Falling Star (Combustible Book 2) (7 page)

He grinned. “You’re right, and I should know better than to assume. Not all women are alike. I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies.”

“All right.”

Her eyes sparkled, her mouth quirking in a sexy smile. “So where are we going?”

“A great little diner that happens to be down the road. You mind walking?”

“Not at all.”

He locked the door and headed for the street with her beside him. “How long before you open your shop?”

She shrugged. “Depends on how fast I can get everything organized. This is a new venture, so I’m not rushing. I want to do it right.”

“So, you just decide you’re going to do something, and you do it, don’t you?”

She grinned. “Pretty much. Life got too hectic where I was, so I decided to start a simpler one here.”

“I hope you find that. I like your company.”

Her stomach fluttered, but she had to ask one important question. “I have a philosophical question.” Her hands trembled as she waited for his nod. “How much do you think the past shapes a person?”

One corner of Trent’s mouth lifted. “Some events can affect people more than others. However, everyone has the ability to change, if they can find the strength.” Sadness clouded his pale blue eyes as he looked away. He was silent so long, she nudged him.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Ella asked.

“Sorry. Just thinking about my sister.”

“Sorry. Mila said she’s in rehab. I can’t imagine it’s easy for her to leave her boy behind.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “In the beginning, I sympathized with her about that. But this isn’t the first, and won’t likely be the last time.” Pushing his fingers through his hair, he shrugged. “I don’t know what to expect from her anymore.”

Ella’s head tipped to the side. “But you believe people can change?”

“Yeah. My sister’s not the best example.” Trent opened the door. He smiled as Ella walked by, and he followed her in. “My dad struggled with alcoholism when I was in high school. He realized how badly he hurt our family and changed.”

“Then there’s still hope.”

“Always hope. Took him some years. He got there. I’m hoping Tina does too before she winds up getting herself killed… or loses her son’s faith in her.” She couldn’t find any hope in his eyes.

Ella looked away. “I feel like a jerk asking about stuff like that when I don’t want to talk about my own past.”

A smirk crossed his lips. “Ask. I’ll tell you if I don’t want to answer.”

“Why is your sister in rehab?”

A middle-aged woman came over to their booth with a pair of menus. “Who’s your friend, Trent?”

“Ella Cross, meet Verna. She makes the best cobblers around.”

“Cobbler?” Ella perked up. She didn’t eat sweets often, but she missed her grandmother’s delightful peach or berry ones.

“You’re going to eat breakfast first, aren’t you?” Trent asked.

“Oh, yeah. I’m starved. I’ll order the dessert after a real meal.” She looked down at her menu.

Verna cleared her throat. “Something to drink while you look?”

“Coffee, please. Some water too,” Ella asked, raising her head with a smile.

“Be right back.” Verna winked at Trent before ducking behind the counter.

Trent nodded at the menu. “Go ahead, find what you want. I’ll tell you the rest while we wait for our food.”

“If it’s hard, you don’t have to.”

Trent licked his lips, glancing down at the table as he shifted in his seat. A second later, it dawned on her what she’d implied. Heat infused her cheeks as he slowly met her gaze with a sexy smirk.

God, he’s temptation incarnate.

Ella quickly redirected, “What are you having?”

“Country fried steak and eggs.” His mouth tipped in a sexy smirk. “You?”

Her smile quirked. “Eggs Benedict. Haven’t had it in forever.” Guilt trickled through her. “My grandmother used to make it for me. Fresh, homemade Hollandaise sauce. It was the best.”

“Did you lose her?”

“A few years ago. Heart attack.” Ella looked down at her hands that were folded on the table. “I miss her.”

“Sorry. That has to be difficult.”

“It was. Work kept me away from my family. I didn’t get to see her very often.” Ella looked out the window and let out a breath.

He couldn’t resist reaching over to take her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” Blinking, she turned toward him again with a sad smile. “Sorry.”

Verna chose that moment to come back to the table. He took his hand away when Verna cleared her throat before asking Ella for her order.

