Good Intentions (Book 3 in the Road to Salvation Series)

CHAPTER 1

As Katie stared at Wes, her mind drifted back to an incident that occurred when they were sophomores. He'd had the same sad, disappointed look on his face. It had been during class, and Katie had to get a book she'd forgot out of her locker. The halls were empty, and she was walking quickly so she could get back in a reasonable amount of time. He was down the hall, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest, his forehead resting against his knees, and his arms wrapped around his head. She hadn't noticed him at first; she was focused on her mission. She noticed him only after she'd closed her locker and turned to head back to class. She hesitated. She really needed to get back to class, but she couldn't leave him in a time of need. Her heart instantly went out to him, a frown covering her face. Class could wait. This was important. She knelt in front of him and touched his elbow lightly.

"You okay?" she whispered.

He lifted his head, and it became readily apparent that he'd been crying. Katie moved to embrace him. It was what he would have done to comfort her. He rolled away from her, springing to his feet.

"I'm fine," he snapped as he stomped down the hall.

She plopped on the floor, staring after him and wondering what she had done wrong. Katie's heart shattered into a million pieces. Tears stung her eyes, disbelief threatened to drop her jaw open. All she had wanted to do was help. Why hadn't he let her?

That incident pretty much summed up their entire relationship through the years. Wes was there only when it benefitted him, and it always seemed to be when Katie was at her weakest. She wasn't going to let him do that again. She wasn't weak anymore. She wasn't surviving on his fleeting moments of attention. She didn't need his pity. She didn't need his judgment either. What it all boiled down to was she didn't need him. The fear she'd felt being in his presence morphed into anger. She clenched her fists at her sides.

"Whatever you're going to do, get it over with," she growled.

Anger flashed through Wes's red-rimmed eyes and he balled his fists. Katie stiffened. The last time they'd been on this mountain, they'd stopped being friends. There had been yelling, and she'd said things that she knew cut him to the bone—things about his mom—but she hadn't been sorry then, and she definitely wasn't sorry now. She was ready for what was going to happen next. If his behavior from the dinner her mom had decided to host without her consent was any indication, he would just yell at her and storm off. That was hardly any threat at all—except she needed him to get her home. Still, she wasn't going to stand there and take his verbal abuse. He'd had plenty of opportunities to help her out and hadn't. Besides, she'd made peace with her decisions. Who did Wes think he was coming back and trying to make her feel guilty? She wasn't going to let him. What else could she say to anger him so he would send her home?

In a heartbeat, the anger that had surged through him vanished. Tears formed in his eyes, his hands relaxed. He shook his head. Wow. That was new. How did he get over that so quickly? It wasn't necessarily a good reaction. If he wasn't angry, he wouldn't send her home.

"I don't want to fight anymore, Katie." His voice broke as he spoke. "It's not getting us anywhere."

Katie stepped back and eyed him suspiciously. What was this? Was he trying to use reverse psychology on her? There was no way after she tried to kill him that he would be this nice. It was a trap. He was trying to get her to drop her defenses. But why? What was his plan? It didn't matter. It wasn't going to work. She was already vulnerable enough. She didn't need to make things easier for him. But at the same time, she was curious. Why wasn't he trying to kill her? That thought really bothered her. Why did she care? She hated Wes and all that he'd put her through. He'd abandoned her, broke her heart on numerous occasions, and brought demons into her life. Why didn't she turn her back on him? She could stick her fingers in her ears and hum to drown out his voice. She should. He was the enemy now.