Taste the Heat (8 page)

“I must have just left,” Colby said, wondering if she would have gone to the ceremony
had she stayed.

Could she have watched the crush of her life marry the love of his?

Jason nodded. “By that time I’d already gotten my Paramedics degree and I’d always
planned to join the department like Dad. So we came back here.”

As he took another long gulp of liquid courage, Colby studied his profile. The strong
jawline and rigid set of his mouth, the tension in his shoulders. It was obvious this
was difficult for him to talk about, so she gently asked, “And Ashleigh?”

With an exhale, Jason picked up the cooler, brought it with him, and then lowered
himself onto the lawn chair again. “She became a paramedic, too. A good one. She couldn’t
deal with bugs and dirt, but blood and guts she could handle. She had the biggest
heart of anyone I knew,” he said, pride evident in his voice. “It’s what I loved most
about her.”

It was strange. For years Ashleigh was around—she even came to Colby’s house a few
times with Jason—but Colby never knew her. Not beyond her being Jason’s girlfriend.
But hearing him talk about her like this made Ashleigh become real. Human. Someone
other than the girl who won Jason’s heart. The irrational jealousy Colby had battled
all her life started to fade.

When Jason continued, his voice was almost robotic. “One night, around midnight, Ashleigh
responded to a call. Chest pains. A routine situation, calls like that came in all
the time. But from what the other EMTs told me, they knew something was off the second
they arrived.”

Colby knew how the story ended and a sense of dread curdled in her stomach. Ashleigh
had been a hero. She put her life on the line for other people. The bravest act Colby
had committed lately was agreeing to let Sherry give her a makeover. Nails embedding
in the soft Styrofoam of her daiquiri cup, she took another sip.

“The guy was high as a kite,” Jason said. “The house reeked of an intense chemical
smell. And drug paraphernalia littered the floor. Rick told me they tried getting
Ashleigh to head back to the truck—he had a bad feeling, and she was the only woman
on the call. But she refused. She was as tough as they were, she told them, and she
was there to do a job. She stooped beside the man to treat him, and that’s when everything
went to hell. He became violent. He cursed and spat on them, and then ran from the
room. The guy’s girlfriend was there—she was the one who’d made the call. And when
he ran, it snapped her out of her drugged haze long enough to mention he kept weapons
in the house. Ash and the guys got their shit together as fast as they could, but
it wasn’t fast enough. Halfway to the truck, two shots rang out. When Rick glanced
back, Ashleigh was on the ground.”

Jason paused to draw a breath. Voice shaking with emotion he said, “The bastard shot
her in the back.”

Horror swept over her. “But she was there to help him!”

Jason huffed in reply. Then he took another long gulp.

Chapter Seven

It wasn’t the first time Jason had told the story. Over the years, he’d had to share
it with more people than he could count. Family and friends and insurance adjusters.
Emma’s principal and the mailman. And about once every few months, the students in
his tactical ninjitsu classes. He’d thrown himself into the sport after Ashleigh died,
quickly rising to the level of instructor. During his class’s sessions, Jason made
sure to teach his students to be aware of their surroundings and to be prepared to
defend themselves—and their loved ones—by
any
means necessary.

Weakness and vulnerability in battle, he would tell his students, whether it’s in
the field or in a bar room, can and often does lead to devastating consequences. It’s
not that his wife had been a weak person; Ashleigh probably could’ve kicked the shit
out of several guys he knew. But she let her kind heart put her in danger. She let
her guard down. And the consequence of that choice was something he and their daughter
lived with every day.

“Oh, Jason,” Colby said, her soft voice full of compassion. Her chair creaked as she
leaned forward, closer to him. “I don’t even know what to say.”

Jason shook his head. “You don’t have to say anything.” He’d heard it all before anyway.
And the genuine compassion she had shown while he told the story meant more than any
empty words she could’ve offered.

The topic of his wife’s death was heavier than he’d intended for tonight. Jason had
thought they’d sit by the fire, stare up at the stars through the breaks in the trees,
and pretend the air between them wasn’t practically crackling with suppressed sexual
tension. But when Colby asked to hear what had happened to Ashleigh, he realized he
wanted her to know. He needed her to understand why he couldn’t risk his heart again.

Leaning back in his chair, the weight of the story off his shoulders, Jason took another
sip of his beer. A welcome buzz swam in his blood. His plan for the evening had already
traveled off the expected course. So as long as they were sharing, he had a question
of his own.

“You’ve heard my sad tale,” he said, watching her closely. “Now it’s your turn.”

Colby choked on a mouthful of daiquiri and cleared her throat. “I don’t have one.”

“Bullshit.” She gasped and Jason stood, planting his feet on the pine needles covering
the ground. He turned his chair to face hers. Embers crackled and popped in the forgotten
fire. “You don’t think I remember how you used to be constantly glued to your father’s
side? I even remember the first batch of gumbo you made by yourself—I remember it
because you were nine, and I was forced to pretend I enjoyed eating burned roux.”

