Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
TEMPERANCE
Iran the brush along the length of Stargazer’s body, taking my time brushing her down after our ride.
It would be too cold for long rides soon, and I wanted to give her as much exercise before then as possible, so after getting home and feeding an irked Cat, I saddled her up and took her out until I could no longer feel my cheeks.
After our breakfast and a rather rocky and slightly disturbing conversation, Hayes had thrown me over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold and carried me back to his bed, where he spent the remaining minutes before he had to leave for work doing delicious things to my body that I felt long after I’d come home.
My phone rang from my back pocket just as I closed Stargazer back in her stall. Pulling it out, I saw Rory’s name on the screen and smiled as I brought the phone to my ear. “Hey, babe, how’s it going?”
“You tell me,” she said through the line. “I just walked out of Muffin Top for my daily donut fix, and the place was practically buzzin’. Please tell me the rumors are true and your car really spent all night parked in front of Hayes’s apartment building.”
“Oh my god, seriously? It’s barely after ten in the morning and people are already talking?”
Rory laughed through the line. “Are you really surprised? You’ve been back for months now, and I know you’ve heard the stories still traveling around.
Swear to god, honey, I wouldn’t be surprised if parents told it to their kids as a bedtime story, passing down the lore to younger generations.
For two decades they’ve had to make up a happy ending since the real-life one didn’t work out, and you don’t think something like this is gonna spread faster than lice through a preschool? ”
“Nice imagery, Ror,” I deadpanned, starting out of the barn to the house. “Thanks a lot for that. You’re lucky I’ve already had breakfast.”
“Well, I was thinkin’ of stopping over for a visit. Does that mean you don’t want any of the donuts I just bought?”
I pulled up short of my porch steps. “How many donuts are we talking here?”
“A dozen,” she said with a giggle. “Six glazed and six chocolate iced, all so fresh this box is actually burnin’ my arm.”
I didn’t need to hear any more. “I’ll put the coffee on. See you in ten.”
“Wow. That’s just… wow.”
That was Rory’s response after I finished telling her—step by step, per her order—about everything that had happened from the time I woke up yesterday morning to now. Half the box of donuts had been demolished and the pot of coffee was drained.
“That about sums it up,” I replied, popping the last bite of my donut into my mouth.
She stared at me, flabbergasted, before saying, “We really should have done this with wine.”
My head fell back on a laugh. I’d been doing that more in the time I’d been back in Hope Valley than I had in all the years I’d lived in Chicago. It started with each laugh feeling foreign and strange, but the longer I was here and the more it occurred, the more natural it became.
“So what does this mean for you and Hayes?”
I thought back to the night before, a dreamy expression drifting across my face. “It probably sounds weird, but it’s almost like we picked up right where we left off.”
Rory leaned close, placing her hand on top of mine as she smiled. “That doesn’t sound weird at all, honey.”
For years, I’d been walking around with this hole inside of me that I’d grown to believe would never be filled.
It was as if I’d only been half alive, taking half a breath, seeing only half the colors that brightened the world.
After last night, all of that changed. My lungs were full to bursting, and everything was in bright technicolor.
But most importantly, that persistent gnawing in the pit of my stomach, the annoying throb telling me there was more to life than what I’d made of mine, had grown quiet and still.
“We were together for four years, Ror. Apart for more than twenty, but when I woke up this morning and felt him holding onto me, it was like I’d always been there.”
“You’re happy.” It wasn’t a question. My friend had noticed there were pieces of me missing, and she could see clear as day now that they had all fit themselves back into place and soldered together, making me whole.
“I am.”
“Does that mean you’re staying in Hope Valley?”
She was barely containing her excitement as it was, but when I answered with a firm “Yes,” she lost hold of it completely and threw her hands up in the air with a loud squeal, bouncing around in her seat at my dining room table before leaning in and pulling me into a tight hug.
“Oh my god, Tempie, that’s so great! I finally get my BFF back!”
I managed to disengage from her hold before she choked the life out of me and sat back in my chair, grinning ear to ear.
My cell phone rang right then, and both mine and Rory’s heads shot down to where it was lying on the table.
At the sight of Hayes’s name on the screen, my belly flipped and she let out another excited squeak.
