But that was it. She’d left, I assumed that was the end of it.
And here she was.
Watching me.
“Silas, you gonna stop ogling my friend and get up here?” Delilah chimed, voice cutting through whatever was tense between me and June. “You remember June, I presume.”
I growled, balling my hands into fists and stomping up the stairs.
“My memory is just fine, Delilah.”
“Right…it’s yoursocial skillsthat need work,” she teased.
June finally laughed, though I didn’t know how I felt about it being at my expense.
“Welcome back, June,” I said gruffly, though I directed my attention toward Willow. “Rhett and Beau out back?”
Willow nodded, bouncing Hazel on her hip. “Yep—Milo’s been doing their best to distract them, but he’s much more interested in June now that they’re here.”
I wanted to askwhyshe was here…and how long she was staying, and if she’d thought of me as often as I’d thought of her.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I ignored all three women and went down the stairs at the end of the porch, out toward the garden.
“You’re an asshole, Silas Ward!” Delilah called after me.
“Language!” Willow snapped, and I heard her slap Delilah’s arm.
Baby Hazel cackled.
The sound of Hazel’s laughter followed me all the way to the greenhouse frame. I shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked, knuckles brushing against the crumpled letter, which just pissed me off more.
Rhett was on a ladder, squinting against the morning sun, while Beau stood below with a measuring tape and a mouthful of opinions. They’d both already sweat through their t-shirts—it was just that kind of Georgia day.
“Jesus, finally,” Beau said when he spotted me. “We were about to send Milo out looking for you.”
“He found me,” I grunted. “You need to get that mutt trained before he knocks somebody down for good.”
“Aw…Milo’s not a killer,” Beau said. “Ain’t his fault you’re not tough enough to fend him off.”
“Milo’s not my biggest concern right now,” I said. I stepped in to hold the ladder as Rhett climbed down, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Got a letter from Abel Trent.”
“Well, I would say good mornin’, but it clearly isn’t one,” Rhett said. “You bring it with you?”
I pulled the letter from my pocket and held it out. Beau grabbed it first, his eyes skimming fast, jaw tight.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
“Thought he’d crawled into a hole somewhere and died,” Rhett muttered.
“Yeah, well—looks like he brought stationery with him,” I replied.
Beau rubbed a hand through his hair. “What the hell is an ‘emergency reinstatement clause’?”
“Could be made up, for all I know,” I said. “Wouldn’t be beyond the Trents to bullshit a legal reason to kick me out of their damn church.”
Rhett took the letter next, scanning slower than Beau had. “They didn’t even bother signin’ it,” he said.
