I set my box in the back of his Jeep, then reached out to take his. Our fingers brushed as he handed it over, and I felt a little jolt of electricity at the contact. From the way his breath hitched, I wasn’t the only one who felt it.
“There you go,” I said, securing both boxes. “Tell Dolly I said hey, and that Frank’s still waiting for her famous apple pie recipe. Or better yet, he just wants a pie… for free.”
“I’ll... I’ll let her know,” Hayden said, his voice a little rougher than before. He was looking at me again, those blue eyes tracing over my face like he was trying to memorize it. “Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime.” I tipped my hat, giving him my best smile. “And Hayden? If you get lost wandering around town again, you know where to find me.”
His cheeks flushed pink, which was about the prettiest thing I’d seen in months. “I wasn’t lost,” he muttered, but there wasn’t much heat behind it this time.
As he drove away, kicking up dust in his wake, I found myself grinning like an idiot. Mabel appeared at my elbow, having watched the entire exchange with undisguised interest.
“Well now,” she said, her voice full of mischief. “That was mighty interesting.”
“Don’t start,” I warned, but I was still smiling.
“Oh honey, I’m not starting anything. But that boy was lookingat you like you were the last piece of chocolate cake at a church social.” She patted my arm with a knowing look. “And you were lookingrightback.”
I wanted to argue with her, but I couldn’t. She was right after all. I watched Hayden’s Jeep disappear down the drive, something warm and hopeful stirring in my chest despite his standoffishness.
He really was the prettiest damn thing I’d seen in a long time.
Chapter 5
Hayden
I’d spent the majority of the week running errands for Aunt Dolly. Part of me felt like it was my duty to help her since she was giving me a place to stay and food without asking for a penny from me. But another part of me that was growing louder was tired of running around hell’s half acre picking up this and that for the diner. What I wanted more than anything was to sit in my room, undisturbed, and wallow in my own self-pity.
Unfortunately, Dolly didn’t believe in wallowing. And since I had nowhere else to go, running errands for her was what I got to do.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad. The time alone in my Jeep was nice. The cowboys were good to look at too, especially that one out at the Turner place. But he was annoyingly chipper. It set my teeth on edge. Optimistic people were idiots. Plain and simple.
At least getting out of the apartment helped me stay off my laptop, which I’d been using to stalk Tommy’s Instagram posts. It seemed him and the little side piece he broke up with me for didn’t work out. I found some solace in that. But then he started posting himself posing with new men every day. And somehow, he was inFlorida now? His texts that I couldn’t stop myself from reading said he missed me. But his posts told me he’d rail anything that didn’t move faster than a slow trot.
I hated him. But what I hated most of all was that his life didn’t seem to change without me. In fact, he looked happier than ever. It made me feel like I was the problem, like I was the one that had been holding him back. But here I was, with nothing, living in a stranger’s empty room until I could crawl back home to mooch off my parents for a while.
I feltfuckingpathetic.
But now the weekend was here, and I thought I’dfinallyget a break from chores or errands or whatever the fuck else. I could finally unwind a bit and have some time to myself.
That wasn’t going to happen though because tonight was the town’s Christmas Festival. Everyone was buzzing about it like it was some big to-do, especially Aunt Dolly. I’d never seen a woman get so worked up about a holiday in my life. She made the kids in town look like they didn’t believe in Santa at all the way she was carrying on. But how good could the festival actually be? There were barely more than a handful of people living in Sagebrush. What could they possibly get up to that was so magical?
“Hayden?” Dolly’s voice called, three sharp knocks following it on the door. “You ready yet?”
I let out a long sigh, practically throwing myself off the couch. My shirt was rumpled, and my jeans weren’t washed, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have a single person in Sagebrush to impress. Forcing myself up, I walked to the door and pulled it open. And there was Dolly, dressed up like Santa Claus if he were a woman in a short dress, high heels, and with far too much cleavage. Even her earrings were sleigh bells.
“Well, you look…nice,” she said, although I could tell it was a critique dressed up as a compliment. I was my mother’s son after all; I knew what condescension was.
“Dolly, I’m not feeling that good,” I replied, patting my stomach. “I think I’m gonna sit this one out.”
She gave me a good hard look. “I have this funny feelin’ you’re gonna be fine, sugar. Besides, I want you to come down and meet everyone. You know, it’s theleastyou could do after I had to talk your mother down from the ledge,” Aunt Dolly said poignantly as she reached up and fussed with my collar. “That poor woman about had a heart attack right there in the middle of her fancy Italian house when you didn’t call her.”
A guilt trip.Fun. This really was just like being at home again.
“Mom called you?” I felt a pang of guilt that was quickly replaced by annoyance. Of course she’d called Aunt Dolly. But I was a grown man, not some runaway teenager. It was none of her business.
“Three times,” Dolly said, nodding with emphasis. “I told her you were fine, just settlin’ in. But honey, you really should call her. That woman worries.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Fine. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
