Of course, Aubrey and Logan didn’t need to know that. Although, they probably had an inkling—especially Aubrey. They talked about anything and everything.

Since the moment Aubrey stumbled upon their family cabin after she escaped being held captive, they had been good friends. It also helped that Aubrey fell head-over-heels for her brother.

It hadn’t been an easy road to recovery. No memory of what happened to her, only horrible nightmares. She had clung to Logan in almost an unhealthy way, but nobody tried to stop her. Not even Logan, who had fallen just as hard for her. The pressure, the stress he dealt with had been tremendous. As the sheriff, it had been his duty to find the people responsible for hurting Aubrey, and the way he felt about her made him that much more determined.

Now, Aubrey remembered it all, the memories ten times worse than the nightmares. Kat wasn’t positive, but she imagined the nights were the worst for Aubrey. She couldn’t stand the dark or being away from Logan when the sun dipped below the horizon. Two months later, after her brother and the FBI caught the man who hurt Aubrey, she still couldn’t stand the thought of being away from Logan.

It had been a slow recovery. Most days, Aubrey did well. And some days…some days it broke Kat’s heart to watch her friend in so much pain.

Maybe that’s why she said yes to Derek when he asked her out. Maybe that’s why she thought she’d give him a chance.

It didn’t explain why she broke his heart.

“Not gonna think about it. Not gonna think about him.”

“Normally when a person talks to themselves, it concerns me. But a beautiful woman, it sort of intrigues me,” a soft, velvety voice said from behind her.

Kat jumped from the intrusion, nearly dropping all the boxes. A man, quite attractive to her annoying heart, stood very close. Light blonde hair, slightly shaggy, yet framed his face well. Deep blue eyes and a smile that probably made most women swoon at the sight. And clean-cut. Not an inch of scruff on his face. She always had a thing for clean-cut men.

So, why not Derek? He was the epitome of clean-cut.

Raising a brow, a slight pursing of her lips, she almost dropped the boxes to prop a hand to her hip to add to the look she was trying to portray. Damn this stranger for frightening her and making her continue to think about the one person she didn’t want to. “Does it intrigue you to scare women?”

The man chuckled, a deep throaty laugh that almost made her want to smile. Almost. She’d had enough of men lately. She wasn’t about to let another one in her life so soon.

Placing a hand on his chest in an innocent gesture, his lips curled into a sweet smile. “It wasn’t my intention to scare you. My apologies. I saw you shout to the guy to hold the door and he clearly ignored you. Do you need help?”

Despite him initially scaring her, he was already an improvement to the jerk who refused to hold the door for her. That made her want to smile.

“Please. I have to grab my key. Could you hold these boxes for me?” Kat held out the boxes with the sweetest smile she could manage, which wasn’t much to talk about lately.

He snatched the boxes with ease, holding them with one arm as if it were nothing, and produced a key in his other hand. “Let me get the door for you.” He swiped the key against the electronic keypad and opened the door, then gestured her ahead of him.

Kat nodded in thanks and walked through. Turning around, she held out her hands. “I can take those now. Thank you.”

He hesitated, then held out his hand instead of the boxes. “I haven’t seen you around before. Did you just move in? I’m Erik.”

She eyed his hand and decided to play nice, but what she really wanted to do was escape to the apartment and enjoy the peace and quiet for once. Just her. No one to pester her. To ask how she was feeling. To ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

“Nice to meet you, Erik. I’m Kat with a K.”

“Well, Kat with a K, it’s a pleasure to meet you. What does Kat stand for? Or is that your actual name?”

Raising her brow again, she was thankful he held the boxes for her because her hands immediately went to her hips. “For now, it’s Kat.”

Maybe it was growing up with a brother who worked in law enforcement. Maybe it was the horror Aubrey lived through. Maybe it was being in a new town where she didn’t know anybody. Back in Lucky, Minnesota, she knew everybody.

Here, she didn’t know a soul. She wasn’t about to tell him her full name was Katrina. Not that anybody called her that. She couldn’t recall the last time someone called her by her full name. Perhaps her father when he was still alive and she did something she wasn’t supposed to do.

He laughed. “Ah, more intrigue. You make it hard to resist that, Kat.”

“Please. Resist.” She chuckled, trying to lighten her rejection. She didn’t want a man to flirt with her when she had barely been in Florida for less than three hours. Holding out her hands, she smiled. “Thanks again, Erik. I’ll take the boxes.”

“I can carry them to your place.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I’ve held you up long enough.”

Nodding with a smile, he handed her the boxes. “I hope I see you again, Kat with a K.”

“Have a nice day, Erik.” Beaming her smile up a notch, she was surprised when he winked and turned around without another word.

Part of her had expected him to ask her for her number or at least try to keep the conversation going. She wasn’t used to a man getting her hints, very obvious hints, that she wasn’t interested. Or maybe most men got the hint except one.

Not gonna think about it.

A gust of wind slipped in as Erik walked outside. A shiver rushed over her as she met his gaze. Then her eyes caught the look of the man next to him. The shivers increased.

Dressed all in black, from head to toe, the man right away gave her the heebie-jeebies. Not many people could manage to make her uneasy. Not much frightened her.

He had black oily-wavy hair that peeked out from underneath the black knit hat he wore, almost covering his eyes, giving him a beady eye look. He grinned at her, appearing more like a sneer. Her eyes then pinned to the black gloves covering his hands. It was over eighty degrees outside. Why was he wearing gloves? And black. What was with all the black?

Erik waved, nudged the guy next to him, and walked away.

Kat pushed the two men from her mind and continued to Aubrey’s apartment. Not her problem, or concern, why the man wore all black and gloves on such a blistering hot day. Neither was Erik her concern. She had enough of men. It never worked out for her. Not even with a good man.

