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“I was mad,” I said honestly. “Mad as hell, if we’re bein’ plain about it. But I been walkin’ this whole town since sun-up tryin’ to find you, and every step of it I kept thinkin’ about what Dale told me this mornin’. About how we been circlin’ each other our whole lives. About how you’re the one constant thing I ever had.” I squeezed his fingers tighter. “I don’t wanna lose that over somethin’ that’s already fixed, Rhett. You made it right. That’s what matters.”

He turned to look at me then, an expression on his face like he was trying to convince himself I was actually sitting there and not some trick of the fading light. “I thought you were done with me,” he whispered. “Thought you meant it, down in that cellar. Thought I’d gone and ruined the one good thing I ever had.”

“I meant every word I said down there,” I told him. “But I never said I stopped lovin’ you. I just needed you to choose to be somethin’ better. And look at you.” I nodded toward the duffel bag sitting half packed in the grass. “You still haven’t even finished packin’ that thing. Looks to me like you didn’t want to leave either.”

A watery laugh broke out of him, and he swiped the back of his wrist across his eyes. “I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you. I couldn’t make myself zip it shut.”

“Good,” I said. “‘Cause I ain’t lettin’ you go anywhere without me, Buttercup. Not after all this.”

He leaned into me then, finally, like something in him had been holding itself up by sheer will and had just now let go. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close, pressing my lips to the top of his head, breathing in the smell of creek water and sweat and the same soap we’d shared in the shower yesterday afternoon before everything went sideways.

“I still gotta tell Marcus,” he said against my chest, his voice muffled and small. “I know I do. I can’t just put it all back and pretend none of it happened. That ain’t fair to him, chasin’ his own tail for months.”

“I know,” I said. “And when you’re ready, I’ll go with you. I’ll stand right next to you while you say it.” I tipped his chin up so he’d look at me. “But not tonight. Tonight I just want to sit here with you and watch the sun go down, same as we always have. Tomorrow we’ll figure out the rest.”

He nodded slow, some of that tightness finally easing out of his shoulders, and settled back against me, his hand finding mine again in the grass between us. The sky had gone that same deep orange-purple it had the weekend before, the cottonwoods throwing long shadows across the water. For a little while neither one of us said anything at all. We just sat there together, listening to the creek run on same as it always had, same as it always would, long after whatever mess we’d made of things had come and gone.

“West?” he said eventually, voice soft.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for comin’ to find me.”

I pressed a kiss to his temple, holding him a little tighter. “Wasn’t ever gonna be anywhere else, Buttercup. Not as long as you’re in this world.”

“Will you come with me?” he asked, looking up at me. “To the diner? There’s still one thing I need to make right tonight.”

I nodded, kissing him again. “As you wish.”

He just smiled with a small sniffle. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Buttercup.”

Chapter 30

Rhett

We stood out by that creek as long as I could put off the inevitable, just leaning into Westley and enjoying the warmth of his arms around me. But eventually it got cold and it was getting late. And there was still one more thing to do before I could rest.

“Alright,” I said at last, looking up at Westley. “Let’s go back to the diner.”

“You hungry?” he asked, his stomach growling almost on cue. “Cuz I am.”

“A bit,” I replied truthfully. I hadn’t eaten all day. “But there’s somethin’ I gotta take care of first.”

He didn’t ask what it was or press me for information. He just nodded and said, “Alright. Let’s go.”

West scooped up the duffel bag and tucked it into the bed of his truck without either one of us saying a word. The drive back into town felt like we were returning to an entirely different world. Even though it was the same stretch of dirt road and the same ruts jarring up through the seat, everything felt different. Westley drove with one hand on my knee the whole way, steady and warm, like he was afraid I might change my mind and bolt if he let go.

Sagebrush had gone quiet by the time we pulled up outside Dolly’s. The sky was full dark now, stars thick overhead, the same as they’d been out at the creek. The diner was closed up for the night, but I could see the light still on in the kitchen. I knew that meant Dolly was back there doing her prep for tomorrow, same as she did most every night before she finally dragged herself up to bed.

“You want me to come in with you?” Westley asked, cutting the engine.

“Yeah.” My voice came out smaller than I meant it to. “Please.”

He came around and took my hand before we walked up to the back door, and I knocked softly, my heart hammering so loud I was sure he could hear it even through our joined hands. A minute later Dolly’s silhouette appeared through the curtain, and then the door swung open. She had flour dusted up one arm, her eyebrows going up at the sight of the two of us standing there.

“Well it’s about time, sugar,” she said, though the relief in her voice was plain as anything. “I was startin’ to worry, Rhett. Where in the Sam Hill have you been all day?”