“Oh, you can,” she said cheerfully. “You’re tougher than you think.”
She sobered then, just a little, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. “I did it because you’re fragile right now, Tess. Not weak. Fragile. And you keep attracting men who think they get to decide what’s best for you.”
That hit a little harder than I wanted it to. I didn’t argue, because underneath the embarrassment and irritation and the unwanted warmth curling low in my stomach, there was an uncomfortable truth pressing against my ribs.
Wyatt showed up when I needed him.
He knew exactly what to do.
He steadied me without taking over.
And he walked away before I realized how much I wanted him to stay.
That scared me more than the debt. More than the ranch. More than my grief.
I stood abruptly. “I need to go run a few errands for Brooke.”
Dani raised a brow.
“I need to check on a feed order and talk to the local welding shop about looking at the cattle handling system in the back.”
“Do you want company?”
“No,” I said quickly. “You’ve done enough damage for one day.”
She grinned. “You’ll thank me later.”
I grabbed my keys and left before she could say anything else that would lodge itself in my brain.
Downtown was busy in that deceptively cheerful way. Market umbrellas lined the sidewalks. Kids rode bikes between food trucks. Someone laughed too loudly near the bakery. Everything looked normal and bright and loud in a way that made me feel like I’d missed a step everyone else knew.
I parked near the co-op and stepped out.
At first, everything felt fine.
Then the prickling started at the back of my neck. The unmistakable awareness of being watched, not casually, not accidentally, but deliberately.
I turned my head just enough to see him.
A grey sedan sat across the street, engine running. Colin leaned against the hood with his arms folded, watching me like he had all the time in the world.
My stomach dropped straight to the pavement.
He didn’t wave, or call out. He just smiled. That tight, controlled smile that made my skin crawl.
I looked away immediately and forced my feet to move. The co-op door jingled as I pulled it open, but my heart was already pounding hard enough to hurt.
Why was he here?
Why now?
Why like this?
I ordered mineral blocks and supplements like nothing was wrong, nodded at a man who used to know my uncle, signed the slip with a hand that shook no matter how hard I tried to steady it.
When I stepped back outside, Colin was gone.
The fear was not.
