Reckless Faith

Present Day

Elle couldn’t move. Her hand literally wouldn’t reach for the car door handle. Because there, sitting in the very bakery she’d planned to go to, was Jace Walker.

She should be braver than this, right? So she’d loved the guy fifteen years ago. Fifteen years was a long time. She was older now. More mature. She looked completely different. Felt completely different. Basically, she wasn’t the chubby, insecure teenager anymore, so she had no reason to hide from him.

Then why was she sitting in her car like a hostage, seriously considering going back home?

Was he still cute? Sure. Okay, maybe not cute. Freaking gorgeous, with the widest shoulders she’d ever seen and dimples that cut the breath right out of her.

But she was an adult. A freaking adult. And she did not love Jace Walker anymore.

With an emphatic nod, she climbed out of her car and walked toward the bakery.

The windows allowed her to see everyone inside, exactly how she knew he was in there, but she didn’t look at him through the glass, and she certainly didn’t look at him as she stepped inside. Maybe it was immature of her, or just weak, but she was very careful to keep her eyes away from the spot where he sat with one of his brothers.

Mrs. Sandler stepped up to the counter opposite her. “Hi, Elle, how are you?”

“Oh, you know, just trying to enjoy a rare day off work.” She usually loved what she did. She ran a small café at the visitors center in the mountains, and she was good at it. Her customers loved her. She made a killer coffee. But lately she’d just been feeling like she needed time off.

Mrs. Sandler offered an understanding smile. “We all need a break sometimes. What can I get you?”

“A caramel latte would be wonderful.”

“Won’t be long.”

Mrs. Sandler walked to the coffee machine and Elle turned, only to gasp at the huge chest blocking her vision.

Holy crack on a cracker. Jace. He was there. Right freaking there, dimples and everything.

Not affected, Elle, remember?

She straightened her spine. “Hi, Jace.”

Good. That was good. Cool, calm and kind of collected.

That damn grin of his widened, looking too damn sexy. “Hey, Tink.” His gravelly tone as he used the nickname he’d given her when they were kids slipped under her skin, heating her limbs. “Wasn’t sure if you were gonna say hello, so thought I’d come over here.”

“Oh, I didn’t see you.”

Lie. Big, fat lie. And the look on his face told her he knew it. Shit. When would she learn not to lie to this man? He saw right through her like a human lie detector.

He tilted his head toward his table. “Come have a coffee with me and Kay.”

“No.” Dammit. Too fast. She’d said that too freaking fast. “I have somewhere to be.”

Another lie. They were just rolling off her tongue now. Unless you called deep cleaning her apartment “somewhere to be.”

“Come on,” he urged. “Your best friend comes back to town after over fifteen years away. Surely I’m worth breaking some plans?”

Ex-best friend. Something he conveniently left out.

“Besides”—his grin widened—“I’ve been trying to catch up with you since I got back, but so far haven’t had any luck. It almost feels like you’re avoiding me.”

Avoiding her devastatingly gorgeous ex-best friend, whom she’d spent most of her life pining over? No. Why would she do that? Because he could break her heart? Rip it right out of her chest and leave her hollow?

“You know how crazy that sounds, right?” she started, forcing her voice to come across relaxed, when relaxed was the last thing she felt. “What woman in her right mind would avoid the great Jace Walker?”

“I can only think of one.”

Exactly.

Her phone vibrated, and she looked down to see it was one of those dating apps she’d signed up for. Damn waste of time they were. The guys were more disappointing than unsalted pretzels.

“Boyfriend?”

Her gaze shifted back up at Jace’s question. “No.”

“Caramel latte’s ready, Elle.”

Thank the heavens above. She turned to take the cup. “Thank you.” She sucked in a quick breath before looking back at Jace, and yes, he was just as annoyingly gorgeous as a second earlier. Although now, he was lifting a brow at her, humor in his gaze.

She frowned. “What?”

“A caramel latte? Really? We used to make fun of the caramel latte kids in high school.”

“High school was a long time ago.”

“Doesn’t feel that way. In fact, I think you’re lucky I’m home, so I can steer you back on track.”

She rolled her eyes as she moved toward the door. “The only track I need steering toward is the one away from you.” Shit, had those words really left her mouth?

“See, now that’s the Elle I remember. Not afraid to hurt my fragile ego.”

She scoffed and turned back toward him. “Fragile? Jace, Tori Pilone once called you a walking penis, and you thanked her.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It was the first compliment I’d gotten that day.”

Jesus Christ. “You’re something else.”

“Something charming? Something handsome? Wait, I know, something ridiculously cute with blue eyes you could fall into.”

Um, all of the above, but he did not need her to fluff his ego. “I’m going now.”

“Where did we land on the catch-up thing?”

She rolled her eyes again. “I’ll see you around, Jace.”

She turned and was just stepping out when he called, “You can’t avoid me forever, Tink.”

She kept her breaths even and her spine straight right until she dropped into her car. Then she let it all out in one big puff of air as she bent over the wheel.

Why? Why did Jace Walker have to return to Misty Peak looking and sounding even more gorgeous than when he’d left? To torture her? To pull her back into her harrowing teenage years of pining for something she couldn’t have while feeling insecure as hell?

