down the street, she had the most unbearable feeling of everybody in the crowd staring at her, as if she was going to explain it to them. As if she was going to tell them why Luke had beaten the hell out of Russell and the sheriff had dragged him to jail. But she didn’t know. She’d arrived just in time to see the sheriff pull Luke off Russell and both men bruised and bleeding.
Eve grabbed Shannon’s arm. “Come on. You need to go home.”
“Eve—”
“Now.”
She led Shannon down the street toward her apartment. As they walked, Shannon saw her mother standing on the curb nearby, giving her a look so cold it made her shiver. Her eyes were dark. Accusatory.
Triumphant.
Didn’t I tell you what kind of man he was? Didn’t I tell you?
And then she turned and walked away.
Shannon’s stomach turned over with anguish. She couldn’t imagine the Luke she knew doing this. Ever. It was as if he’d shifted to another world, another dimension. Russell had to have provoked him into the fight. But what the hell could he have said or done to make Luke hit him? What?
She wanted to go back in time. Just ten minutes. That was all. Just go back ten minutes to the time they’d spent on that dance floor in each other’s arms, when they’d made plans to be together in her apartment tonight. That was all she wanted.
Only there was no going back.
Luke was going to jail. Half the town had witnessed it. And now the connection she’d felt with him had been ripped apart, leaving a hole so ugly and jagged that no force on earth would ever be able to repair it.
Early next morning, Russell sat at his desk, his face still throbbing. His nosebleed had stopped, but the bruises would take some time to go away. And the swelling. And the anger. And the confusion. And—
He heard some commotion in his front office. He went out to find Cynthia there, putting stuff into a box on her desk. She glanced at him. Looked at his bruised nose. Then she looked away again, picking up the clock from her desk and putting it into the box.
“He didn’t break my nose, in case you’re wondering,” Russell said.
“I wasn’t.”
Her words hit him with nearly as much power as Luke’s fist. And still she wouldn’t look at him.
“What are you doing?” he asked her.
“Cleaning out my desk.”
“What for?”
“I quit.”
Russell’s stomach fell to the vicinity of his knees. “What do you mean, you quit? You don’t want to quit.”
“The hell I don’t.”
He couldn’t believe it. Cynthia had cussed at him. Cynthia. Yes, she had more of a mind of her own than he ever realized, but in the end, she was a good girl who only went so far. She’d cussed, and she hadn’t so much as apologized for it?
“Okay, fine,” he said, an anxious feeling coming over him. “You’re quitting. But why?”
Cynthia raised her chin. “I heard what you said to Luke last night. It was awful. You deserved what he did to you and more.”
Russell froze. Thought back to the words he’d spoken. Well, so what? Luke had done the unthinkable. He’d tried to take Shannon right out from under him.
“You heard that?” he asked.
“I was going to my car. But you weren’t paying attention, because you were saying mean things to Luke.”
He grabbed the rabbit before she could stuff it in the box. “You’re quitting because of something I said to Luke?”
“I’m quitting because you’re a clueless man who drives me crazy.” She took the rabbit away from him and put it in the box. “By the way, I’m taking Jessie with me.”
Russell drew back with disbelief. “You can’t take my cat!”
“She’s not your cat. She’s mine.”
“I adopted her.”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s mine. If you don’t believe me, just ask her.”
He glanced over at Jessie, who sat on Cynthia’s desk as if she belonged there, right between the aloe vera plant and that weird lamp with the fringed shade. The truth was that Jessie had never liked him, so why would he want to keep her? She was better off with Cynthia. Yes. That was exactly right. Both of them had treated him badly, so they deserved each other.
“Fine,” he said. “Take her. Is there anything else you want?”
He’d meant that sarcastically, only to see her looking around the room. “The ficus tree. It was dying when I showed up here. I brought it back to life, so I figure that makes