The conversation drifted to home, as it always did these days. Talk of fishing and autumn in the mountains. A million miles away from where we were now. When Kellan asked what we’d do first when we got back, I didn’t hesitate.
“I want a quiet beer down at Doc Holliday’s. Can you imagine how good one of Doc’s lagers would taste after all these scorching dry days?”
But what I didn’t say was that I wanted that beer with my ex-wife. Wanted to go back to the way things used to be, before I’d screwed everything up with my pride and my temper. Before I’d let the best thing in my life slip away because I’d been too stubborn to listen. When we could’ve shared a drink, and I could’ve pulled her out onto the dance floor, holding her close to some country ballad that let us lose ourselves for a while. Until we went home again and lost ourselves in a whole other way…
When Kellan admitted his feelings for Tate, it hit too close to home. Watching him finally own up to what we’d all seen for years made me think about my own mistakes. About letting fear keep me from admitting how I really felt.
“I really fucked things up with Pepper,” I found myself saying, staring at my bare ring finger. “Wish I could take it all back.”
The words hung in the air, heavy with regret. I hadn’t meant to say them out loud, hadn’t meant to admit that, after all this time, she was still the one I wanted. Desperate to shift attention away from my confession, I turned to Gabe. “What about you, Gabe?”
Before he could answer, the ground shook beneath us and an explosion rocked the tent. For one stunning second, terror held us immobile as shouts of “We’re under attack!” filled the air around us. Then we were scrambling for gear and weapons, bracing to face whatever trouble had found us on what was supposed to have been a routine deployment in a non-combat zone.
When Clint held out his hand for our stack, just like had back when we’d all played football together in high school, I didn’t hesitate.
He surveyed each of us. “I say we make a pact. If we get out of this shit alive, we go home and woo our women. A happily ever after is the only thing that makes all this worth it.”
“In,” Kellan said immediately.
My throat tight with thoughts of Pepper and all the things I should’ve said, I managed to mutter, “In.”
We all looked at Gabe, who rolled his eyes. “Oh, hell. In. Let’s go kick some ass.”
As we moved out to face whatever was coming, I sent up a silent prayer that I’d get the chance to make things right. If I survived this, I wouldn’t waste another minute being too proud to tell my ex-wife exactly how I felt.
One
Rhett
Sunday morning was a dicey time to come back to Huckleberry Creek. There was a narrow window when folks would be tied up with church and brunch, when I could sneak in under the proverbial radar. I was already on my mama’s shit list for not telling her about my shoulder injury and the stint in rehab up at Walter Reed. The last thing I needed was her finding out I’d gone anywhere but straight home the moment I hit the city limits. But I needed some time to adjust and get my head on straight before I saw her.
The transition back to civilian life had been a rough one. Healing up from the multiple surgeries required to repair the damage from the bullet and shrapnel that had jacked up my shoulder meant I hadn’t come back to town with the rest of my unit. They’d gotten the parade and the American flag buntings and brouhaha. I’d missed all that, which was A-okay with me. I didn’t want the fuss. I just wanted to get back to some semblance of normal.
I wanted to get back a lot of things.
It was my only excuse for parking down the street from Kiss My Grits, the diner that was Pepper’s pride and joy. It was a hub of the community, and she was beloved by all. I knew she’d be holding court from the kitchen she’d kept open so she could chat with customers while she cooked. I wasn’t planning to go inside. Not yet. She wouldn’t like being blindsided, and in all these months, I still hadn’t sorted out my approach for exactly how I’d convince her to give me a second chance. Hell, I didn’t even know if she was available to pursue. I just… wanted to lay eyes on her again because she was the only thing I’d been able to think about during my deployment.
I chose my parking spot carefully, grabbing a space in the block that was mostly offices—lawyers and accountants and the like—none of which were open today. Fewer Lookie Lous who might spot me as I hurried down the street, shoulders hunched into my jacket against the bite in the air that said autumn was on the way. The signs were everywhere in the leaves turning gold and orange overhead and the pots of mums and window boxes full of bright-faced pansies that brightened up the businesses along Main Street.
When I hit the expanse of plate glass that was the diner’s front window, I paused near the door, pretending I was reading the menu posted there. Instead, I looked beyond it to the interior, with its black-and-white checkered floor and red vinyl booths. Because it was Sunday, the place was packed. But I could just see past the row of patrons occupying the barstools that lined the counter to where Pepper moved with balletic grace at the stove.
Her long auburn hair was bundled up into a knot at her nape, though wisps of it had escaped to curl around her ears from the heat of the kitchen. I couldn’t see her gray-green eyes from here, but I could imagine them easily, sparking with heat—of temper, of passion. The Italian was always close to the surface in her. It was one of the many things I loved about her. Even now.
I wanted to linger, but I knew better. Any second now, someone was going to look out the window and spot me. They’d either think I was some kind of creeper, or they’d recognize me, and I’d get sucked into some kind of social shit. But I didn’t turn back toward my rental car, instead finding myself walking further down the street toward Plot Twist, my sister’s bookstore. It wouldn’t be open today, but her apartment was above the shop. Maybe I could surprise her and talk her into some breakfast.
Circling around to the alley, I trotted up the stairs and knocked on the door. My sister was an early riser, so I didn’t worry about waking her. When she yanked open the door wearing nothing but an oversized man’s shirt, my easy “Surprise,” died on my lips, and my protective big brother instincts went into overdrive. Her hair was a wreck, cheeks flushed, and she had that deer-in-headlights look that said I’d interrupted something.
“Rhett? What are you doing here?”
I pushed past her into the apartment before she could try to block me. The scent of fresh coffee hit my nose, along with something else. Something masculine that made my hackles rise.
“I wanted to check in with you before I headed over to see Mom and Dad.”
Her voice went high and squeaky. “When did you even get back? And what’s up with you not notifying anybody?”
I shrugged, trying to play it casual even as I scanned the apartment for signs of whoever she had stashed away. “I’ve been going through some shit. Didn’t want y’all to worry.”
She hugged me tight, but I could feel the tension thrumming through her. The sound of running water from her bathroom confirmed my suspicions.