* * * *

Once they were alone, Trent took a breath and shifted the focus to him, hoping to relieve the guilt she obviously felt. “I was on duty the day my sister’s house burned down. We got there and neither Tina nor Blaze was outside. I rushed in and found the little guy trying to pull his mom to the door while the fire raged around them.”

Her gaze intensified. “But you got them out, right?”

“I did. She’d overdosed on meth. With Blaze there. She swears she’d been clean for months. But her dealer was there, demanding money. They think he set the house on fire. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“And you’re mad because she endangered your nephew?”

“Yeah, her own son. I don’t understand. Her little boy was in the house when this all went down. He only heard yelling and banging, then smelled smoke and risked his life trying to save her.”

This time, it was Ella who reached over to squeeze his hand but didn’t keep contact for long. “Have you talked to her? Maybe listened to what she had to say?”

“I tried, but she won’t take responsibility.”

Ella frowned, then asked, “How long has she been in rehab?”

“Almost four months this time. Mom and Dad say she’s come a long way. She’s choosing to stay, but Blaze feels like she doesn’t love him anymore.” Trent scrubbed both hands over his short hair. “I don’t get it.”

“Maybe she wants to be clean this time, for good. Addiction is a scary thing. I’ve watched friends battle it. Sometimes they can just quit, and some have to shut themselves off from everyone to find their strength.”

“That what you’re doing?”

She dipped her head slowly. “Not because of addiction.”

He reached out and ran his fingers over the burn scar covering her wrist. “Someone do this to you?”

“Something like that.”

“Someone you knew?”

She turned away again. “No. But I really don’t want to think about that right now. I can’t yet.”

“Hey, Ella, look at me.”

She did, reluctantly. “What?” she snapped.

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer. You spoke of your grandmother, so I thought maybe the rules were changing.” He shrugged one shoulder, a sheepish smile brightened on his face. He hadn’t meant to venture into her past, but curiosity got the best of him.

Sighing, she nodded. “It’s okay.”

It wasn’t though. He couldn’t help worrying about who lurked in her past. Something scared her enough to make her run. “Just one thing. Are you in trouble now? Something the cops could keep an eye on?”

“No. If it came down to that, then I’d talk. Right now, no one knows where I am, but Mila. My brother doesn’t even know.”

“A brother?”

She rolled those beautiful eyes. “Yeah, I have a brother.”

“Not close to him?”

“It’s not that. He’s too wrapped up in my old world. I wanted to disappear and find myself again. Somewhere along the way, I lost who I was.”

“That’s why you asked about the past?”

“Yeah.”

Her answer gave him hope. “Does that mean you might be interested in me?”

Smiling, she looked away at the same time Verna brought their drinks to the table. “Enjoy.” She scurried away. He could kiss the woman who’d run the diner for most of his life. Seemed she knew what everyone needed the most.

Ella met his gaze again. “Yes, but I’m not ready to start anything.”

“Not even a friendship?”

A soft laugh escaped her lips. “That’s all you want?”

“For now.”

“I don’t know.”

His heart sank, but he wasn’t out of the game yet. “Let me be your running partner, your gym buddy, and a friend.” He couldn’t read her expression and started to worry as the silence stretched past his normal comfort zone. “It’s a place to start. Neither of us is looking for anything serious.”

She sat back and pushed her glasses up her nose. The thick black rims accentuated her long black lashes, and the most captivating eyes he’d ever seen. Hell, they were more beautiful than Raven Star’s. Then she combed her hair behind her ear and dropped her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

One corner of her mouth quirked up as she lifted her stunning eyes. “Perfect place to start.”

Trent leaned forward and smiled. “Relax, Ella. I know what Mila probably told you about me. I won’t lie, I’ve been around, but I prefer to know the woman I’m getting involved with. That doesn’t happen overnight.”

She laughed. “She said you’re a bit of a man-whore.”

He groaned. “Yeah, because the first time she met me, Kyle’s ex was hanging on me. I let Rene flirt with me, but I didn’t take her home, and I didn’t go back to her place. Maybe it was dumb, but I was trying to keep Rene from causing trouble, which she’s known to do.”

