When Snow Falls (Whiskey Creek #2)(71)
Author: Brenda Novak

That didn’t explain where her car was. But Cheyenne had to at least look in their own backyard, had to be sure.

“Presley!” She was getting closer and closer to Dylan’s house, but she didn’t care if he or his brothers heard her. She didn’t care about anything except finding her only family. “Answer me!”

She smelled cigarette smoke before she realized she was no longer alone. Stopping not far from Dylan’s barn, she closed her eyes and inhaled. That scent reminded her of Presley, but she knew it wasn’t Presley smoking out here tonight. She used her flashlight to scan the woods ahead of her until she saw Dylan leaning up against a tree at the edge of his property.

“No luck?” he said, shying away from the light.

She wondered how long he’d been there, listening to her call out. He wasn’t even wearing a coat. “No.”

When he pushed off the tree and came toward her, she noticed that he was carrying a bottle of hard liquor in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “Joe came over to your place tonight. Thought you’d like to know. If you call him, you might be able to catch him before he goes to bed, get him to come back.”

Because it was rude to do anything else, she pointed her flashlight at the ground, but that made it impossible to ascertain his expression. He looked like nothing except a tall, dark shadow. “How do you know he came over?”

The whites of his teeth flashed in a smile, but she suspected it wasn’t a happy one. “We bumped into each other.”

Her heart was pounding. She wanted to believe it was due to the physical exertion but knew there was more to it. Seeing Dylan did this to her. “I told him about us.”

He drank from the bottle, then wiped his mouth. “So he said.”

Dylan’s words took Cheyenne by surprise. “He mentioned it to you?”

“Point-blank. You went for full disclosure, huh?”

When she folded her arms, hugging herself against the cold, he offered her a drink.

She caught a whiff of whiskey as she pushed it away. “I didn’t want to feel as if I’d been sneaking around.”

“Gutsy move. Admirable, considering how much you care about him.”

Was he being sarcastic? She couldn’t tell, but she was now convinced he was drunk. “You need to go inside, Dylan. It’s too cold out here.”

“You’re telling me that?”

“You don’t have a coat on.”

“I don’t need a coat.” He took a long drag. “I don’t need anything.”

“Least of all me?”

He didn’t respond.

“Come on.” She held his arm so she could tug him toward his house, but he jerked out of her grasp.

“Aaron saw her, you know.”

She let go of him. “He what?”

“He saw Presley last night.”

“That’s not what he told us.”

He kept smoking but didn’t say anything.

“Dylan?”

“Apparently, he wasn’t entirely honest.” He shrugged.

Mouth dry, she steadied herself by placing a hand on the closest tree. “What happened?”

“He was an ass**le to her. Just like you’re afraid I’ll be to you. Should make you glad you never gave me the chance, huh?”

She couldn’t let their personal problems enter into this. She had to find Presley. “Does he know where she is?”

“No. She came by when he was asleep. He didn’t want to see her, so he turned her away and then she asked for drugs.”

“And…”

“He gave them to her. See? You can’t count on an Amos to do the right thing.”

But Aaron was as screwed up as Presley. Cheyenne couldn’t judge Dylan by Aaron’s actions, any more than Dylan could judge her by Presley’s.

Again, she thought of the possibility of a baby and felt heartbroken for her sister. She might’ve felt heartbroken for herself but refused to contemplate whether or not she might be pregnant, too. “He doesn’t care about her?”

“The ironic thing is—” he dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out “—I think he does.”

He didn’t offer an excuse as to why Aaron might’ve reacted as he had, but Cheyenne could guess. He’d lost his own mother; why would he want to be involved in losing hers?

“They both need to go into rehab.”

“Aaron says he’s ready for it. I’m taking him down after Christmas.”

“Good. It might be his last chance to get his life turned around.” She hoped Presley would have the same chance, hoped it wasn’t already too late.

“I’m sorry for the way he treated her,” he said softly.

“He’s the one who should be sorry. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

“I’m fine!”

“Please?” she said. “I don’t want to worry about you, too. I can’t…” When her voice broke, he tossed away the bottle and stepped up to frame her face with his hands.

She stared at him, waiting for him to kiss her, hoping he would. The way he made her feel when she was in his arms could overcome the pain. But he didn’t.

“Go out with me,” he whispered. “Just to dinner. I don’t pretend to be perfect, or even as good as Joe, but I can love you twice as much. If you don’t have a good time, I’ll leave you alone.”

She wanted his arms around her so badly. Rising up on her toes, she tried to press her lips to his, but he stopped her.

“Just a date. That’s all I want.”

No, he wanted her to legitimize their relationship. To make it public. She understood what that dinner signified. It would put her at odds with almost everyone she knew. It would also put a decisive end to anything she had going with Joe, if the note she’d left him hadn’t already done that.

“I’m obsessed with you,” she admitted.

“Then say yes.”

She couldn’t see his expression, but she could hear the entreaty in his voice, feel the hopeful tension in his body—and couldn’t refuse. “Will you go inside if I do?”

“I want to help you find your sister. That’s why I came out here.”

“It’s no use.” She swept her flashlight through the trees. “I’ve looked everywhere.”

He took her hand, toyed with her cold fingers, then pulled her to him and rested his chin on her head. “She’s going to be okay.”