Quarter Miles (Runaway, #3)

by Devney Perry

Family. The sister. It had been harder and harder not to feel bitter lately. Being part of the Greer family, even unofficially, was a dream. For a woman who had no family, belonging to one was all I’d ever wanted. So why couldn’t I get over my own selfish crush, put this attraction aside and just be family? I looked up and my heart—my sadistic heart—skipped. That’s why. Cash’s face was shadowed by the dim light. His hair was a mess from being in a hat all day. He’d taken it off when we’d sat down because he wouldn’t wear it at the dinner table. It intensified his sparkling gaze. It defined that bearded jaw and accentuated the soft pout of his lower lip. He was mysterious and sexy and utterly mouthwatering. Screw you, heart.

Before I could finish, he took a long step into the room. His hands came to my face, his palms cupping my cheeks.

And then Cash, my best friend, kissed me.

“I’m having a hell of a time finding an experienced replacement.” Mark handed me his card. “If you’re ever interested in a location change—” “She’s not.”

Cash nodded and slipped his hand around my elbow. “Katherine, may I speak with you for a moment?” Damn. He’d called me Katherine. I was not going to like this conversation.

“I can’t fucking believe this,” he said before I could come up with something to say. Some of the fury vanished but the hurt in his voice intensified. “I can’t believe you’d leave us. You’re part of our family.” “No, I’m not.” He winced. “If you truly believe that, then I’m ashamed of us. Because you are. You are one of us.”

The morning sun was barely above the horizon when I snuck out of the hotel the next morning. Once again, I took the coward’s way out. Because I couldn’t say goodbye. Not yet. So I left him a note. See you in Montana.

heard before. “I found my way out.” For a lot of years, I’d felt guilty about what I’d done to her mother. Maybe Kat would hate me for keeping this secret, but knowing this, how her mother had treated her . . . The guilt was gone.

Fuck me. My head spun and I sank down to the edge of the bed. I’d given Jessica the money she’d used to end her life.

“I’m such a fool.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Pining after you for all these years. Hoping and dreaming that one day you’d love me the way I love you.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was as icy as her glare. “You know what this trip was about? It was my chance to let you go, to stop wasting years waiting for you to love me. When you came along, I didn’t think it would help. But here we are and now I have what I wanted. You’re nothing to me now. Not even my friend.” “We’re more than friends.” She turned and opened the door, her parting words ringing loud and clear even after the door slammed shut. “Not anymore.”

But Kat wasn’t only my friend. She wasn’t only my best friend. She was mine. She’d been mine since the day a young stallion had bucked me off into a fence and I’d gotten a concussion. She’d crept into my room every two hours that night, waking me as the doctor had instructed to make sure I was okay. She’d been mine since the night she’d gotten so drunk at a bonfire party that she’d decided my bed was more comfortable than hers and had crawled in next to me, snoring so loud I’d heard it down the hallway from the living room where I’d slept on the couch. She’d been mine since day one.

“Don’t go,” he pleaded. “Stay with me. Lean on me. I swear, I won’t let you fall.”

To the Clover Chapel.