unlucky and met him while on her own, God, it was enough to make her crazy.

Even running into Eric Tell and having him pass by without attempting to rile her up wasn’t as sweet with the bitter taste of Jesse and Joel’s ruined relationship flavouring everything.

Getting out of Rocky was the only way to save herself and Joel more pain. It was as if she were cutting out her heart and leaving the best of her behind, though.

She’d debated this over and over. Saying something about how she felt would be horrid, and like hell would she give any indication she was dying inside. Two more days until she turned her bike north and left forever.

The tears she wiped from her eyes were the only weakness she’d allow.

She taped the lid of the final box. Wrote a note to Hope who had offered to store the boxes in the shed at her and Matt’s place. Hope hadn’t said anything in condemnation when Vicki had told her she was leaving, only her eyes had looked volumes. As if the woman knew this wasn’t what Vicki really wanted, no matter how much the words from her mouth insisted it was.

If Joel had been her first real best friend, Hope had become her first girlfriend. They hadn’t spent many nights together in the apartment before Hope and Matt got married, but enough that Vicki was going to miss her. And she felt like crap for not having shared more about her plans in the first place.

Another reality of having people you considered family? She’d hurt others without intending to.

She pulled the apartment door shut after her. Hope and Matt would grab the boxes later that night. Now, all she had were Saturday and Sunday in Rocky before her life changed for good. Joel had asked her to spend them with him.

One final weekend in his arms. It wasn’t just the sex they would share, it was him. Being with him, having him near. There was no way she could refuse the invitation even though she should have. She would have to hide her emotions the entire forty-eight hours.

She took the steep stairs down from the second-story apartment and made her way to her bike.

A bouquet of wildflowers was strapped to the handlebars.

Vicki stood without moving for a full minute before she threw the panniers into position and reached for the card poking from the foliage.

I’ve never given you flowers and that’s something a boyfriend should do. Hope you like them. See you at the river? I have one more surprise.

It wasn’t safe riding with tears in her eyes, but she had no choice.

His truck was pulled to the right of the tree where they’d first met so long ago. She parked to the side, not worrying this time about hiding her wheels.

The entire lanky length of him stepped out from behind the vehicle, and she soaked in the sight.

He waited until she’d removed her helmet before coming over and picking her up. Bodies meshed close as she gave in and let herself enjoy being in his arms. Once more savouring his strength as he held them together, their mouths connected, tongues and lips battling hungrily.

Vicki wrapped her legs around him, the strong muscles of his torso so familiar now, so wonderful to touch. She pulled back and sighed. “Hey, you.”