Daniel's chest tightened. Riley was one of the most level-headed and even-tempered people he knew. It must be something big to upset her enough to make her come home for months.
Emily's brow furrowed. "I wonder what's going on with her?"
Jake squeezed her shoulders before pulling his arm away and picking up the sandwich Daniel’s mom placed in front of him. "I don't know, but if we can't help her figure it out, I know an excellent psychologist who can.”
Daniel could attest to that. Emily had helped him work through a lot of things. But after falling off the wagon twice, the underlying fear lingered in the back of his mind that he'd never be able to stay sober if he left the ranch for good.
He looked up to see three sets of eyes on him, a mixture of compassion and concern in each. He clenched his jaw so tight it ached. Were they worried about how having Riley around would affect his sobriety? Or were they concerned, like he was, about what Riley would think of him when she discovered the reason he was back home, living on the ranch at the age of twenty-seven?
Ignoring everyone's stares, he put a spoonful of stew in his mouth. It didn't taste nearly as good as it had a few minutes ago. He dropped his spoon into the bowl.
"Why don't you go get some sleep?" Jake said.
Daniel couldn't find the energy to argue as he had on other days. He doubted he'd sleep, though, because from the moment Emily first mentioned Riley's name, he'd been reliving their history together—their carefree childhood here on the ranch and that blissful summer three years ago when they dated. His heart bolted like a racehorse when Jake said Riley was coming home, and it had yet to stop racing.
He excused himself and walked out the back door of the ranch house.
"Daniel." Emily stopped him as he stepped off the deck.
He turned to face her and waited for her words of wisdom. She always said what he needed to hear.
"Riley is a piece of your past that you need to face and come to terms with. But don't worry, you're strong enough now."
"I'm not so sure about that." He didn't feel very strong most days. He'd only been sober for eight months.
"You don't need to stay hidden behind the walls you've built around yourself. If you let people in, they can help you when you're struggling."
But letting people in meant admitting the things he'd done, and he didn't want them to see the monster he'd become.
The trek down the lane to his parents’ cottage-style home was only a hundred yards, but it felt like a mile as he contemplated how he would keep his secrets hidden while working with Riley this summer. Even more important, how did he guard his heart from the woman he'd loved his whole life?
As he trudged up the steps to the house, he decided he needed to attend the AA meeting tonight after all. Because right now, the desire for a stiff drink was even stronger than the pull of his bed.
CHAPTER 2
The knot in Riley's stomach slowly eased as she drove down Providence's Main Street. Memories of being a teenager dragging Main with her cousin Paige and milkshakes at Aunt Charity's diner filled her mind as she noted how nothing had changed since she left this small town seven years ago.
As an ambitious eighteen-year-old, she couldn't wait to get out and experience the world. She hadn't exactlyexperiencedthe worldover the last seven years, but she'd never regretted leaving. Until last week.
Riley often came home for the holidays, but going to the ranch wasn't the same anymore. Not since her dad died five years ago. Then a year later, her mom moved into town to live with her sister Charity after Riley’s Uncle Rich passed away.
That's when the family agreed to let her second oldest brother, Jake, buy the ranch. He'd been depositing money into a trust fund for her ever since. She’d been grateful for the money that paid for her schooling, but she’d wished many times that things didn’t need to change.
She hadn't thought much about the trust fund for some time. There was probably a nice little nest egg there now.
Riley turned onto the road that led to the Double Diamond andpicked up speed as she headed out of town. The sight of animals grazing in green pastures brought a smile to her face, and she relaxed a little more. She rolled down her window and breathed in the fresh air.
Coming home might be just what I need.
Her smile soon faded when she spotted a herd of cattle and a lone man on horseback in the middle of the highway. The horse and cows were too far away to see a brand, but she knew by the white rail fence that ran along the highway they belonged to the Double Diamond.
She looked more closely at the cowboy in the saddle who wore a baseball cap instead of a cowboy hat. His tall, lean figure had filled out over the past two years, becoming broader and more muscular, but she'd recognize that physique anywhere.
Daniel Hamilton.
Her breath hitched. She'd forgotten Daniel moved back home to the ranch last fall. She'd have to work with him all summer. The thought both excited and terrified her.
Daniel used to be her favorite person in the whole world—next to her cousin Paige. The two of them often vied for the title of "Riley's Best Friend." But she and Daniel had a history that won him the title for an entire summer, until she put an abrupt end to their relationship almost three years ago, costing her one of her best friends.
