“You remember.”
Her body stiffened, eyes locked on the sleeping dog between them for several tensely silent moments. “Is that why you brought me here?” Her quiet words seemed shaky.
“This place—”
“We can’t go back, Logan. That’s not how this works.”
“I’ve never stopped loving you, Abbs.”
She looked away, clearing her throat. “Then why did you lie?”
“Lie?” This wasn’t working out as he imagined. “I never lied.”
“You said you were done.” Her words came out in a growl. “You said you wouldn’t go back.”
“I—”
“But you . . .left.” Her voice cracked, and he knew what that meant. Tears were silently falling, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. But such an attempt, tonight with the dog between them and her upset, would surely send them all into the lake. All this time, and she believed he lied to her.
“I never said I was done with the rodeo.”
“But—”
“Yousaid I was.Everyonedid. I’m the only one who never said I was done.”
Chapter 9
Abbie
The next morning, Abbie was awake much too early. She’d always been an early riser, but this particular day arrived a little too soon for her liking. She’d spent half the night tossing and turning, replaying too many memories—both past and present—through her mind. Replaying those words.
I’m the only one who never said I was done.
Even Gibbs seemed confused about their extra-early wakeup. Now he dozed, in and out of sleep from her couch.
Logan had taken them to a very special spot, one that had a lot of history. He confessed he still loved her, and unraveled the one thing she’d clung to most in her anger when he left.
“You could’ve at least capsized the boat, you know,” she said to the pile of fur on her couch. But his twitching paws meant Gibbs was down for the count.
That spot . . . She sighed. She’d fought all night to keep out the memories, but they burrowed their way back in anyway. They shared their first kiss there. Logan first told her he loved her there, in the moonlight. They shared their dreams of the future, sitting nestled in a canoe with the moonlight glowing on the lake.
She closed her laptop and hopped up from the couch. She’d kidded herself about working on the article this morning, but not a single word had escaped her fingers. She’d forgotten to ask her promised question last night anyway. Sure, Logan was more forthcoming about his season thus far, but it wasn’t helping her put aside the whirling thoughts in her mind. If it weren’t Izzy’s birthday, she’d call in sick and lock the door.
Intending to fix herself a cup of coffee, she somehow ended up in her bedroom digging through her top dresser drawer. A thud sounded from the other room, announcing Gibbs before she saw him appear, stretching his enormous body in the doorway. He let out a groan-worthy yawn.
The small velvet bag had remained tucked away in the farthest corner of her drawer for two years; she hadn’t once sought it out. But this morning, she had to see it.
The ring fell into the palm of her hand, stunning her into silence much as it had the first time Logan showed it to her. He’d been so nervous, she remembered, that he almost dropped it in the lake. They laughed about how differently the night might’ve turned out if he’d been forced to fish it out.
Gibbs licked her elbow.
“Things were different then, you know?” She let herself fall on the edge of the bed. Gibbs rested his head in her lap, sniffing at the ring she pinched between two fingers. The single square-cut diamond on a white gold band was simple, the way she preferred it. Logan knew her so well.
A banging at the front door caused Gibbs to perk up, knocking the ring from her hand as he abandoned her in the bedroom. She jumped up from the bed, but the ring clattered to the floor and rolled beneath her dresser. “Crap!” She dropped to her knees and shoved her hand underneath, but found the ring too far out of reach.
Gibbs barked as the pounding continued.
Reluctantly, she left the ring and hurried to the door.
