“I think I can manage.” It was great to see Brooklyn smiling. She’d been through a lot in the past several months, and I was so happy she and Levi finally got together for good. “After this festival is over, we need to have another girls’ night.”
“Definitely,” Lily said.
Brooklyn nodded. “I’m on board with that.”
“Good. I’m going to need it.” I said goodbye and, armed with a big bakery box and a jug of coffee, decided to walk to the community center instead of driving the short distance. It was gorgeous outside and it would give me a chance to let everyone in Mustang Mountain see that I wasn’t freaking out and that plans for the festival were on track.
As soon as I left Lily’s place, I spotted Huck on the opposite side of the street. Thankfully I’d tucked my keychain into the side pocket of my purse so there wouldn’t be a repeat of accidentally setting off my car alarm. My face still burned when I thought about our last interaction.
We’d been able to avoid each other for a whole week, though people in town had no problem keeping me informed about what Huck had been doing. I knew from Brooklyn that he and Levihad been flipping houses and cabins together. Since Brooklyn and I were such close friends, it hurt my feelings that Levi hadn’t asked me to list the houses he’d finished. But I could understand him not wanting to be in the middle of whatever had been happening between me and Huck.
I’d tried all my usual tricks of trying to forget him, but nothing worked. Brooklyn thought I needed a one-night stand to drive Huck out of my head for good. But the truth was, I’d never been that kind of girl. When I fell, it was hard and fast and all-consuming like the way it had been with Huck. He was like oxygen, and I needed to be around him to even breathe. It had been hard keeping our relationship a secret from everyone, but my dad would have strangled both of us if he’d heard I’d been seeing Huck on the sly. Thankfully, he’d been so busy with the ranch that he didn’t have time to monitor my every waking moment.
I stood there and let memories from the past wash over me. Memories of Huck laughing, just like he was doing right across the street. He had his baseball cap flipped around backwards while he filled his arms with boxes and carried them into the Merc. I’d always loved his laugh. Deep and husky, it came straight from his belly. I used to press my cheek to his chest so I could feel it rumble up inside him.
He’d changed a lot in the years he’d been away. Besides the obvious physical changes like arms full of tattoos and a body that had filled out and been chiseled into defined muscle, he’d built a wall to keep people out. Even his laugh was different. Not as free. Not as real.
Where might I be if he hadn’t walked away and left me behind? Would we have gone public with our relationship? Would we have left Mustang Mountain to carve out a new path for ourselves? Would we be married with half a dozen kids?
While I ran through the possibilities of a future that would never materialize, Huck looked over. His smile faded, and a cold hardness replaced the warmth in his eyes. Ruby came up behind him and said something that pulled his attention away.
It was silly for the two of us to be fighting over something that had happened so long ago. Clearly he wasn’t going to be the bigger person and extend an olive branch. I might have been a little cold to him at the meeting the other night, but it was hard to forgive the man who’d walked away without so much as a goodbye.
My meeting didn’t start for another fifteen minutes. Taking in a deep breath and hoping I wasn’t making a huge mistake, I headed straight for Huck.
“Good morning, Peyton.” Ruby was the first one to see me coming. Her nervous smile should have been a red flag, but I was too stubborn to turn back.
I pasted on a friendly grin and shifted my gaze from Huck’s backside to Ruby. “Good morning. How are your plans for the festival coming?”
“Dammit.” Huck banged his head on the doorframe as he pulled another box out of the backseat of Ruby’s car. “Sorry, Ruby. Next time you need something moved, give me a call and I’ll do it in my truck.”
“Thanks, sugar.” Ruby rested her hand on Huck’s arm as her gaze swept back to me. “Huck’s been helping me unload all of these supplies. I’m going to run inside and double check that I’ve got a space cleared for them. I’m sure the two of you have plenty to catch up on. See you later, Peyton.”
“Bye, Ruby.” She moved pretty quickly for someone her age, though that probably had more to do with her not wanting to get caught in the crossfire between Huck and me. I didn’t blame her. But I’d started it so I needed to say something. “I didn’t expect to see you in town today.”
He scowled. “Didn’t realize I needed your permission.”
Ouch. I forced a tight smile. “I’m not trying to start something.”
“No? Feels like you started something as soon as you saw me walk into that meeting.”
“That’s not fair. I was just doing my job. If you wanted a crack at the festival contract, you should have submitted your bid by the deadline and not showed up at that meeting with a huge chip on your shoulder.” Now it was getting personal. I shouldn’t have tried to start a conversation.
“Once upon a time you liked that chip.”
Oh my gosh. “That was a low blow, even for you, Huck. And people change.”
He worked his jaw back and forth. Tension radiated off him. “Some of us had to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just keep living in your own little world, Peyton. The one where your dad pulls all the strings.” He grabbed the last box from the back of Ruby’s car and slammed the door.
I stared after him, wishing I could come up with a snappy reply, but I felt like I’d been hollowed out inside. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t offer you a muffin,” I yelled.
He didn’t respond, just kept going until he reached the door of the Merc. Fine. Be that way. His attitude made me wonder what I’d ever seen in him in the first place. I’d fallen for a guy who looked tough but was full of ooey, gooey mushiness inside. This new version of Huck was like a block of ice frozen all the way through. I was better off without him.
Knowing it was one thing. Feeling it was something else entirely. Even after everything, there was still a tiny piece of me buried way deep down inside that would always have feelings for the boy who’d stolen my heart. But based on how Huckhandled himself now, that boy was long gone, swallowed up by the hardened jerk who’d blown back into town.
