“I should go,” I say finally. “Truett will be back soon.”
She nods, not meeting my eyes. “Okay.”
I make it to the front door before she speaks again.
“Jesse?”
I pause, my hand on the doorknob, but I don’t turn around.
“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “For leaving the way I did. For hurting you. I never meant to.”
I close my eyes, fighting the urge to go back to her. “I know.”
Then I’m outside, the late afternoon sun blinding after the dimness of the house. I take a deep breath of fresh air, trying to clear my head, but all I can smell is her perfume clinging to my shirt.
This is bad. This is very, very bad.
Carson’s riding back from the south pasture, and he waves when he sees me. I wave back, grateful for the distraction.
“How’d the fences look?” I call out as he approaches.
“Good. Found a couple of loose posts near the creek, but nothing major.” He swings down from his horse, studying my face with the kind of perception that runs in our family. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
If only it were that simple.
“I’m fine,” I lie. “Just tired.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t push it either. “Want me to take care of Ranger?” he asks, nodding toward my horse, who’s still saddled and waiting by the barn.
“Yeah, thanks.”
I watch him lead both horses toward the barn, then head for my truck. I need to get out of here before Truett gets back and starts asking questions I can’t answer.
But as I drive down the dusty road away from the ranch, I can’t shake the image of Aubree pressed against that wall, looking at me like maybe, just maybe, she wants me as much as I’ve always wanted her.
THREE
AUBREE
That kiss still keepsme up at night.I never thought I’d hear those words from him. Never thought that stupid kiss the night I turned eighteen even mattered to him. It’d mattered to me, obviously. But I’d never gotten any indication that he’d felt anything.
God, coming back here is going to open up so many boxes I’ve closed tight and shoved into the recesses of my mind that it might as well kill me.
One good thing, though, is connecting with my high school best friend, Nora. We’ve FaceTimed, emailed, texted, and she’s even visited me, but we haven’t lived in the same city since I left.
I pull out my phone and scroll to her contact, my fingers still slightly shaky from my encounter with Jesse.
A
I’m home!
Immediately, there are three dots.
N
Oh my god! I’m so excited. Wanna hang out?
Looking at the stuff around my room, I decide quickly I don’t want to spend my first afternoon and evening unpacking. There’s plenty of time for that. Besides, I need a distraction from replaying Jesse’s words over and over in my mind.
