"Figured you'd need this," she says. "You've got that look."
I huff a laugh and take it. "What look?"
"The one that says you're feeling about fifteen things at once and trying real hard to feel none of them." She leans her hip against the rail, eyes still on the arena as she tips her beer back. "Welcome home."
I lift the bottle, the cool glass grounding me as I take a long sip. The alcohol hits smooth and familiar, loosening something in my chest that's been wound tight since I got here.
Shae turns then, studying me with that look that's always made me feel both seen and gently called out. "So," she says lightly, like she's not about to poke a bruise. "How bad is it? With the ranch, I mean."
I snort. "Well, the stalls are empty, the fences are held together with spite and baling wire, and Eli's being a controlling ass. So, you know. Living the dream."
Her mouth twitches. "I figured as much." She pauses, something softer crossing her face. "He's not usually like this, you know. He's still a good man, Hazel."
"Could've fooled me."
"Hazel—"
"Don't," I say, but without heat. "I know what you're going to say. That he's been holding everything together. That I left. That I don't get to be mad." I take another sip of beer. "Trust me, I'm very aware."
Shae opens her mouth to respond, but an arm slings itself around my shoulders before she can.
"Well hell," Chace says cheerfully, pulling me against his side like we've been doing it our whole lives. "If you keep staring across the fairgrounds like that, people are gonna start thinking you're picturing me naked."
I choke on my beer. "Chace!"
"What?" He grins down at me, all innocence and mischief. "I'm just saying. That's a very specific kind of look."
I smack his chest without any real force, laughing despite myself. "You're disgusting."
"Only on weekends," he shoots back. "And since you cleaned up real nice tonight, I figured I'd shoot my shot. You know, for old times' sake."
Shae barks a laugh. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"Been threatened with worse," Chace says easily, but there's something grounding in the way he keeps his arm around me. Familiar. Safe. The same way it's always been between us— uncomplicated.
I let myself lean into it for a moment, into the ease of someone who doesn't expect me to explain myself.
Then I feel it.
That shift in the air. The weight of someone's attention.
I glance up, and sure enough, Eli's looking right at us. Not casually. Not accidentally. His eyes are locked on Chace's arm around my shoulders, and the expression on his face is dark enough to make my pulse stutter. It's gone in a blink, replaced by that unreadable mask he's so good at now, but I saw it.
Heat flashes through me—frustration and something more dangerous underneath.
I look away first, hating myself for it.
Chace drops his arm, oblivious, already craning his neck to see something in the arena. I exhale slowly and take another sip of beer, willing my heart rate to settle.
"See?" Shae murmurs, quiet enough that only I can hear. "That's what I'm talking about."
I open my mouth to tell her she's wrong, that whatever she thinks she's seeing isn't there, when another voice slides in smooth and sharp.
"Well if it isn't the prodigal daughter returned."
I turn slowly.
Cole Maddox stands there, hat tipped back just enough to show the sharp angles of his face, that familiar smile playing at his lips. The kind of smile that says he knows exactly what he's doing and enjoys every second of it. His gaze sweeps over me with the lazy confidence of someone who's never been told no in a way that mattered.
