Page 45 of His to Defend

Nina shook her head. “And then he left without a word. He was just…gone. His sister says it was a family emergency but I don’t buy it. He wouldn’t have left. I know it. I can still feel him.” She laughed at herself. “That sounds crazy.”

“No,” Shelly said seriously. “It doesn’t sound crazy at all. In fact, it makes perfect sense to me. Did Harper ever tell you about her father?”

Nina shifted around in her seat and shook her head. “No. She never really mentioned him.”

“That’s because she never met him.” Shelly dipped her head and a mixture of regret and sadness clouded her face. “My story sounds so similar to yours,” she said. “I was up in Vancouver for a skiing trip with a few girlfriends in Whistler.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“You should.” She nodded and took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “And just like you, when I got there, I met this man who completely took my breath away. It was almost as if we were drawn to each other.” Her eyes took on a faraway look as she told Nina the story. “We couldn’t keep our hands off each other and we ended up spending the entire week together. I felt bad for leaving my girlfriends, but they saw the way Nick and I were with each other and they didn’t mind.” She chuckled a little. “In fact, they encouraged it.”

“That kind of reminds me of Harper and Axel the first time Harper and I came up to Grizzly Ridge.”

Shelley’s eyes grew wide and she nodded. “Yes. I think there are a lot of similarities to their relationship, too. And yours.”

“What Ryker and I have is not a relationship.”

How could it be when he could just take off that way?

“You say that, but you’d be surprised.”

Nina wasn’t so sure about that, but she didn’t bother arguing. “So what happened with you and Nick? If it was such a magnetic draw to each other, how come you didn’t end up together?”

Shelly’s face fell again and her eyes filled with tears. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.” She spoke the words, but Nina could tell she didn’t mean them. “Our fire burned hot, but then I guess it just burned out. At least for him. The day before I was supposed to leave, we talked about what our future would look like and how we could be together. He said he had family in the States, and I was from California but I was so certain we could make it work. And I thought he felt the same way.” She looked behind her at the still quiet house. “Can I tell you something?” she asked when she turned again. “It’s something I’ve never told Harper. I don’t think it’s the kind of thing a daughter wants to hear, you know?”

Nina grinned, pretty sure what kind of direction the conversation was about to take. “Of course.”

Shelly smiled in gratitude. “This is strange to say, but that night when we made love, it was different. More intense somehow and…well, it just felt kind of permanent. I know that’s a strange word to use, but it’s really the best description I can make. The next morning when I woke up, he’d left a note. He apologized for leading me on and said that as much as he cared for me, he wasn’t good for me, and I deserved better and he never meant to hurt me. He finished by saying that he’d never forget me.”

She was quiet for a moment and Nina waited for her to add something more. When she didn’t, Nina asked, “That was it? He was gone?”

Shelly nodded sadly.

“But how could he…” Nina scooted to the edge of her seat. “He just left?”

She shocked herself with her indignation, but Shelly just smiled and chuckled a little. “I was devastated for months and then I found out I was pregnant and I had to pull myself together. For Harper.”

“And you never saw him again?”

She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t even know where to look. But you know what I do know?”

Nina waited.

“He was wrong,” Shelly said quietly. “He was good for me. And I never loved anyone the way I loved him.”

“Ever?” Nina was horrified. “But you…” She was an attractive woman and still quite young despite the fact that she had a grown-up daughter and new grandchild. “Never?”

Shelly shook her head. “Once you’ve been loved the way I was by Nick, even for a short period of time, well…it changes things. An ordinary love will never again be enough.”

Nina thought about that for a minute, and when Shelly spoke again, it was as if she’d read her thoughts. “And I suspect it’s the same with you, Nina.”

She didn’t say anything because Shelly was right. An ordinary love would never be enough.

Nina didn’t know what to do. After the chat with Shelly, she only felt worse about Ryker’s disappearance. She refused to allow her life to be turned upside down by a man she’d known for only little over a week. It was ridiculous and she was much too sensible and strong to let something like that destroy her.

At least that was what she thought logically.

But the thing about love was that there was nothing logical about it. And it was love. Without a doubt, she was in love with Ryker. Which was why his absence tore her up.