Treasure on Lilac Lane: A Jewell Cove Novel by Donna Alward Read Free Book Online Page A

got back in the truck, cocooned by silence once more.

 
    C HAPTER 4
    The drive back to Jewell Cove was quiet. Rick kept his hands on the wheel and Jess stared out the window. She wasn’t sure what to think. This afternoon with Rick was not what she’d call quiet or even restful, but even though their conversation had been serious, there’d been a moment where she’d seen a lighter side to him that she hadn’t seen in a long time. And what he’d said about never being good enough for her had her brain buzzing. She’d had a schoolgirl crush on him years ago. She hadn’t truly thought it had gone both ways.
    She sighed. It didn’t change anything, though, did it? The Rick who was sitting beside her on the bench seat of his pickup wasn’t the same guy she’d known back then. He was harder, angrier … he tried to brush it off but it was clear he had demons.
    And so did she.
    He finally broke the silence. “You ready for this big wedding in a few weeks?”
    Right. They’d been paired up, hadn’t they? Sole attendants to the bride and groom. “I guess. Abby’s got things well in hand. She’s very good at organization. Comes from working so long with five- and six-year-olds I suppose. Must be a bit like herding cats.”
    His lips tipped up a little.
    “Rick … I can be honest with you, right?”
    “Haven’t you always? Seems to me you don’t worry too much about self-editing.”
    She remembered her curt statement about him finding a job and knew what she was about to say would probably fire off his temper. Still, she felt it needed to be said. It had been weighing on her mind ever since Abby had told her Rick was to be Tom’s best man.
    “I just … I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m going to come right out and say it.”
    “That’s usually the best way.”
    Dammit. “The thing is … this is their wedding day. I’m hoping you’ll, well, leave off the drinking. The last thing they need is a scene.”
    The smile slid from his lips. “You’re worried I’ll come drunk? Jesus, Jess. When have I ever shown up to something like that three sheets to the wind? Give me a little credit.”
    “You showed up to Josh’s homecoming with a flask and proceeded to empty it. You weren’t exactly walking straight when you headed home.”
    “If you’ll remember, it was Josh and Tom who got in the fight that night, not me.”
    “Except Josh had been drinking—with you.”
    “Sucks to drink alone.”
    “Then there was this summer at The Rusty Fern when you got kicked out … again. Bryce had to haul you out of there in cuffs.”
    His cheeks flushed. “Hell,” he said, his voice raw. “I’d just put my mom in the hospital. Give a man a break, Jess.”
    “What about the time Tom found you passed out on your picnic table in the backyard because you couldn’t find your keys to let yourself into your apartment?”
    He angled her an insolent look. “You calling me a drunk, Saint Jess?”
    Her stomach shifted, unsettled by the whole tone of the conversation but feeling it needed to be brought out into the open. “I’m saying there are better uses of your time, that’s all. And that at Tom and Abby’s wedding, it might be good to stay off the bottle.”
    “My, my. I’m surprised a paragon like yourself is willing to drive in a vehicle with such a degenerate. You must fear for your very safety. What a high opinion you have of me.”
    “Don’t be like that. You know I have good reason to bring it up.”
    “Of course. Judging me is just one of the perks, right?”
    “I’m not judging you.”
    “Really? Sure looks like it from where I’m sitting.” He frowned. “If it makes you feel better, I promise not to knock over the wedding cake or throw up on the minister’s shoes.”
    “Now you’re being an ass.”
    “Which is exactly what you expect from me, right? Always happy to please.”
    He was impossible. Laughing one minute and defensive and angry the next. And perhaps a little bit