Colby laughed at that, and he smiled. Her lyrical laugh had that effect on him. The
truth was that most of his memories of Colby as a child or a teen placed her right
there in the family’s kitchen with Mr. Robicheaux. Holding court over a simmering
pot of okra.

“So, what?” he asked, resting his elbows on his knees. “Am I supposed to forget all
that and believe you just woke up one day and decided to move halfway across the country
on a whim?”

Shadows danced across Colby’s face, but he saw the registered shock. “Cane and Sherry
never questioned my choice.”

He noted her defensiveness and nodded. “I know. When you left for New York, Cane told
me it made sense. ‘It’s a great school and an awesome opportunity,’ he’d said. And
when you stayed away, moved to Vegas, and opened an
Italian
restaurant, he said it was you ‘stretching your wings.’ But I never bought it. Something
happened, and I’ve always wondered what.”

Colby’s beautiful face clouded over and he saw the battle within. Reaching over, he
opened the cooler and held up the gallon of Dreamsicle. The intention was clear; he’d
shared a personal story, the hardest one he knew, and he did it fueled by alcohol.
Now he was challenging her to do the same. To trust him enough with whatever it was
that had chased her away all those years ago. And if needed, to rely on inebriation
to do it.

She looked him in the eyes and held out her cup. “Freshman year, I was going out with
this guy named Steven.”

Jason nodded in encouragement as he poured.

“He wasn’t the first guy I ever dated or anything. But it was my first
real
relationship, you know? My first so-called
love.
”

The sardonic twist Colby added to the word was his first sign that her story was big.
That her experience had changed her. The girl he remembered had stars in her eyes
and her heart on her sleeve. But with just one word, Jason realized that girl was
gone. And suddenly, he had the overwhelming urge to protect the woman she’d become.
To pick her up and hold her in his lap, and run his fingers through her hair as she
told him whatever it was that had scarred her so deeply.

The long-buried desire, to hold and protect a woman as if she were his own, hit him
like a truck. His hand wobbled while pouring her drink.

It had to be the alcohol clouding his brain. His heart knew the score.

With less than nimble fingers, Jason held out the cup and brushed hers as she accepted
it. Their eyes met. And Colby released a shaky breath.

“It was the end of the semester,” she continued. “I’d gotten out of an exam early
and I hadn’t seen Steven in a few days, so I decided to drive across campus to surprise
him. I still had the extra key he’d given me the weekend before—when I’d stupidly
offered to clean up for one of his frat parties.” She tossed her head back and laughed.
But this time, the sound wasn’t musical; it was full of pain. Jason’s hands fisted
in his lap as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “God, I was such a sucker.”

Lifting the straw to her mouth, she took a long gulp. And as Jason watched her, he
decided he would very much like to meet this Steven. Preferably in a dark alley somewhere.

“So as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, the real surprise was on me. There I stood
in his doorway, my stupid heart full of lovey-dovey thoughts, and there he was, doing
some sorority girl on the sofa. Apparently, they were so hot for each other they couldn’t
wait the ten steps it would’ve taken to get to his freaking bedroom.” She blew out
a breath and stared into her cup. “I took off and didn’t even think about going back
to the dorm. I tore out of the parking lot and headed straight for home. To
Daddy.
Because he was my hero, and he would make it all better.”

Colby’s voice broke on the last word, and the anger firing in Jason’s gut churned,
sensing how her story ended. He’d heard the rumors about her dad growing up. That
was one of the things about a small town; everyone was in everyone else’s business.
Nothing was sacred. And very little stayed secret for long. He never knew how much
the family heard because as an honorary Robicheaux, Jason hadn’t talked about it.
He hadn’t wanted to believe that the rumors about his best friend’s dad, his secondary
father, and their town’s former librarian were true.

“Infidelity must’ve been the theme of the day in my horoscope,” she said, the word
ending on a sob. Her chin trembled and she drew her legs up on the chair, encircling
them with her arms. “At least the two of them made it to the restaurant’s back office.”

Jason couldn’t take it anymore. He stood, set his beer down, and grabbed her hands.
Colby’s glistening eyes stared at him in question as he scraped the side of his boot
along the ground, clearing it of any rocks and debris. Then he tugged her up.

One tear fell, and then another, as she stood on shaky legs. The sight was pure torture.
He set her down on the ground and then sat as close as he could behind her, wrapping
his arms around her small waist.

Gently rocking her back and forth, he asked, “Did you ever tell anyone what you saw?”
He gathered her thick hair and slid it to the other shoulder. Colby slowly shook her
head. “So your mom never found out?”

Colby laid her head back against his chest and gave a watery sigh. “What was I supposed
to say? I didn’t want to know that kind of secret. And I damn sure didn’t want to
share it! Mom would’ve been devastated.”

Her shoulders shook and he tightened his grip around her. Their mom had been the most
soft-spoken, kind-hearted woman he had ever known. She’d attended daily mass and volunteered
at just about every charitable organization Magnolia Springs had to offer. Colby was
right; it would’ve devastated the woman. He couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been
like for Colby to know that kind of a secret. Or to have to keep it to herself.