It didn’t take her long to ride the elevator five floors and walk down the corridor to the very end of the hallway. Setting the boxes down, she shuffled through her purse for the key.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she unlocked the door and shoved it open. Too lazy, or more like exhausted from the day, she kicked the boxes into the apartment. Wearily, she tossed her purse and bag to the floor, closed the door, and leaned her forehead against it.

“Don’t think about it, Kat. Just don’t.”

* * *

A loud, persistent knock echoed throughout the house. Resisting the urge to slam her glass down, she took a sip first. The cool rich wine slid down her throat loosening her up.

Another knock sounded.

Ignoring it wouldn’t do any good. She knew exactly who it was.

Deputy Derek Graham. Best friend to her brother. Great friend to her. A man who deserved the best woman. A woman she clearly wasn’t.

He knocked again. He’d continue to do so until he had his say. She knew this. She had anticipated it.

With a quick jerk, she opened the door. “Hi, Derek.”

“Can I come in, Kat?” He looked tired. So sad and tired.

She put that sadness there, and she was about to add more. Not that she wanted to, but she couldn’t help how she felt.

“Sure. Do you want something to drink? I’m having a glass of wine.” Heading back to the kitchen, his heavy footsteps trailed.

“You stood me up. Why?”

Grabbing her wineglass, she took a sip. How did she answer that? She still had no answer for herself.

“I’m sorry. I tried to call, but my cell had no service. You know how spotty the service can get.”

His eyebrows puckered as his frown dipped further. “That’s the best excuse you can give me. These past few weeks have been great, and then suddenly, you stand me up. I felt foolish waiting at the cabin for you.”

Yeah, and she felt foolish for accepting the suggestion for a weekend getaway at her family’s cabin to begin with. Derek was such a good man. The perfect man when she thought about it. It hurt her that she couldn’t like him the way he liked her. Maybe even loved her. She saw the way he looked at her. He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, even if he thought he was good at it.

“I’m sorry, Derek.”

Leaning against the counter, his lips thinned. “Sorry for what exactly? You’re normally up-front and honest about everything.  I get the feeling you’re holding something back.”

Gripping the wineglass a little harder, she took a deep breath. So true. She was honest to a fault. Always speaking her mind when she should keep her mouth shut sometimes. But to speak honestly now would break his heart. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

He slammed his hand to the counter. “Damn it, Kat! Say it. I should’ve never asked you out. You don’t like me the way I like you. That’s it, isn’t it? I just never thought you’d stand me up like that.”

Refusing to look away, she kept eye contact. “I’m sorry, Derek. I just want to be friends. We’re better as friends.”

Derek’s expression softened, a small smile lit up his face. “We could be even better as lovers, Kat. Give me the chance to show you.”

He closed the distance between them, the earnest hope etched across his face. She cupped his cheek. So smooth. So soft. Such great attributes to describe the man himself. “I can’t, Derek. I thought I could date you, but I’d rather be friends. I truly think we’re better as friends. I can’t give you what you want.”

Her hand fell as he backed away. “Then you should’ve never said yes. You felt like this from the beginning, didn’t you? What was it? Pity?”

“Don’t belittle yourself. I would never date you out of pity.”

His eyes swerved to her hip where she had planted her hand again. “There’s the Kat I know. The sassy one. The tough one. Whatever the hell that was before, stop acting that way. Stick to who you are. Say what you really think.”

Taking a step forward, her wine sloshed over the rim. She poked him in the chest. “The truth? I’ll give you some truth. We’ve known each other for a long time. I never gave you the impression I liked you as more than a friend. Sure, we liked to tease each other, but that’s it. When you asked me out, I saw you in a new light. So I said yes to see where it could go. Well, I’m sorry, Derek, but it’s not going any further. We’re better as friends. It was never pity, so don’t make me look like some no-good bitch.”

Leaning in, his face became hard. “Well, gee, Kat, I think you earned that title when you stood me up.”

“Get out, Derek.” She turned around and walked away, afraid she would slap him for saying such a thing.

Sure, she should’ve tried harder to get a hold of him, but she didn’t deserve to be called a bitch. She had no clue what to say to him. How to break it gently that she didn’t want to keep dating him. Did that make her a bitch?

The door slammed, the loud sound echoed throughout the house, piercing her straight to the heart. Yeah, maybe she was a bitch.

She hurt a good man.

* * *

Kat jerked away from the door when the handle rattled.

Who could be at the door?

Ugh. Preoccupied with Derek on her mind since she fled Minnesota, she hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings. Dumb. So utterly dumb. She knew better, especially after what happened to Aubrey. Not to mention Logan made sure from a young age she knew how to protect herself.

Did Erik follow her up here? She never ignored the vibes from people, and while he appeared innocent enough, there was something about him that gave her cause for concern. Or perhaps it was his friend that gave her cause for concern.

They were trying to break in.

Maybe Derek followed her here. Perhaps to convince her again they could be good together. Or to apologize. As much as she would like an apology for the way he spoke to her, she sort of deserved it. She stood him up.

No, it couldn’t be Derek. He would knock.

The sound of the lock clicked open. Kat took a few steps back.

“Get your shit together, Kat. You don’t back down from anything.”

Pep talk firmly done, she attempted to rush to the door to block the intruder from entering, but the door swung open. Groaning at the sight of her visitor, she jerked in place before she ran right into his arms.

“Ah, hell. I don’t want to deal with you right now. What the hell do you want?”

“What would you say if I said you?” He arched a brow as a silky smile lit up his face.

Copyright © 2018 Amanda Siegrist.

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