I take a slow sip of my drink, my eyes fixed on the condensation sliding down the glass when I place it on the stained bar top.
Behind me, I catch the faint murmur of “Avery’s back.” My chest tightens to the point of pain, but I don’t turn around, don’t ask questions to try to confirm what I already know. Instead, I tighten my hold on my glass and pretend that a certain blonde country star and her return to town has nothing to do with me. I know she’s been back since she left—people talk about it enough—but I didn’t see her then, and I probably won’t see her now. Besides, the ranch is my priority, not finding love or making nice with my ex.
A flash of a memory has me sitting taller on my stool. Her tear-streaked face, those pleading green eyes that I used to get lost in for hours, and the sight of her taillights disappearing into the dark. She’d begged me to leave, but there wasn’t ever a question of me doing that. Wild Heartlands and my family are at the very core of my existence. It’s in my blood, in my bones, even if losing her ripped the soul from my body.
“Cheer up, big brother.” Gracie slings her arm around my shoulder. The force shakes the still full bottle of beer in her hand, sending foam up the neck, which spills over the lip and onto my worn jeans. Great. She steps back, laughter falling freely from her lips.
I snort, brushing the damp spot on my thigh as I narrow my eyes at her. “Thanks, Gracie,” I admonish, shaking my head.
She grabs a handful of napkins from the bar top, holding them out to me with one hand as she tips her beer back with the other. As if my night couldn’t get any worse, I’m now going to reek of beer. I dab at the wet spot, even though I can feel it seeping through the fabric and onto my bare skin.
“Well, that’s what you get for being a grump.” Gracie grins, a twinkle in her eye as she sticks her tongue out at me.
I cock a brow. “I deserved to have beer spilled on me for trying to have a quiet drink?”
She rolls her eyes, as if my deduction of the circumstances is ridiculous. “No. You deserved it for looking like you’d rather be anywhere else but here.”
“That’s because I would,” I reply matter-of-factly.
Huffing out a breath, she leans closer, shouting to be heard over a sudden increase in volume from the bar patrons. “You need to live a little, Gray. It’s not healthy for you to keep yourself so cut off from people.”
I chuck the damp napkins on the bar top, turning in my seat. With my full focus on her, I tilt my head, lean in close, and ask, “You mean like you do with Reed?”
Gracie stumbles back, her jaw going slack as she huffs out a breath. Shock collides with disbelief as it flits across her features. Reed Harrison, my chief financial officer, is Gracie’s best friend and has been since they were running around in diapers. For half a second, I feel bad for calling her out on her own shit, but then it’s gone.
Her voice is low and urgent when she says, “We’re not talking about me. Don’t deflect your own stuff onto me, Gray. I’m well aware of my situation.” When she steps back, her eyes dart across the bar, and I don’t need to follow her gaze to know who she’s looking at. It’s clear in the way her features soften.
Autumn approaches, snaking an arm around Gracie and resting her chin on her shoulder. Her face and chest are flush from the alcohol, and her chestnut-brown hair sticks to her forehead. A light sheen of sweat covers her body, and patches of liquid are dotted around her red summer dress. I wonder if Gracie spilled her drink on Autumn too.
“Gray, you’ll never guess who I saw today,” Autumn slurs.
“Who?” I ask, signaling to Titan, the owner and a muscled-up biker, for a top up. Any time Gracie and Autumn get together, I need a drink. It’s always been this way; they talk each other into stupid shit that I end up having to fix. Every. Single. Time.
Autumn whispers something to Gracie, and they erupt into drunken giggles. I shake my head, hoping they’ll distract each other enough to leave me in peace, but I know that won’t happen. It’s like they get off on raising my blood pressure.
Turning back to face the bar, I nod to Titan when he puts a glass of whiskey in front of me. He shakes his head at Gracie and Autumn—still in the midst of their giggling fit—and pours out two tall glasses of water before placing them on the bar in front of them. I bring my own glass to my lips and take a deep swig of the amber liquid, holding it in my mouth and reveling in the warmth.
“I saw Avery,” Autumn sing-songs.
I choke on my drink, and the liquor sprays over the counter as I cough violently. Fuck me. I knew Avery was in town, and yet at the confirmation I’m still surprised. Still shocked to hear that she’s actually here and seeking out my family. Gracie pats me on the back, and when I look at her, her mouth is in a lopsided smirk.
“You okay there, Gray?” Gracie asks, not bothering to fix her tone and clear the “gotcha” from it.
Standing, I shrug her off and reach for a fresh wad of napkins to clean up my mess.
I stare up at the ceiling before shaking my head and looking over the sea of people. My eyes land on Wyatt on the other side of the room. He’s standing next to the pool table, flirting with a buckle bunny, not a care in the world as Kade lines up his shot.
For a second, I consider leaving him to get home by himself, but then his gaze meets mine and his brows pull together. He shoves the pool stick he was leaning against into the chest of the blonde and pushes his way across the crowded room, quickly followed by Kade. He probably thinks there’s about to be a fight; it’s the only reason he’d move that quickly.
As if they hadn’t just handed me a grenade, Gracie and Autumn are chatting amongst themselves, darting furtive glances at me and then looking away to giggle. I can’t hear them over the noise of the bar, but I get every other word or so and catch mentions of her name.
Why has she come back?
There’s nothing here for her anymore, aside from her parents, but she hasn’t made any effort to return to Coldwater to see them in a long time.
It’s been over a decade since I last saw Avery Blake in person. Since she made a decision that broke us apart. Some might say that was plenty of time to get over her, but I honestly don’t think I am. Not really. I think about her in the lonely hours, and there are far too many of those once work on the ranch is done. Or maybe it’s the idea of what we could have had that I miss and not the woman herself.
Wyatt’s by my side when I shake my head, clearing away the unwanted thoughts of Avery. His hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing it as he looks down at Autumn and Gracie. “Did you tell him?” he asks, bringing his beer bottle to his lips and taking a swig.
