“I’ll go with you. You can show off your town a bit. Tell me the best place to grab a drink after a long day’s work.”
“You planning on workin’ while you’re here?”
“Never know.” Duke retraced his steps back outside. Once on the porch, he glanced behind him. “You coming, or what? Thought you were in some big hurry.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, he grabbed his own Stetson from the hat rack and stomped outside. He had enough to deal with. Some jackass he wasn’t even sure he liked showing up for no reason wasn’t something he was equipped to handle.
Hell, even on a good day Duke was tough to stomach.
“We’re taking my truck,” he said and hopped into the driver’s side. By the time he started the engine, Duke was in the passenger seat with his seatbelt hooked.
“This is a nice place,” Duke said. “Wasn’t what I expected.”
Lane didn’t spare him a glance as he tore out of the driveway and took off toward town. “What’d you expect?”
“I don’t know. Double wide on wheels maybe. A beat-up little shack with a bunch of chickens running around the yard. Definitely not some grand house out of Architecture Digest. If I came from a place like that, I’d a never left home.”
Frustration tightened Lane’s grip on the steering wheel. He’d been fed that same bullshit his whole life. Even in a small town, not all secrets are exposed, and his father’s were kept under wraps his entire life. Even if he’d had gold bars to wipe his ass, he’d still have left town as soon as he could.
“Trust me, I had no reason to stay.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a flash of a memory sucker punched him. Celine with tears in her eyes, begging him to take her with him. Asking him to choose her with her suitcase packed and eyes full of hope. They’d been so young then—just out of high school. He’d loved her with his entire being, but it hadn’t been enough.
Not enough to keep him there, and too much to take him with her and expose her to an unknown future away from the family she loved.
Because in the end, he’d understood they wanted different things out of life. He just wished he hadn’t had to break her heart in the process. Maybe then things would be different between them. At the very least, she wouldn’t hate him so much.
Muscle memory led him to the town square without him giving his directions one ounce of thought. Each business he passed brought with it another memory. Each park bench a picture of a time long ago when he’d been stuck in quicksand, struggling to breathe.
“The Dusty Armadillo?” Duke let out a hoot of laughter. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”
He glared at Duke before finding a parking spot on the road right outside the local hardware store. “Dude, you’re from Texas. I’m sure you’ve got your own share of weird shit hanging around.”
Duke snorted. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Something was off in Duke’s gravelly voice, but Lane didn’t have it in him to care right now. If Duke wanted to take a mini vacation and tag along while he did errands, that was his choice. But that didn’t mean Lane had to dig down to the root cause of this random decision. He was a loner by choice, only one person ever able to break through his walls.
And he’d blown that relationship to shit.
“Williams Hardware,” Duke said. “Very quaint. I mean, hell, half the businesses downtown are shuttered up. I’m starting to understand why you left.”
Lane ignored the comment and stalked toward the entrance of the store. He might have a chip on his shoulder as far as this town was concerned, but he didn’t want to hear any disparaging remarks from an outsider.
The bell above the door chimed and announced him as he stepped into the stale air. Wood floors lined the aisles and a thin layer of dust settled on the half-stocked shelves.
A hacking cough drew Lane’s attention toward the counter at the front of the store. An old-fashioned cash register took up a larger chunk of the walnut counter. A glass case displayed antique tools that had been there since Lane was a kid.
And old man Williams sat on a backless stool behind the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. All his hair gone except a couple white strands clinging to the top of his scalp. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
Lane couldn’t hold back a smile as he approached the old man and shook his hand. “How ya doing, Mr. Williams?”
Mr. Williams pulled him across the counter and slapped a hand on his back, bringing him in for a quick half-hug. “I’m okay, just a little shell-shocked to see you. I’m sure you’re here because of your old man. Sorry about his passing.”
Lane dipped his chin but didn’t respond.
“Man might have been an asshole, but it’s still hard to lose family,” Mr. Williams continued.
Taken aback, Lane widened his eyes. “Excuse me?”
