Page 130 of Branded Betrayal

“Car trouble, ladies?”

They look at me, wary, shock seeping into their expressions.

“Yes, Blaze. It’s a radiator leak. But Jim can’t get here for two hours to fix it.”

“Mind if I take a look?”

Her jaw drops. “Er, um, no, not at all.”

I find a loose hose clamp right away and quickly fix it with the tools in my truck as they watch, speechless. Probably for the first time ever. I swallow a smile as I close the hood. “Okay, I patched it up for you. It’ll hold until Jim can fix it right.”

“Blaze . . . thank you so much,” Mrs. Henderson says.

“Yes, thank you for all of your help,” Mrs. Patterson says with a genuine smile that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. “And we heard what you did, testifying against Jack Wilkerson. That was so brave of you.”

“Nash told us what wonderful work you’re doing at Red Rock too,” Mrs. Henderson pipes in. “And I . . .” She pauses, a flush of color in her cheeks. “I’m sorry for things we’ve said in the past. Assumptions we made. They weren’t fair to you.”

“I gave people good reasons to assume things about me. I can’t blame them. But I am trying to change.”

“And we notice that, dear,” Mrs. Patterson says. “How is Savannah doing in Denver?”

My heart sinks into my boots at the mention of her. “She’s doing well, from what Nash says.”

Mrs. Henderson grazes my arm, almost like she knows how much I’m hurting, how hearing Savannah’s name just dredges up all of the pain that no amount of time seems to ease. “I bet she’ll come home. She won’t stay away forever. And she will love the work you’ve done.”

I stand there after they get into the car and drive away. This town used to hate me. Now my biggest critics are thanking me, telling me they see how I’ve changed for the better.

But the only opinion that matters is the one that’s still missing.

When I get back to Red Rock, I head toward the barn to unload the bags of feed. Nash is there, building out a space for storage. With all the animals we’re managing, we needed a separate space for more equipment and supplies.

“Nice work,” I say, wiping the sweat off my brow as I drop the last load onto the ground.

“Thanks,” he says. “You good?”

“All good, just held up because Mrs. Henderson’s car broke down. I fixed it for her.”

“Good man. Not too long ago, her and her church buddies were tearing into you every chance they got. I guess now they’re fans of the new and improved Blaze Hartman, in all his car-repair glory.”

I shrug, cracking a smile. “Well, I figure if I’m gonna stay here, I may as well try to be a stand-up citizen. I can restore ranches, reputations, you name it.”

Nash nods, then looks away for a long minute. “I, uh, talked to Savvie last night.”

The air is immediately squeezed from my throat. “How’s she doing?”

“She sounded good. Happy. Got that promotion she’d been working on.”

“That’s great.” I almost choke on the words, but I knew this would happen. Life goes on, right?

At least, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell myself. Even with all the work I’ve done out here at Red Rock, it feels like my own life has permanently stalled out ever since I drove home from Denver. I really need to let her go, but it’s so damn hard when I’m constantly haunted by her presence, living on her ranch, and spending all this time with Nash.

It’s like she’s always here with us, a spirit that can never be exorcised.

“She’s, uh, dating somebody too.”

And my world wobbles.

“That’s . . . that’s great. For her.” My heart thunders. I swallow hard and lift the bags onto one of the new shelves.