He was just finishing the last coat on the wall when his phone rang. His lips twitched at the name on the screen before he set the phone to his ear.
Had his teammate known he’d been thinking about him?
“Jesse. How are you doing, man?” His teammate was back in his hometown of Amber Ridge, Montana.
“I’m good, brother. How areyou?”
A part of him wanted to be honest and tell him what seeing Callie had done to him the other day. But then he’d have to relive that moment. Remember the caution in her eyes. Feel the way she’d pulled away from him and asked him to leave.
“I’m okay.” A simple lie.
“That doesn’t sound reassuring. Have you seen Callie yet?”
His muscles locked at her name. OfcourseJesse would ask. He knew exactly what she meant to him. All the guys did. “Yeah, I’ve seen her. She wants nothing to do with me.”
There was a brief pause, and when his buddy spoke again, his voice was lower. “You’re home though. It’s a start.”
He ran frustrated fingers through his hair. “I couldn’t find her for two years, and now we’re here, in the same town, but it’s…different.She’sdifferent.”
“Two years is a long time. I’m guessing you didn’t tell her why you did what you did back then?”
“I barely got a chance to say hi.”
“Try again. Eventually, she’ll listen and understand.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Jesse’s exhale was loud. “She will. She loved you once. That love doesn’t just go away.”
That’s what he’d thought too…until she’d disappeared on him.
He walked into the master bedroom, scanned the bare walls. He hadn’t painted this room yet. He hadn’t done much at all. Because it was supposed to betheirroom. And he didn’t want to mess that up.
“You a deputy now?” he asked.
“I am. Got a badge and everything.”
“Good. And how are your brother and sister?”
“Riding my ass, as per usual.”
Lock laughed, and damn it felt good. “Well, you need people to put you in your place.”
“They certainly do that.”
His gaze returned to the walls. “I’ve got to get to the hardware store and get some supplies.”
“The house. Shit, I almost forgot. How’s it going?”
“Getting there.”
“I need to come visit. Check it out and help where I can.”
“Anytime.”
Jesse sighed. “Well, it was good to chat. Don’t be a stranger.”
“You too.” He hung up, still staring at the plain wall.
