Read Online Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel by Pamela Clare - Free Book Online

weren’t. There’s no way you could have known what kind of man he truly was. But you know what? I don’t hear the lawnmower. Eric will be back inside in a minute.”
    Another sniff. “I don’t want him to see me like this.”
    Well, shit.
    His mother had always been someone that people trusted, someone they confided in, someone they turned to for support, so it didn’t surprise him that Victoria had opened up to her. But Victoria needed more time, and Eric knew how he could give it to her.
    He stepped inside, let the screen door slam good and hard behind him. “Hey, Mom, I’m heading to the auto-parts store to get that cap for your transmission fluid tank. I’ll be back as soon as I can be.”
    “Okay, son. Thank you!”
    He grabbed the T-shirt he’d tossed onto the floor a few hours ago, yanked it over his head, and stepped outside again, cutting across the yard to his pickup, which sat parked at the curb. He jerked open the door, threw himself into the driver’s seat, then jammed the keys into the ignition. Only when he nearly missed the stop sign at the end of the block did he realize how tense he was.
    No, not tense. Angry.
    He was pissed off that Taylor hadn’t trusted him with the whole story. He was pissed off that all he had to go on were the ideas his imagination was churning up one after the other. Mostly he was pissed at the son of a bitch who’d hurt her.
    Damn it.
    He had no tolerance for men who abused women.
    Then again, why was he so worked up over this? Sure, he felt compassion for Victoria, but then he felt compassion for anyone who was suffering. But what was with the rage? He was getting primal and protective over her, and he barely knew her. She was the friend of a friend who happened to cross his path. Next Sunday, she’d get on a plane and fly back to Chicago. He’d see her now and again when she came to Scarlet to visit Lexi, and that was it.
    You’re falling for her.
    A laugh burst from between his lips.
    That was loco. Absurd. Completely insane.
    Hell, yeah, he was attracted to her. She’d been on his mind a lot since she’d arrived. But there was no chance he and Victoria were going to get together. He didn’t do relationships. He didn’t even have time to get laid these days.
    That was it. He was horny.
    You’re always horny.
    No, seriously. He hadn’t been with a woman in … hell, months? After the wedding, he’d have to do something about that.
    Relieved to have worked that out, he drew in a deep breath, turned up his music, and let U2 blast his thoughts away.

    * * *
    E ric had his head on straight and his hormones under control by the time he and Victoria headed up the canyon toward Scarlet, where Austin and Lexi were hosting a cookout for the bridal party. He cranked the music and the AC. “Are you cool?”
    “Yes, thanks. It’s so much hotter down here than it is in Scarlet Springs.” A slight puffiness to Victoria’s eyes was the only sign she’d been crying.
    “That’s the altitude.”
    “I should have guessed. Here, everything is about altitude.”
    That made him laugh. “Just about.”
    “I like your mom.”
    He couldn’t argue with that. “She’s good people. She did right by me, even when it wasn’t easy. She raised me by herself, you know.”
    Victoria nodded. “She told me.”
    So they’d had that conversation. It figured.
    “Have you ever met your father?”
    “Yeah, but I wouldn’t use that word to describe him. A father is a man who stands by his kids and their mother. That guy was a sperm donor—nothing more. He dumped my mom when she told him she was pregnant and never gave her a dime.”
    “You don’t have any relationship with him?” She seemed to catch herself. “Sorry. That’s just me being nosy. I shouldn’t—”
    “It’s okay.” Eric didn’t mind. He’d worked through that shit ages ago. “No, I don’t have a relationship with him. I tracked him down when I was seventeen, introduced myself, and found myself looking