When We Met (Fool's Gold #13)(81)

“They could have been killed,” he said flatly.

She felt the tension in his body and had a feeling he was thinking they all could have been killed.

“You’re not going to yell at me for going after them, are you?” she asked.

He kissed her. “No. You did the right thing.”

“We are so going to have a talk about following instructions and being sensible at the next grove meeting.”

“No kidding. We’re also going to talk about how to handle an emergency.” He squeezed her shoulders.

“I have to say, this doesn’t make me want to go camping with the LL@R guy. I hope he wasn’t expecting to use that campsite.”

Angel chuckled. “You won’t be going there. It’s going to take a long time to get the campground usable again. Even after the water is gone, it’s going to be a mess. Plus, once an area is known for having a flash flood, people are less inclined to want to spend the night.”

“I’m sure Fool’s Gold has other camp areas.”

“You don’t sound thrilled by that fact,” he teased.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“The groves will want to camp again next year.”

“Goody,” she murmured.

God knows there was plenty of wilderness all around the town. Not that it would matter to her, she thought. She’d helped Angel out with the grove because he was helping her learn to be outdoorsy for a client. Next year she wouldn’t have that.

The realization was unsettling. She liked hanging out with the girls. The meetings were always fun and she enjoyed the various projects. She liked the idea of the grove being together for more than a couple of months. They could come up with a really cool community service project. Not that socializing the puppies wasn’t fun—but next time they could find something that was more involved with life in the town.

Only there wasn’t going to be a next year for her. Not with Angel and his grove. Because there wasn’t going to be a next year for the two of them.

They had both been very clear about their relationship, she thought. Neither of them was looking for more than a temporary involvement. He’d been challenged and she’d been intrigued. They weren’t young and foolish—they weren’t looking to fall in love.

Except she had. Sometime when she hadn’t been paying attention, she’d handed over her heart. Maybe that’s why it had been so easy to trust him to catch her earlier today. She’d had nothing to lose.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, then drew back enough to see his expression. “I love you. I’m not saying that because of the flood. I realized the truth before you played hero.” She gave him a smile. “This wasn’t part of the rules or what was supposed to happen, but it did. I love you, Angel. I wanted you to know.”

She watched him closely, not sure what she would see on his face. She hoped he realized how significant this was for her. She’d never been in love before—had certainly never said the words. She didn’t expect him to say it back to her in the moment, but maybe he could hint.

Only Angel didn’t look happy at the news. For a second something dark and uncomfortable flashed in his eyes, and then his face went completely blank. It was like staring into a statue.

He shook his head finally. “No,” he said. That was it. Just no.

Her body went cold—only this was so much worse than before. It came from the inside, not the outside, and she knew that she would never feel warm again. She willed herself not to react to his rejection, not to say anything. She wouldn’t beg.

Not when he got up and not when he walked out of her house without saying another word.

She sat on the sofa, HGTV playing in the background. For the second time in less than a couple of hours, Taryn gave in to tears.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

TARYN WALKED OUT of the Fool’s Gold branch of the California Department of Motor Vehicles office and had to admit, there were advantages to living in a small town. She had a temporary license to put in her new wallet until her permanent one was mailed. After she’d dealt with her credit card companies the day before, the DMV office had practically been easy. Except for her favorite Mally lip gloss and her Hello Kitty mirror compact—okay, and her heart—she’d replaced everything she’d lost in the flash flood.

It had been two days. Two days of having people ask if she was doing okay and praising her for her bravery. She’d tried pointing out she hadn’t been brave, but no one wanted to hear that, so she’d stopped trying to explain. On the bright side, recent events meant no one was surprised if she was a little quiet or seemed upset. They assumed she was still dealing with the whole flood thing. Which meant she hadn’t yet had to explain about Angel.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d walked out. Hadn’t heard a word. Not that she’d expected to, but it seemed that her heart was foolish and hopeful. Something of a surprise, she thought as she headed to Jo’s Bar, where she was meeting her friends for lunch.

She smiled at people who greeted her on the street, then walked into Jo’s and saw Dellina, Consuelo and Isabel already waiting. Noelle came in right behind her.

“How are you doing?” Noelle asked as they moved toward the table. “I can’t believe what you went through. It must have been terrifying.”