“Hello?”
“Hey, angel.”
A thrill shot down my spine and came to a stop right between my thighs. At just those two words, an unbelievable ache built up, and I wanted him more in that moment than I wanted another donut from Muffin Top. And that was saying something.
“Hey,” I whispered back.
“Damn, baby,” he said in a low voice. “You can’t say ‘hey’ like that when I’m at work.”
My forehead creased in confusion. “How’d I say it?”
“Like you’re thinkin’ of what I did to you this morning with my tongue and fingers before I got you off again with my dick.”
And suddenly that was all I could think about. “It’s not my fault,” I argued back. “You started it when you called me ‘angel’ in that sexy voice of yours.”
Rory made a choking gag noise as Hayes laughed through the line. “My apologies. I’ll try my best to work on that.”
“Liar,” I said on a giggle. “Did you call for a reason, or was it just to fight about who turns who on the most.”
That got me a full-on laugh, and knowing I was the one to give it to him was like winning a medal. “I was callin’ to see if you’ve had a good mornin’ so far.”
God, he was too much. He knew I’d had a shitty morning the day before, and he’d taken time from work just to call and make sure this one was better. A ridiculously giddy grin stretch across my face. “I have. Took Stargazer out for a ride, then Rory stopped by with donuts.”
“From Muffin Top?”
“Of course,” I scoffed.
“I was also callin’ to see if you’re free Saturday night.”
I furrowed my brows as I did a mental scan of my calendar. “Yeah. As far as I know. Why?”
“Good, then that night’s all mine. The case I’m on is gonna keep me at the station late the rest of the week, but I’m takin’ you out Saturday night.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
“A place called The Groves. I managed to get us a reservation for seven thirty. The food is out of this world, but it’s an upscale joint. You got a dress?”
He was taking me to dinner at a fancy restaurant with amazing food that required me to dress in something other than the jeans and T-shirts I’d spent the past few months in. That was when it hit me. Holy crap. This was our first official date as adults.
We’d been teenagers when we broke up, so a night out for us back then consisted of the drive-in burger joint, the movies, and whatever party all our friends were attending.
It might have felt like Hayes and I had fallen right back into place, but Saturday night was going to be something brand new for us. A first. And I couldn’t wait.
“I think I can manage to pull something together,” I teased.
I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Good deal, baby.”
It was only a couple days away, but already I was giddy with anticipation.
“Sounds good.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Yeah. I’ll let you get back to your girl. Have a good day, angel.”
“You too, honey. Be safe and catch some bad guys.”
The last thing I heard was the masculine rumble of his laugh before he disconnected the call.
I put the phone back on the table and looked up at Rory. “Wanna help me pick out a dress for my date Saturday night?”
Hayes
“Fuck me. How’d you manage to get a reservation at The Groves only a couple days out?” Trick asked. “That place is booked out at least two months in advance.”
I looked across our desks and leaned back in my chair as I looked to Trick. “Sometimes being the town’s golden couple pays off.”
“Jesus Christ,” he chuckled. “You’re tellin’ me the love story of Hayes and Temperance spread from Hope Valley all the way to Hidalgo?
“Owner grew up here,” I answered. “I dropped our names and he was just about ready to boot someone else to give us a table.”
He shook his head good-naturedly. “So I’m guessin’ that means things between you and your girl took a serious twist in the last twenty-four hours. Gotta say, you work fast.”
He had no idea. It might seem like it happened fast, but I’d been waiting for her for twenty-one years. As far as I was concerned, this was long overdue.
“What can I say? We worked our shit out.”
“I’d say so, droppin’ the kinda cake The Groves requires on your first date. I’m happy for you, man.”
I could see he meant it, he was genuinely happy for me, but there was a dullness in his eyes, a reminder that, while things in my life might be looking up, his was currently on a downward spiral.
I knew Trick almost better than anyone. He was a man of action, a fixer.
If something was wrong, he felt it was his job personally to make it right again.
But it was becoming more and more apparent this wasn’t something he was going to be able to fix.
My gut clenched. I felt for my brother, but all I could do was hope his wife pulled her head out of her ass and realized what she had right in front of her before it was too late.
He stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “Going on a coffee run. You need anything?”