All She Wants for Christmas (Kent Brothers 1)

Ethan came over to her.

"Riley. What are you doing here?"

"I called your house but you weren't there so I called your mother. She asked me to come over."

Stacy greeted her with a hug and held it for a minute. "More like demanded she come join us. So wonderful to see you again, Riley."

The hug was so warm and welcoming, Riley never wanted to let go. "It's nice to see you again, too."

"Now, what would you like to drink? Hot chocolate?"

Riley nodded. "That would be great. Thanks."

"Good. I'll be right back."

"I'll go work your Scrabble words while you're gone," Roger said.

Stacy shot him a glare. "You even so much as peek anywhere near my side of the table and I'll hobble your other leg."

Roger narrowed his gaze. "You're cutthroat, woman." He turned and gave Riley a wink. "She thinks I cheat."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Duh, Dad. You do cheat."

Roger lifted his chin. "Do not. I just can't spell good so your mother takes that advantage and uses it against me."

"Are we going to play here or what?" Brody asked. "I'm ahead of you and Wyatt and I intend to kick your butts."

"I need to talk to Riley."

"Well make it fast. And hi, Riley. Nice to see you around here again. Try to visit more than once every ten years, will ya?"

"Thanks, Brody. Nice to see you again too. And I'll try. And hi, Wyatt."

"Uh huh." Wyatt offered up a half-assed wave, then lifted a bottle of beer to his lips.

Ethan led her out of the room and into the formal living room. They took seats on the sofa. "Ignore Wyatt. He's got a major chip on his shoulder. It's not you, trust me. He treats everyone with the exact same amount of disdain."

"Really? Why?"

"It's his divorce a couple years ago. He's still carrying a grudge and isn't fond of women in general."

"Oh. Ouch. I'm sorry."

Ethan shrugged. "That's his problem to deal with."

"Where's Zoey?"

"Spending the night at a friend's house."

"Oh. I'm sorry I missed her."

He smiled. "She likes you too. And she had fun at the concert, even though she passed out at the end."

Riley laughed. "It's no problem. It was late. I'm glad she had a good time."

She was stalling. She should tell him why she was here.

"Here's your hot chocolate." Stacy handed her a steaming mug, then hovered while Riley sipped.

She moaned. "It's just how I remembered. Thick, with an overabundance of marshmallows. It's wonderful."

Stacy beamed. "I'm glad you like it."

Ethan looked up at his mother. "Uh, Mom?"

"Oh. Oh, of course. If you'll excuse me, I'd better go get back to Scrabble before Roger steals all my tiles."

She left the room, and Riley turned to Ethan. "It's about the interview you're doing tomorrow."

He frowned. "The one with the biography people?"

"Yes. Please don't do it."

"Why not?"

Did she have to spell it out? "You know why not. I can't believe you even agreed to it. The history between us, what happened between you and Amanda. Do you really want all of that broadcast?"

He gave her the kind of indulgent smile he probably gave his daughter when she was overtired and acting out. "Do you really think I'm going to give them details? How dumb do you think I am, Riley? All they want to talk about is us dating in high school. I figure I'll toss them a few crumbs and they'll be on their way."

"I'd like to keep that part of my life off limits."

He laughed. "Right. It wasn't off limits in your music, was it?"

Irritation skittered across her pulse, driving up her heartbeat. "No one knew it was you."

"Wrong. Everyone knew it was me. Everyone who counted to me. Maybe none of the millions of your fans, but every single person in this town heard your lyrics and felt sorry for you and turned their eyes to Amanda and me. We couldn't walk down the street together for a long time when your first album came out."

She stood and stared down at him. "Is that why you agreed to the interview? You're looking for a little payback?"

He stood, too. "What do you think I'm going to say to them, Riley? You were the victim in all of this. Nothing I say to them could paint you in a bad light. I did sleep with your best friend, and that's why you couldn't get out of Deer Lake fast enough. Hell, you'll come out of it looking even better, so I don't know why you're worried. You should be pushing me to talk to the media. Think of all the new songs you'll get out of this."

A stab to her heart couldn't have hurt more than his words did. "Is that what you think of me? After all we've been through, is that all you think of me? You believe that I'm back here to eke out some more heartache and song lyrics, Ethan, that I looked forward to reliving the nightmare of ten years ago so I could grab a few songs for my next album? After all, the well might be dry now so maybe you and I could relive old times, or maybe even drum up something new and painful and I could go platinum again. It's all about using each other, isn't it? Because that's what you really think of me, isn't it? That it's all about the fame and the money."

He didn't answer, which was, she supposed, his answer.

She flicked her gaze to the doorway and there stood his mother, his father and his brothers.

Great. Did they all believe the same thing about her?

The walls seemed to close in on her. She couldn't breathe.

She had to get out of here. Now.

Chapter Six

Riley did what she'd always done best. She ran.

She turned and escaped from the room, grabbed the door handle and fled out the front door, realizing as soon as she did that she'd forgotten her coat and that's where she'd slipped the keys to the rental car.

No way was she going back inside that house. Instead, she sprinted past the car and down the street, not even noticing the temps outside until she slowed down to a brisk walk. She hadn't even felt the tears streaming down her cheeks until she was struck by how cold her face was. Her sweater and jeans were no match for the frigid evening temperature, and once her flushed anger ebbed, she realized she was freezing.

She stopped, automatically shoved her hand into her jeans, then rolled her eyes. She'd slipped her cell phone in her coat pocket, too.

She had no one to blame for this fiasco but herself.

She'd acted like a child in there, tossing accusations and arguing with Ethan just like she had with him before she'd run out of town ten years ago. She had a right to be angry at Ethan. The things he'd said to her were unforgiveable. What she should have done was stand her ground and tell him exactly what she thought of him. But no. She'd had to play the victim and run out of the room all hurt.

The running part she was really good at.

Old hurts and angers. Some things didn't change, and some hurts could never be repaired. If she was smart, she'd turn around, go back to Ethan's house and suck up the embarrassment, grab her coat and keys and drive home. It was over a mile walk back to the bed and breakfast and she was not dressed for that.

But dammit, he'd hurt her, and she would not go crawling back there. She had her pride and she refused to humiliate herself any further. It wasn't like she was going to die in a mile. Uncomfortable, yes. Dead, no. She'd send someone over for the car and her coat tomorrow.

Shivering, it didn't take a block and a half before her ears began to sting and she was certain her toes were going to end up with frostbite.

What was the temperature outside anyway?

Okay, maybe a mile in this cold was a little far.

When the first snowflakes started to fall, she laughed.

Perfect.

Dumb, Riley, really. Next time you decide to storm off in a huff, grab your coat first.

She saw headlights and wondered if it was someone she knew. She was so cold she'd offer up an autographed guitar to whoever drove her back to the bed and breakfas

t.

The car slowed and pulled to the curb. She stilled when the window rolled down.

It was Ethan.

"Riley, get in."

She thought for all of a quarter of a second about telling him to stick it, but she wasn't that stupid. She was freezing and she was certain she'd lost a few brain cells. She shuffled her frozen body to the car and slid inside.

Thankfully he had the heater blasting, and her coat was on the seat next to her. She pulled it over her. And then he scooted over toward her.

She shot him a look. "Wha...what are you doing?"

"Warming you." He pulled her against him. "Are you out of your mind running out of the house without a coat? It's five degrees outside."

No wonder she thought she was going to die out there.