At least she knew he wouldn’t be here for long. He had a restless personality. Always looking for the next adventure. And there was nothing in this town to tie him down. So she just had to protect her heart and not fall for him until he left again.

For a moment, Jace didn’t move. He just watched Elle through the glass until she drove away from the bakery.

She was different. More distant. A new cautious look in her eyes. But she also wasn’t. Her smile was the same. Her gray eyes still darkened when she got mad.

Fuck, he’d missed her.

He scrubbed a hand over his stubble before moving back to his brother.

“Everything okay?” Kayden asked.

“No. She’s avoiding me.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know. I wasn’t expecting to come back to town and for us to be best friends again, but I thought she’d at least want to hang out every so often.” At Kayden’s silence, Jace looked up to see his brother watching him closely. “What?”

“What happened between you two? You were attached at the hip when you were younger.”

He blew out a breath. “Nothing happened. I left, we kept in contact for a while, then we stopped.”

His older brother lifted a brow. “Then you stopped? Did you ever see her when you came home on leave?”

“Not really.” That was his fault. He never reached out to her because he knew if he did, he wouldn’t want to leave again. That probably made him weak.

His gaze returned to the window, even though she wasn’t there.

“Well, if you’re wanting her back in your life, just give her one of those dazzling smiles of yours. Most women can rarely say no to those.”

Ah, but Elle wasn’t most women.

He looked back at his brother, one side of his mouth lifting. “You’re so different from how you were. What happened to my big angry, broody brother?”

“Guess he’s happy now that he’s found love, so he doesn’t have to be angry and brooding anymore.”

Love. Kayden, the brother he’d least expected to use that word, had actually just admitted to being in love. “Good for you. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it. So do you.”

For a moment, something deep inside Jace’s chest pulled so fucking tight, he could barely breathe. Happy. Had he ever felt happy? True, unfiltered happiness?

He forced himself to smile. “Come on. We need to get back to work before they fire our asses.”

They rose and thanked Mrs. Sandler before heading outside and climbing into Kayden’s truck.

“How’s it feel being back?” Kayden asked.

“Strange, because I guess I didn’t know if I’d be back at all.” Yet here he was.

He’d wanted to leave this town and see the entire world, and his job as a Combat Controller in the Air Force had allowed him to do that. He’d also wanted to get away from the loss of his mother. The loss of his friend.

Instead, loss had followed him.

“Your team must miss you,” his brother said quietly.

Jace fisted his hands, Kayden’s words bringing back a memory he’d rather leave in the past. “Yeah, they didn’t want me to leave, but it was time.”

He felt Kayden’s eyes on him before he saw them.

When he remained quiet, Jace finally asked, “What?”

“You’re okay though, right?”

He laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as it felt. “I’m better than okay. I’m working at a skywalk in my hometown. I’m back with my brothers. Now get your eyes on the road before you kill us both.”

Kayden looked back at the road, and Jace filled the silence with a story about a teammate getting patted down at the airport by a good-looking security agent, getting a few laughs out of Kayden.

When they pulled into the parking lot outside the visitors center and climbed out of the truck, the air finally slipped into his lungs with a bit more ease. But that had nothing to do with the building. It was the mountains beyond.

Fuck, they were radiant. This is when he felt like he was home.

“You coming into the center?” Kayden asked.

“So I can see you and Tilly make out like teenagers? No, thanks.”

Kayden shoved his hands into his pockets. “Your loss.”

His brother went into the building, while he rounded the truck toward the skywalk. It wasn’t far from the visitors center, just a couple minutes’ walk. The air brushed over his skin, the sharp sound of birds echoing in the trees.

But none of that held his attention because all he could think about was Elle.

His hand itched to pull his phone out and text her. But for some goddamn reason, she didn’t want to catch up with him, not even for a coffee.

Why? Because so much time had passed? He just wanted to see her. Spend time with her. It felt wrong being back in Misty Peak and not talking to her every day. Because they had talked every day when they were younger. And seen each other. Texted each other. If a day had ever passed where he hadn’t made contact with the woman, it almost felt like a part of him had been missing.

He stepped onto the skywalk. He’d been working here for a week, and that week had been busy with people wanting to come and check out the newest attraction in town. Tourists making trips just to see the Smoky Mountains from up high.

His job was to make sure everyone was safe. To give tours to those who wanted them. And even to run some rappelling sessions from the center point of the skywalk, where a large tree sat.

He loved it, especially the rappelling. Anything that got his heart pumping was good for him.

He was striding along the skywalk when a rustling noise sounded from behind. He turned to see a woman standing at the skywalk’s starting point. She had long red hair and looked at the walkway with an anxious frown on her face.

He turned back and moved toward her, smiling. “Hey. Can I help you?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. Hey. Do you work here?”

“I sure do. I’m Jace Walker. I run the skywalk tours and rappelling sessions.”

Another small frown tugged her brows together before her expression cleared. “Okay. Great. I’m here on vacation. How would I book a tour with you?”

He pointed back the way she’d come. “You would have passed a building next to the parking lot. That’s the visitors center. The lady at the desk should be able to slot you into a tour group.”

“Thanks, Jace.”

“You’re welcome.”

He watched her walk away, his mind involuntarily going back to Elle. On the way no other woman seemed to capture his attention more than her.

He wanted her back in his life. He just had to figure out how to make her want that too.