Three dots appear.
Kitty:Hey, Jane. Yes. Come on over. I’ve just taken cinnamon rolls out of the oven.
My throat tightens. I blink hard.
Me:Thank you. I’ll be there soon.
I set the phone down and stare at it for a minute.
Then I put on a smile. Not a real one. Not the kind that bubbles up naturally. The mask. The bright, breezy Jane everyone expects, the one who jokes and curses and acts like nothing ever touches her.
I smooth my hair, straighten my shirt, and take a deep breath. Then I walk back out into the hallway like my heart isn’t aching and bruised.
Tex is still in the kitchen when I appear. He’s off the phone now, standing at the sink, hands braced on the counter like he’s trying to reset himself.
He looks up as if he senses me. His gaze lands on my face and sharpens slightly as if he’s reading what I’m trying to hide. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I chirp, hating how fake it sounds.
He doesn’t comment. That’s worse.
I stride into the kitchen like I’m not vibrating with hurt. “I’m going to have breakfast with Kitty.”
Tex’s eyebrows draw together. “You are?”
“Mm-hmm,” I say brightly. “Girl talk. Cinnamon buns. Potential interrogation.”
His mouth twitches faintly. “You don’t have to go anywhere.”
I keep the smile fixed, wide enough to crack my face. “I want to.”
He studies me for too long. “You okay?”
“Yes,” I lie. “I’m great.”
His eyes darken, but he nods. “It’s cold. Wear the scarf.”
My chest stings at the care, because how can he look at me like that, take care of me like that, and still say I’m everything he didn’t want?
He tosses his scarf toward me anyway.
I catch it with reflexes honed by years of dodging my brothers’ nonsense. “Thanks.”
Tex’s voice drops. “Jane?—”
I don’t let him finish. I step back, already retreating, already escaping. “Don’t wait for me to get back. Or do. Whatever you schedule guys do.”
His jaw tightens like he wants to stop me. He doesn’t.
And somehow, that hurts too.
I leave the cabin before my smile collapses.
Outside, the cold hits hard and clean. Snow crunches beneath my boots. My breath fogs like smoke.
I walk fast, head down, scarf tight around my neck, trying to outrun the sound of his voice in my head.
She’s everything I didn’t want.
