I nodded, reaching for my wallet. “Jesse Harris, ma’am.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Heard you were back in town. Staying at the ranch with Cole.”
“That’s right,” I replied, trying to keep my tone neutral. News traveled fast in Hell Creek. Always had.
“Hmph,” she grunted, sliding the coffee toward me. “Didn’t think we’d see you around these parts again after what you did.”
I froze, my hand halfway to the cup. “Excuse me?”
“Breaking your daddy’s heart like that. Running off without so much as a goodbye.” She shook her head disapprovingly.“And then not showing up when he was sick? That’s cold, boy. Real cold.”
My cheeks burned with shame and irritation. “You don’t know the whole story.”
“Don’t need to,” she replied curtly. “Three fifty for the coffee.”
I handed her a five, suddenly desperate to get out of there. “Keep the change.”
“Your charity don’t make up for what you did,” she called after me as I headed for the door.
I pushed outside, gulping down fresh air, my hand clenched so tight around the coffee cup I nearly crushed it. So that’s how it was going to be. Hell Creek had me pegged as the villain. Cole had probably made sure of that, poisoning the well while I was gone. Not that he had to do much. The old lady was right, I didn’t show up when Jack was sick. I never even knew he was… but I never called either.
Back in my car, I took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. It tasted like it had been sitting on the burner since dawn, bitter and burnt. Just like my homecoming.
The drive to the ranch was short, but with each mile, the knot in my stomach grew tighter. I wasn’t sure what awaited me there. Would Cole be glad I’d come back, or disappointed? Part of me hoped he’d given up on the ranch already, decided it wasn’t worth sharing with me. But I knew better. Cole was nothing if not stubborn, and he’d never abandon his birthright, even if it meant putting up with me. Plus, he was getting far too much enjoyment out of watching me struggle.
As I pulled up the long driveway, I spotted him immediately, a tall figure in a black cowboy hat, walking back to the house from the barn. He looked up when he heard my car, his stance stiffening noticeably. Even from this distance, I could feel the weight of his gaze as he watched me approach. I tried to ignorethe flutter in my stomach, chalking it up to anxiety rather than the real things I thought about him in the dead of night. For a moment, he just stood there, hands on his hips, as if debating whether to acknowledge me or walk away.
I pulled up near the house and cut the engine, taking a steadying breath before stepping out. The mountain air hit me, crisp and clean, such a stark contrast to Seattle’s perpetual dampness.
“Wasn’t sure you’d come back,” Cole called out, making no move to help as I started unloading boxes from my car.
“Yeah, well, I signed a contract,” I replied, hefting a box of clothes. “And unlike some people think, I do keep my word.”
Cole’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he nodded toward my car. “That all you got?”
I glanced at my sedan stuffed with boxes. “This is my life for the past decade, so yeah. This is it.”
Something flickered across his face—pity, maybe, or judgment. I couldn’t tell and didn’t care to analyze it. I just wanted to get my stuff inside and collapse. I’d driven all night to make it back in time and my body ached from sitting for hours.
“I can’t believe you just abandoned yourboyfriendlike that,” Cole added, leaning against the railing as I struggled with a particularly heavy box. “Seems like you got a habit of chewin’ people up then just leavin’ them without warnin’.”
I gritted my teeth. “Would you rather I just let the ranch get donated?” I shot back. “Or maybe you just like being adickheadabout everything, huh?”
He seemed unfazed. “I’m just tellin’ the truth.”
“You wanna know the truth, Cole?” I said, tossing the box down and rounding to face him. “The truth is that Mom died and both you and Jack abandonedme.”
He scoffed, but I could see the surprise in his eyes, the realization. “We were here the whole time.”
“The hell you were,” I snapped. “The moment she died, both you and Jack clammed up and damn near didn’t speak a word to me for two years.”
“I had a ranch to run?—”
“And I was fifteen!” I cried. “A kid! Do you think I knew how to process losing my onlyrealparent in this entire world?!”
Silence.
“She died and I had no one to talk to. You and Jack didn’t know how bad things got at school when people realized I was different. Do you have any idea what the ranch hands used to call me when you weren’t looking? No! You didn’t ask and you didn’t care.” I put a foot on the bottom step of the porch, glaring at Cole with all the venom I could muster. “So can you really stand there and blame me for leaving when you didn’t give a shit if I was here or not to begin with?”
