Faithful to a Fault by K. J. Reed Page A

there was more than enough seating for everyone and the commercial kitchen wouldn’t blink at the amount of food that had to be prepared.
    In addition to the four Winstons, Trav and Sarah, the Fitzhughes from down the road were joining them. And by down the road, that meant about two miles away. Mary Ellen Fitzhugh ran the stables for Camp Tecumseh and was also Ariel’s best friend.
    And apparently, given the looks Brice kept shooting Mary Ellen when he thought nobody was looking, she was also the object of his lust.
    The one person who wasn’t there was Pete. Sarah had been more than pleased to join her brother for the holiday and loved meeting her soon-to-be sister-in-law. But she also assumed Pete would come out. His absence was dragging her like a weight. Forced smiles were becoming a habit.
    Brice was explaining about the new program Ariel had proposed to Child Protective Services about providing weekend retreats to the camp for foster children when the door to the mess hall flew open. Everyone scrambled to grab napkins and cups that blew away, but Sarah stared at the new guest.
    Before he could even unwrap the layers of warmth, she knew it was Pete. Knew it in her bones. Like she had Pete Goodwin Radar. She wanted to get up and run to him, but after the way she ended things, it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
    Ariel lost no time in flinging herself into Pete’s arms, however. After a hug, Pete shook Trav’s hand and apologized to the group as a whole.
    “Sorry. Flight was delayed, then canceled. I should have been here yesterday.”
    Pete’s eyes strayed over the group, coming to rest on her. For one moment, the room felt hotter than the oven mid-turkey bake. Then he drifted over to the side to give Mary Ellen an affectionate squeeze.
    Jealousy, pure and simple, stirred in her gut as she watched the petite redhead embrace Pete back. By the way Brice’s hand clenched around his fork, she had a feeling he didn’t enjoy the sight much either. But the hug ended, and Pete was back to looking at her with that damn discernable stare. She had no clue what it meant, but whatever he was feeling, it was intense.
    Conversation continued and she did her best to keep up with those talking around her. But even as she looked to her left to say something to Brice, she could feel his hot stare on her constantly. And it finally clicked what his eyes were saying.
    Don’t think you’re getting away that easily, Sarah.
    Well, right back atcha, Pete.
    Sarah waited until all the dishes were cleared away and the family had settled on watching a movie on the rec room’s big screen. As the group made their way along the packed-dirt path, Sarah started to drift toward the bunks. As the Winstons had rightly guessed, everyone would be indulging in wine and beer and they wanted everyone to have an easy way to avoid driving. The whole group was bunking at the camp for the night.
    Trav followed her a few steps away from the group, as she’d suspected.
    “Where are you heading? Rec room’s that way.”
    Sarah gave him an innocent smile. “I’m just going to call it a night. I’m exhausted. And if Ariel is waking me up at the ass-crack of dawn to go Black Friday shopping, I’m going to need rest.” She teased him with a wink. “Some things have changed, but I’m still not a morning person.”
    Trav nodded and gave her a hug. Though it was still awkward at times, their relationship had grown leaps and bounds over the last week. “You know where our cabin is if you need anything.”
    Sarah nodded and headed toward her bunk. She was willing to give Pete an hour to get his butt settled and head to her cabin for a talk. The male ego needed a chance to thrive, after all. But if he didn’t show up soon, she would be hunting him down so they could settle things. And then it would be on her terms.
    * * * * *
     
    Pete wasn’t sure where Sarah had gone, but she disappeared before the movie even started. Come to think of it, Trav had