Redwood Bend (Virgin River #18)(44)

“I think that’s admirable,” she said.

“Movies—they’re not exactly forty-hour weeks,” he said. “It’s a major commitment, for months. It won’t be quick. There won’t be time off. And for me, who has been out of the business for twenty years…well, I have a lot of catching up to do if I’m going to do a decent job.”

“I’m sure.”

“I don’t know when I’ll see you again, Katie.”

“I told you—I don’t have any expectations.”

“I have work there and in Montana,” he said. “I don’t have any real reason—”

“I know, Dylan. It was a fling, I know. Not something I’ve ever done before, but I knew going in that you were… How did you describe yourself? Kind of hit and run?”

“You’re probably better off,” he said.

“Sure. Right. You told me—you have bad-relationship DNA. Listen, don’t drag this out. This is no big surprise… Actually, I knew before my tire went flat, and it has nothing to do with your DNA. Our lives just don’t match.”

“I’d like to ask you to come with me, but I have no idea what I’d be asking you to do. I have no idea what the next months would—”

She was shaking her head. “Nah. Tempting though you are, I have commitments here. I have kids to raise and I promised them a stable and steady father figure. Plus, I think I like it here, bears and all. People step up for each other. There’s a real dearth of handsome movie stars, but…”

“I haven’t been a movie star since I was about fourteen. You do get that, right?”

She nodded. “Sure. But listen—my life has finally leveled out after a rocky year and I’m not in a position to take risks. Not with my boys. They’re so good, so resilient, I sometimes take them for granted. But now and then one of them will say something that reminds me they’re only little boys—they’re tender and they need security. Just a few weeks ago Mitch asked if I thought his dad would like him.” Her eyes misted. “My first commitment is to them. I’m not for taking chances. Do you get that, Dylan?”

He gave a slow, solemn nod. “You don’t have any regrets about us, do you?”

She shook her head and tried a smile, though it was tremulous. “You’re the best four-week boyfriend I’ve ever had. The only one.”

He swallowed hard. “Will you tell them goodbye? Will you tell them I couldn’t wait to see them again and I said goodbye?”

“Sure.”

“I could wait, but—”

“If it’s all the same to you, I can’t do this all day. So I might’ve regressed to my childhood and had a little crush…”

He leaned toward her and touched her lips gently. “Little?” he asked softly.

“Come on, think about this,” Katie said. “You don’t really want a lot of blubbering and sniveling and someone clinging to your ankles as you try to get away. You have business to get to and I…” She lifted her chin. “I have a life to get on with.”

He smiled at her. “You were the best time I’ve ever had, Katie.”

“You weren’t bad. I’ll think about you sometimes.”

“Our timing might’ve been off,” Dylan said. “If we’d met at another time, in another way…”

“There’s a small danger there, too,” she said. “You don’t want to get between me and the cubs. If you think that bear was scary…”

“If it matters, I’ve never had this much trouble saying goodbye before.”

She swallowed and her nose got a little pink. “Thanks for saying that. Now please, get going. Are you driving the motorcycle all the way to L.A.?”

“I rode it all the way here from Montana—not a quick trip. But I’m in kind of a hurry now. I should… Katie, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m going to see you again because… I let you down.” He was quiet for a second. Then in a hoarse voice he said, “I hope you get on with your life in exactly the way you want to.”

He leaned toward her, kissed her forehead and turned to go. Halfway to his motorcycle, he turned back, closed the distance between them in two giant strides and took her roughly into his arms. He covered her mouth in a powerful kiss, licking open her lips and taking possession of her. She let out a small whimper, holding him tightly, answering his kiss with her acquiescence. A tear slid down her cheek.

When he pulled away, he touched her cheek gently with his thumb.

“Yeah,” she said. “You just weren’t going to be happy till you made that happen. Now get outta here. I’m really done saying goodbye.”

A little peck on the lips and he left.

He popped a wheelie on the way out of the clearing.

Katie stood there for a while after the sound of that motorcycle was little more than a distant purr. Then she sniffed, wiped her cheeks and muttered, “What was I thinking? I should’ve known better. Those Hollywood bad boys never change.”

Dylan had been on his bike for over four weeks and he was in no mood to ride all the way to L.A. His brain was sluggish and he was distracted. This is exactly what happens, he told himself, when you let yourself get too comfortable. He’d had plenty of girlfriends in the past but had never had the kind of routine he’d had with Katie. He’d let himself get lured into a false sense of security and now, headed for the job he dreaded but had to do, he was feeling a profound sense of loss.