Chapter 3 Colt shoved his hands into his pockets. It was his only defense to stop from reaching out and touching her. A year. A whole fucking year of no Indie, and he was still supposed to keep distance between them. To not get close to those moss-green eyes. To not feel that soft skin of hers. Fucking torture. "You haven't touched our shared bank account," he said. Her brows rose like the very idea was crazy to her. "We've been separated for a year. Did you expect me to?" There were a lot of things he'd expected in the last year. To be separated from his wife at this point wasn't one of them. "You're still my wife." Her eyes flared. Every unanswered call had killed him. Every time he'd come home to Amber Ridge and she refused to see him made him want to say to hell with his military commitments. "Have dinner with me." The words were out before he could stop them. For a single second, longing flashed in her eyes. She wanted to have dinner with him. But then she blinked. "Crap, what's the time?" She pulled her phone from her pocket. "I'm late." "For what?" She didn't answer his question, just spun and ran to the hallway table, where she put her pistol away before sprinting into her bedroom. The door closed with a definitive click. His back teeth ground together. He needed to talk to her. He'd given her time to get used to the idea of him being back in Amber Ridge, but they needed to figure this out. He was home to stay, and she was his wife, dammit. He stopped in the hall and stared at a photo of Indie and Clara. He ran his finger over the wooden frame. A frame he'd hung. Only, it had held a different picture then. One of him and Indie on their wedding day. Was the wedding photo behind this one? Or had she taken it out? Put it somewhere she wouldn't see it so she wouldn't have to think about him or them or their marriage? The bedroom door opened. Indie had changed out of her dark jeans and vest, and now she wore nice slacks and a blouse. She pulled on sandals by the door. "You look nice." That didn't even touch the surface of how she looked. She'd always been the most beautiful woman in any room. Her shoulders tensed. "Thanks. We'll have to chat another time." "Tomorrow?" She lifted her purse from the hall table. "I can't tomorrow." "Sunday?" "I'll have to check if I'm free." Once her shoes were on, she stepped through her door. He followed behind her, frowning at the beat-up Honda. The fuck? "Where's your Subaru?" "I sold it." "And bought this piece of shit?" "It's perfectly safe." Like hell it was. It looked older than him. "Can you lock up after yourself?" she asked. "I'll see you later." She wrapped her fingers around the handle of her car door, but before she could open it, he reached out and gently gripped her arm. "Cricket." She stopped. And God, just the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips was a reminder of how much he'd been starved of her over the last twelve months. Every day had been a battle. And not a battle he'd often won. She didn't pull away, but the muscles in her arm flexed. Long seconds passed before she finally turned, and the hesitancy in her eyes hit him like a physical gut punch. Once upon a time, she would have thrown herself into his arms. That time had passed. "What, Colt?" "I can't leave without knowing when we're going to talk." Because the idea that they wouldn't talk, that they'd keep living in the same town without any contact, was unbearable. Her gaze flickered between his eyes. "Where are you staying?" "For now, I'm at Mom's." A sudden hardness shuttered her features. "I'll message you." His mind shot back to the night they'd broken up. She'd mentioned his mother as part of the reason they'd broken up, and he'd never understood it. But damn, he'd thought about it a lot. "Is everything-" "I really need to go, Colt." She went to turn, but he stepped closer. "Promise me you'll text." She glanced over her shoulder, and her mouth was so close to his that all he had to do was lower his head and he'd touch her lips with his own. "I'll text," she whispered. Everything in him screamed to lower his head. Kiss her. Taste her. But he forced himself back. He had to earn back her trust, and that would take time. He had to fix what he'd broken. "I'll talk to you soon, Cricket." She nodded quickly before sliding behind the wheel. Her engine didn't start on the first try. But then, the thing was a fucking rust bucket, of course it didn't. They had money. And despite what she thought, his money was her money. She shouldn't be driving that car. She wouldn't be driving it for long. No damn way. He stormed across the street to his Audi RS 5 and slammed the door after him. He drove faster than he should have to his mother's house. He was even frustrated about that. He'd planned to rent a place until he could mend things with Indie, but his mother's health