Paper Kisses (19 page)

Authors: Beth D. Carter

BOOK: Paper Kisses

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Alannah turned on the car radio and
scrolled through until she was able to find a rock-n-roll station.

Tapping her foot, she saw a roadblock up
ahead on the highway so she applied the brakes, beginning to slow down.

As the roadblock of police cars came closer,
she slowed down even more and eventually came to a stop not far from them.

She reached over and turned off the radio as
she stared in confusion.

She saw the
policeman lean against their cars, their lights twirling without any sound.

And then one policeman talked
through his very loud car microphone.

“Ms. Atwood.

Please step out of the car.”

Alannah blinked.

“Oh my god,” she said, shocked and
horrified.

What the hell was going
on?

What had she done?

She opened her door, not sure what
the protocol was, but she stuck her hands up in the air and carefully, slowly
got out.

There were a dozen cops staring
at her and she began to tremble.

Kevin’s truck pulled beside
her.

She looked at him but he only gave
her a thumbs-up.

What the hell?

This was not a thumbs-up moment… and then she
heard the wail of a siren approaching from behind and turned.

She recognized Sky’s sheriff’s car, which
came to a skidding halt behind her Audi.

He jumped out, leaving his door swinging wide open, and marched over to
stand in front of her.

Her hands were
still in the air.

“Alannah Atwood, you’re under
arrest,” he told her.

“Are you serious?

On what charge?” she demanded.

“Speeding.”

She glanced from him to Kevin, who
was grinning.

Her eyes narrowed as the
suspicion that something had been planned kicked around in her head.

“You’re kidding.”

“You can lower your hands.”

Slowly, she put them down by her
side.

“I couldn’t let you leave,” he
said.

“Not yet.

Perhaps not ever.

If I have to arrest you to keep you here…”

“I wasn’t leaving,” she interrupted
him, smiling.

“Sky, I was just returning
the car.”

Sky’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?

But I thought…”

“
CeeCee
asked Kevin to follow me and to bring me back to her place.”

He sent a death glare over at Kevin
who hastily put his truck in reverse and backed up.

Alannah reached up and turned Sky’s head back
around to look into her eyes.

“I realized I didn’t want to
leave,” she told him.

“Because
I’m in love with you.

Everything
had been so scrambled around in my brain but when I saw your paper kiss I knew
you were right.

Love is finding and
holding onto hope, and with you I feel my world has finally righted itself.”

He pulled her into his arms,
smiling for the first time since she’d seen him again, an honest to god huge,
happy smile.

“God, I love you, Alannah.

I’ve been in love with you since I was
fifteen and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you know that.”

“I know,” she said.

“I was so wrong to leave, Sky.”

He picked up her fingers and kissed
the tips.

“No, you were right.

You did the right thing at the time.

But now I’m never going to let you go.

You’re mine and I’m yours.”

“You’re so crazy!

You put up a roadblock to make sure I
wouldn’t leave?”

“Damn straight.

And now I owe every single one of them a huge
favor.”

He smiled over her head and
waved at the waiting police line.

There
were some honks as she heard the car engines start up.

She couldn’t stop looking at him.

Her friend.

Her
best
friend.

And now her one and only love.