Ella smirked. “Mila also said you had a heart of gold.”

And he was back in the game. “That so?”

“What?” Ella asked with a single arched brow.

“Find it hard to believe she has much faith in me when she keeps hounding me to be careful not to push you.”

Laughing, Ella leaned back. “Mila’s always been protective of her friends. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I trust her, so I trust you. Secrets or no.”

Ella shifted in her seat and looked out the window again.

He combed a hand through his hair. “I need to keep my mouth shut. Don’t I?”

“No. I need to stop feeling guilty for protecting myself.”

His brow pinched. Their conversation paused as Verna brought their meals to the table.

Ella grinned, “This looks good, Verna. Thank you.”

The woman dipped her head, her expression brightening. “Tell me what you think after you eat it.” She ducked away from the table.

Ella rubbed the scar on her arm, then met Trent’s stare. “So what do you all for fun out here?”

Trent grinned and happily led them down a new topic that would avoid her past and keep that gorgeous smile on her face.

Chapter 9

Almost two weeks later a loud banging echoed up the stairs, into the bathroom. Ella’s heart thumped against her chest as she slid down the shower wall. She shut her eyes and tried to breathe through the panic clouding her mind.

She should have been running with Trent… should have been out there already, halfway through her run. Not today.

Which reminded her, she never called to cancel their meeting time. Relief settled in. He must be checking on her. She owed him an apology.

Sucking in a breath, she shut off the water and wrapped a towel around herself before rushing down the stairs. Clutching the towel tight, she took a peek out the window and confirmed her suspicion.

Relief flooded in and she took a deep breath. She threw open the door before he could start another round of knocking.

So much concern stared back at her. His blue eyes locked on hers as he sucked in a breath, and his shoulders dropped slightly. “You okay?”

Ella shook her head. “Bad night. I’m not running. Sorry. I should have called.”

“Can I step inside?”

She nodded, backing up.

He followed her in and shut the door. “What’s going on?”

“Nightmares. Didn’t sleep much.” She swept her hair behind her ear.

He gently caught her wrist and shook his head. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”

She shrugged, taking a step toward the stairs, and out of his reach. “Yeah. Need a little time and I’ll be fine.”

Trent rubbed the back of his neck, watching her. “Want company?”

Hope flittered through her. She nodded slightly. “If you don’t mind.”

“Hungry?”

“Oh, no. Food won’t help yet. I need to figure out something to do to keep my mind off everything. Running won’t work.”

“Coffee?”

“I’ll make some when I come back down.”

He finally looked her over. His eyes trailed over her body as a sexy smirk spread, but his gaze stopped where the towel ended high on her thighs. “Yeah, better get dressed.” His voice was rough and low.

“Yeah.” She swallowed hard before climbing the stairs, mindful of keeping the towel in place.

Ella had been borderline panicking until they made eye contact. She was nowhere near okay, but his presence went a long way to calming her down. Part of her wanted to lay her secrets on the table and see where the pieces fell, the other half worried how much her other persona would affect his opinion of her.

As it stood, she didn’t know what he saw in her. Was it the mystery? Was it true attraction? And when he learned the truth, would that alter how he saw her?

* * * *

Trent watched Ella climb the stairs. If she hadn’t been terrified when she threw open the door, he might have made a fool of himself. He knew something was up when she didn’t show up on his porch right at seven.

He’d paced the wood planks for twenty minutes before he couldn’t stand his imagination and came over to see what the hell was going on. Her car sat in the driveway. She hadn’t left unless she went early. But he saw a light on upstairs, and it made him paranoid.

Then she opened the door and the look of terror on her face tore him apart. Yeah, he noticed her wet body barely concealed by the towel, but his first instinct was to pull her into his arms until she stopped trembling. Second was to find the asshole who terrified her so damned bad and beat the ever-loving shit out of him.

This morning she looked even more familiar and he couldn’t figure out why. Didn’t matter, though. He wanted her so damned bad, and it took every ounce of will to keep his feet firmly planted instead of following her.