wasn't great. She suffered from panic attacks, high blood pressure, and severe asthma, so he worried about her living alone. Sometimes the panic attacks got so severe that she thought she was having a heart attack. When he was young, the panic attacks had been about his deadbeat father, who'd disappeared when Colt was eight. Leaving him and his mother was the best thing that man had ever done for both of them. Now, the panic attacks had just become a part of his mother's life. He pulled into her driveway, and he was about to get out when his phone rang. Noah, Indie's brother. Colt put the cell to his ear. "Hey. Are you back?" "About to get on my flight to Bozeman now." Just like Colt, Noah had been a Marine, but while Colt had been stationed at Camp Pendleton most recently, Noah had been at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. They'd never lost contact though. The man was a year older than Colt and had been a friend for as long as he'd been dating Indie. "How does it feel to be coming home?" Colt asked. "Good and bad. It hit me the hardest when I stepped off base for the last time." "I know that feeling. I've been out for a month, and I still can't believe it." "Ever regret it?" "No." His answer was instant. "I spent a year without my wife. Hardest damn thing I've ever done. Never again." "Have you seen her?" His fingers tightened around the cell. "Just now." "Uh-oh. What happened?" Had the anger in his voice given him away? Not anger toward Indie. Toward himself for losing her. "She didn't want to talk. Ran out saying she had an appointment." "Maybe she did." "I'm sure she did. But I'm also sure that if she wanted to cancel for the husband she hasn't seen in a year, she would have." "Give it time. You guys went through a lot. She wasn't in a great place a year ago. Even six months ago, she was still struggling to find herself again." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hating hearing that. Hating that he wasn't there for her. "Plane's boarding. I'll see you soon." Colt nodded even though his friend couldn't see him. "Meeting Friday at the adventure park, right?" "Yeah, looking forward to it." Colt hung up and climbed out of his Audi. His gaze ran over the old Victorian mansion where he'd grown up. The intricate brickwork. The wraparound porch. It was a combination of heritage and luxury, and it fit his mother perfectly. For most people her age, it would be too big to take care of, but what Sylvia Reed couldn't do herself, she employed people to do. Cleaners. Gardeners. Hell, sometimes she even hired a cook. He stepped inside, the strong smell of coffee and baked goods hanging in the air. The grand staircase and wide hall sat in front of him. He strode through the living and formal dining room to find his mother in the kitchen. She turned from the cast-iron stove, a wide smile curving her lips. "Darling, you're home." He crossed the space between them and pressed a kiss to her head. "Hey, Mom. Baking?" "Huckleberry scones for bridge club." She frowned. "You left before I could make you coffee." "I stopped at Rob's Diner. Their coffee's still shit, by the way." "Oh, you should try The Tea House. Mrs. Gerald makes a divine latte." "We have a tea house in Amber Ridge?" "Shocking, I know. But they're not just good at coffee. Their pie is to die for." Interesting. He'd always thought nothing changed in the small town of Amber Ridge, but maybe he was wrong "Did you go anywhere else?" his mother asked. "I saw Indie." She paused for a moment before turning. "Really? Was this the first time seeing her since..." "Being back, yeah." His mother frowned, concern in her eyes. "How did it go?" "Not the way I was hoping." But kind of the way he'd expected. His mother gave a small nod. "I'm going to head to the park and take a walk." He needed to get outside. Clear his head. He touched his mother's arm as he passed, only to stop and turn. "Mom?" "Yes, honey?" She smiled at him. A warm, familiar smile he knew well. "I know I asked you this when Indie and I first separated, but nothing ever happened between you two, did it?" His mother tilted her head. "What do you mean?" "It always appeared you had a good relationship, but-" "We did. At least, I always liked her." It was the same answer she'd given him a year ago. He'd pushed, needing to know if there was more, but his mother had been adamant there wasn't. And he'd never known her to be a liar. But then, he hadn't known Indie to be one, either. So what the hell was going on? "You'd tell me if something happened between you, wouldn't you?" "Of course." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Okay." It wasn't okay, but what the hell else was he supposed to say? "Have a good day, Mom." He needed to get to the bottom of it-and he needed to get to the bottom of it soon. Someone was going to tell him what was going on.