Dakota
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no.
Being back in this town is hard. Suffering in this rain is awful. But staring into those all-too-familiar eyes is utterly heart-stopping.
“Clint?”
He might remember me, but does he remember that night? That moment we shared? The one that changed everything?
Well, for me, anyway.
My heart’s pounding against my ribs, each beat a reminder that six years haven’t done enough to erase how I feel around him. I try to breathe, try to make sense of the sudden rush of emotions, but it’s impossible.
He’s so good looking my throat goes tight, especially in that worn cowboy hat it seems he still wears. And having Charlie in my arms, staring at him, is unbearable.
“Are you a cowboy?”
I dart my eyes toward Charlie. Panic rises like a bubble in my chest as my son speaks to the one man I never thought he’d meet.
Clint smiles. “Yeah, buddy. I work on a ranch in town.”
“Wow, that’s cool. Do you ride horses?”
How can they even hear themselves talk over the incessant thundering of my heartbeat?I glance around, seeking out an escape, but there’s nothing.
Why is this happening? Why now?
I try to calm my breath, but each exhale is not enough to ease the tremor running through my chest.
Clint crouches a little, his weathered hat casting a shadow over his eyes, and the smile he gives Charlie is genuine, warm. It makes my pulse flutter, even though I’m a mess.
“Yeah, I do,” he says. “It’s a lot of hard work, though. A lot of dirt. But I’ve been riding since I was about your age.”
Charlie’s face lights up, and it almost breaks me. His innocence. His curiosity. He has no idea that this man, this man standing here in front of us, is a ghost from my past. Someone I’ve tried so hard to forget.
And then Clint looks up at me, and the world tilts. His gaze is so intense it feels like he’s trying to read me from the inside out, as if he’s been searching for me in every corner of his life.
I swallow, my mouth dry, and fight the urge to turn and run. Even in the rain.
“I didn’t know you were back in town, Dakota.”
I force myself to speak, even though my voice feels foreign, distant. “Yeah… I didn’t expect to be.”
The words come out in a rush, almost like I’m apologizing for being here.
Charlie tugs at my sleeve, interrupting the awkward silence that’s settled around us. “Can we get a horse, Mom? I want to ride, too.”
I want to shout, “Not now!” I want to yank him away and hide from everything this moment represents. But I can’t.
Instead, I smile, pushing through the tightness in my throat. “We’ll see what we can do while we’re here.”
Clint watches me for a beat too long, his eyes narrowing just slightly, as if he’s trying to gauge my every move. Then his lips curl up into that familiar, knowing smile.
“So, how’s New York?”
I freeze, caught completely off guard.How’s New York?