“And it’s not like I could tell anyone else,” Colby continued. “Cane was off at school.
Sherry was still a freaking kid.” She huffed. “So was I. I should have never had to
be in that position.”

“No you shouldn’t.” She made a strangled sound and he smoothed a hand down her hair.
“And that’s why you left.”

Sniffing, she bobbed her head, confirming what he already knew.

“And the aversion to Cajun food?”

Colby’s trembling shoulders stilled, and she twisted in his arms. Sliding her long
bare legs around his hips, her tear-filled gray eyes met his. “How did you know about
that?”

Jason temporarily lost the power of speech, distracted by the sight and feel of her
legs around him. His heart pounded as all his blood headed south. His pajama bottoms
grew uncomfortably tight. Adjusting his hold, Jason slid his hands around her waist
and the tips of his fingers slipped beneath the hem of Colby’s thin cotton top.

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. The blaze of the fire at his back illuminated
the splotches on her beautiful, fair face. Jason swallowed, trying to ignore the feel
of petal soft skin beneath his hands. This was not the time for him to lose his self-control.
Colby didn’t need lust right now; she needed comfort.

“At Taste the Heat you hardly ate anything,” he told her, distracted by the way she
worried her lip between her teeth. Colby’s nose wrinkled as she drew a trembling breath,
and he realized he’d just admitted how closely he had watched her that day. He shrugged
and slid a lock of hair behind her ear. “You would only try enough to tell if the
dish truly sucked or not. I’ve also heard grumblings about new items being added to
the restaurant’s menu.
Italian
ones,” he emphasized, pretending to shudder. Despite her struggle to rein in her
tears, Colby gave him a small, brave smile. A pang rippled through Jason’s chest.
“Plus the fact there isn’t a Robicheaux’s Two in Vegas, I took an educated guess.”

She licked her lips and then rubbed them together, nodding slowly. She lowered her
eyes to his chest, and her slim shoulders rose and fell with increasingly ragged breaths.
Jason watched, paralyzed, as the dam of tears she’d valiantly tried to hold back,
broke. “It just hurts too much.”

Jason pulled her flush against him, crushing her to his chest. He cupped her head
as Colby buried her face between his neck and shoulder, sobs coming freely now. She
sniffled and used his shirt as a tissue, and he held her tighter, massaging her head
as she cried. Letting her know he was there.

“It’s okay,” he whispered over and over as her breaths grew progressively jagged.
He wished he could take the pain away. That he could hold her close enough that nothing
could ever touch her. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he rested his forehead against
hers.

In the still moments that followed, two things became clear. The first was that Jason
would do anything to keep Colby from feeling this level of hurt again. A fierce need
to protect was surging in his veins. And second, Jason realized the girl he once knew
no longer existed. Adult Colby didn’t live with her heart on her sleeve. From what
she’d shared tonight, she guarded her heart almost as fiercely as he did. The two
of them had a history and an unmistakable attraction. Maybe Jason didn’t have to try
so hard to fight it.

Colby’s shoulders shuddered with an attempt at a calming breath. Jason squeezed her
tighter, stifling a groan as the tips of her breasts pressed firmly against his chest.
He slid his hands to her waist, and Colby lifted her head with a shy smile.

“Feel better?”

She nodded and licked her lips. “Thank you. I don’t normally do the ugly cry. It felt
good.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh and covered her face. “Although I’m sure
I look like a hot mess right now.”

Sweeping her hands aside, he glided his thumbs across her cheeks. Wiping away the
lines of smeared makeup, he looked into her clearing gray eyes and said, “You’re gorgeous.”

A flash of uncertainty crossed Colby’s face, and he bent his head to prove it.

The first brush of his lips was light. He didn’t want to take advantage of her emotions.
He just wanted to assure her that regardless of her tears, she was still one of the
most beautiful women he had ever seen. But when a sigh escaped her parted lips, and
she fisted her fingers in his hair, Jason abandoned timid and gentle. He gave in to
the desire that had been snapping and building between them since the day of the competition,
and proceeded to kiss her senseless.

Reaching down, he palmed the smooth skin of her calf. It felt like silk in his hands.
He skimmed his fingers down the soft length to her ankle, hooking it around his hip.
Colby made a satisfied noise in her throat. She wiggled closer and, happy to oblige,
he tugged her fully against him and deepened the kiss. He swallowed her moan.

Leaves rustled in the wind. Unseen wings fluttered and buzzed. And their heavy breaths
filled the air, turning Jason on even more. Colby’s mouth tasted of citrus. Sweet,
like the daiquiri she had drank, and like her. He teased the corners of her mouth.
Licked the satiny skin of her upper lip. And gently bit down on her pouty lower one.
He knew he needed to break the kiss soon—his daughter was sleeping in the tent only
a few yards away—but this woman was like a drug. And he was quickly becoming an addict.
Jason shifted to press his lips to the sensitive skin just under her ear.