No Surrender. Sara Arden

Kentucky. He didn’t sound good when I spoke to him. Didn’t sound like himself.”

      “Well, his fiancée died less than a year ago,” she offered hesitantly.

      “All the more reason for us to be together.”

      “What time are you meeting?”

      “Seven.”

      She was torn between wanting to go and wanting to get rid of the resurgence of her feelings for him. If they saw each other and he acted as if everything were cool, she could make it that way in her head. She wasn’t stupid. She knew she was no Lynnie.

      And she didn’t want to be. She’d wished it when she was young, that she could be someone else. But she was right with who she was now. She wasn’t changing for anyone. Even golden-boy Sean Dryden.

      There was only one Lynnie, and she was gone and wasn’t ever coming back.

      “What’s with all this reluctance to hang out with Sean? Don’t you want to see him?”

      Rachel was much too close to her secret. “Just have things to do, is all. I’ll be there. Save me a seat.”

      Her stomach flipped again, and so did her heart, the traitorous bastard. If Sean really wanted to see her again as something outside their friendship, he’d have called himself. This was a message and she’d received it loud and clear.

      But she’d go.

      Hell, maybe she should go crazy and curl her hair.

      That was just what she did. Kentucky even put on a red lip gloss that tasted just like cherries. She had to admit that she cleaned up nice. She liked the woman in the mirror looking back at her and maybe even thought she was just a little bit pretty.

      When she walked into Eddie’s a short time later, Rachel and Eric were already there.

      “Whoa, nice!” Eric grinned. “Is that for me?”

      “Nah, you know I’m trying to steal your girl.” Kentucky grinned back.

      Rachel laughed and tugged Kentucky down into her lap. “You can steal me anytime, sugar.”

      She found herself lost in the moment, and just like old times, she reached over and swiped a sip of Rachel’s beer.

      “So who is up for a game?” Eric nodded to the pool tables.

      “I’ll totally kick your ass, soldier,” Rachel promised.

      “Not with a lap of Kentucky, you won’t.”

      “Bet me.” Rachel lifted her chin.

      “Shall we say a kiss?”

      “Gross,” Kentucky interjected. “Let me just get out of the way here.” She squirmed off Rachel’s lap.

      She was so happy that Eric and Rachel had found each other. Rachel had had a thing for Eric since they were kids. Her emotions had always been kind of tattooed on her face for everyone to see, but Eric... Eric was more like a rock when it came to his emotions.

      “You wouldn’t think it was gross if you had your own soldier. I know this guy...” Eric started.

      Kentucky held up her hand. “Lord save me from well-intentioned big-brother types. Sean told me what you guys did.”

      Eric wore an expression of practiced innocence, eyes wide. “Who? Me?”

      “Yeah, that doesn’t work on anyone who knows you, brother.” She elbowed him lightly.

      “Especially not me,” Sean said, surprising them.

      Rachel was the first to throw her arms around him and hug him as if it were going out of style. Sean returned the embrace, rubbing his hand up and down her back.

      Eric didn’t bother to hide his emotion at seeing the other man. He clapped his hands on his back and hugged him tight. They stayed that way longer than what was considered appropriate for a casual hug, although it was anything but casual. Sean was his brother in all ways but biological.

      “It’s good to see you,” Eric said gruffly.

      “It’s been too long. Sorry about that, man.” Sean returned the hug with just as much ferocity.

      There was enough emotion hanging among the group of them that it was almost a physical presence.

      When Eric stepped away from Sean, his arms were open again. This time for Kentucky.

      That emotion that hung heavy before, this time it was like a wall and it kept her from leaping into his arms the way she wished she could. The way she would’ve before Mossy Rock.

      “What, no love for me, my pretty Kentucky Lee?” Sean looked so earnest, so hopeful and so...

      Her throat constricted. “Always.” She leaned into his embrace, carefully. Almost as if all her feelings were something dirty and she was afraid to sully his crisp white T-shirt with them.

      He smelled so good, felt so good...like all things pure and true.

      The embodiment of the dream she couldn’t have.

      Sean rubbed up and down her back just as he had with Rachel, but he tightened the embrace, crushing her against his chest in a way that made her wish they were alone and she could tear that shirt off him and drown in the heat of him, in the sensation of their bodies together.

      “You smell good, pretty girl.”

      Her face flushed at the compliment and he let her go.

      “So we playing some pool or what?”

      “You and Sean first.” Rachel nodded to the guys. “I need Kentucky for some girl time.” She didn’t wait for a response but practically dragged Kentucky to the bathroom.

      As soon as the door closed behind them, Rachel turned to face her and leaned her back against the door. “Okay, what the hell was that?”

      “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” Kentucky forced her expression to remain neutral. Why had she thought she could keep any of this a secret from Rachel? Rachel had gone into hyper matchmaker mode since she’d started dating Eric. She said she wanted everyone to be as happy as she was, whether they wanted to be or not.

      Rachel put her hand on her hip. “Really? That’s the answer we’re going with?”

      “Yep.”

      “You saw Sean last night, didn’t you? What happened?”

      “I—” She didn’t want to lie to Rachel, but she wasn’t about to go spreading tales that weren’t only hers to tell. “It’s not something I can or want to talk about. Just let it go, okay?”

      “Uh, no.” Rachel sighed. “Fine. But you know whatever happened, you can talk to me.”

      Kentucky considered the distance between them, the hole that had been left in their friendship, their world, since Lynnie died. “Yeah, I know. But you know I’m not the confiding kind. This girl thing, the talking in the bathroom at the pool hall, that’s not me.”

      Rachel smiled, her features soft, with understanding in her eyes. “No, but you can be if you need to be. We’re all still walking wounded after losing her.”

      “I know that, too. Don’t say anything to Eric, okay?”

      “I won’t have to. He saw the way you and Sean were together, but I’ll tell him to keep his opinion to himself.”

      “Would he be angry?”

      “What, if you and Sean were a thing?” Rachel turned her head to the side.

      Kentucky chewed her lip. “Yeah, I mean, he’s Lynnie’s brother.”

      “I really think he’d just want you both to be happy.” She sighed. “I don’t know if I should tell you this.”