CHAPTER 30
KILLIAN
“Has anyone heard from Grayson?” Noah asks as he shovels another forkful of chicken alfredo into his mouth.
“Yeah. He should be on a flight back as we speak,” Hunter responds.
“It didn’t go well then?” I ask.
“Nope. Grayson showed up at Liv’s parents’ house, found Carter there, assumed the worst and punched him,” Savannah adds, reaching for her water.
My fork pauses midair. “He did what?” I ask at the same time Noah asks, “Who’s Carter?”
“Carter is one of our friends from college. He moved into Liv’s parents’ house to take care of the place, and he’s been there helping her pack it up.
Grayson got there, Liv opened the front door in a towel and Carter came down the stairs also in a towel, he put two and two together and punched him,” Savannah explains.
With every word from her mouth, Noah’s frown deepens and his fist clenches on the table in front of him.
“She was sleeping with him?” he asks, his voice laced with venom.
Savannah just rolls her eyes, batting a hand through the air. “No. They were cleaning out the loft; a box of Christmas decorations fell on top of them. They took individual showers. It’s just a case of unfortunate timing. But Liv is pissed.”
“She told him to leave,” Hunter adds.
“So, he just gave up and now he’s on his way back?” Daisy asks and my eyes snap to hers in surprise.
Is that what she thinks I did?
That I just gave up?
“What would you prefer him do, Daisy?” Noah asks.
The condescending tone of voice he uses prickles me and I narrow my eyes in his direction, ready to tell him to watch his fucking mouth, but Hunter interjects. “He’s not giving up. He’s just giving her the space she asked for. He has plans to fix things once she’s back.”
“She’s dealing with a lot. It’s the first time she’s stepped foot inside her childhood home in a decade. She’s reopened old wounds and the last thing she needs is man drama, so it’s probably for the best,” Savannah adds, and the rest of the table fall silent.
Meanwhile, I’m still focused on Daisy’s comment. There’s no way she could possibly think I gave up on her. If anything, she was the one who gave up on me.
“Oh hey, rodeos in town this week. Are we going? Please tell me we’re going,” Noah says, changing the subject and offering me a reprieve from my overthinking.
“Yeah. I was going to bring that up. We’re boarding some of the horses over the weekend, so we need to free up some barn space,” Hunter replies. “Actually, we’re housing some horses you might be familiar with, Daisy.”
Daisy smiles. “The Rhodes’ horses?”
“Yep. How’d you know?”
“Lainey called me today and told me her and her brothers would be in town. I figured they might choose here to house their horses.”
“Who’s Lainey?” Bella asks, speaking up for the first time tonight.
“Lainey Rhodes. Her family own Blue Rhodes Ranch, the ranch I worked on in Montana. We became friends in the time I spent there,” Daisy explains, and I can see the jealousy written all over my little sister’s face.
I hold back a smirk as she tries to act nonchalant. “Oh. You never mentioned her before.”
Daisy thinks on that for a moment before raising a brow. “Huh. I thought I had. You’ll love her. She’s a badass.”
It’s strange to think about Daisy having a whole other life away from Rosewater Creek. I tried not to think about it too much when she was gone, because the thought of her living her life, with someone else by her side, potentially starting a new family with them, was almost too much to bear.
It’ll be interesting to see a glimpse of that life with her new friends in town.
CHAPTER 30
DAISY
Week one of the rodeo regionals have been held in Rosewater Creek every year for as long as I can remember. It’s basically a tradition in this town and the most anticipated weekend of the year. Our population doubles as people come from all over the country to watch and participate in the sport.
The rodeo and the excitement building up to it is one of the things I missed most about home when I was gone.
There’s this charged energy thrumming through the town all week.
People talk animatedly about who they’re looking forward to watching most or how they’re looking forward to the extra business.
Not many small towners welcome outsiders and tourists into their precious hometown.
In fact, I could name a few that I’ve visited in the past where the people have been less than welcoming.
But Rosewater Creek isn’t one of them. We welcome the chaos.
The extra foot traffic is good for small, family-run businesses.
And for more personal reasons, I enjoy the anonymity that comes with strangers invading our town.
None of them know me. When I cross paths with a tourist, they don’t look at me and see the girl who ran out on her fiancé on her wedding day and disappeared for years.
A smile teases my lips as a group of girls in matching cowboy hats are seated at a table next to me.
Their voices carry across the veranda as they debate which bull-rider has the best thighs.
The fire-engine red haired girl on the left votes for Cash Morgan while the other two argue that Tucker Weston might not have the biggest thighs, but he does in fact have the biggest bulge.
I hold back a snicker and am about to turn my attention back to the menu in front of me when another name catches my attention.
“Did you hear that Cassidy Rhodes is competing this year? I’ve wanted to see that man ride a bronc for years,” Red head says, her eyes alight with excitement.
“Ugh,” the brunette groans, “the things I’d let that man do to me.”
“You and the rest of the female population. That man is a dog,” the girl with shoulder-length blond hair says, her voice showcasing her disgust.
“Sounds about right,” another voice chimes in and my eyes move from the group to the newcomer standing behind them, her face laced with amusement.
Curls the colour of fire cascade over freckle dotted shoulders.
The black, off the shoulder sweater she wears displays her collarbones decorated by the thin gold chain wrapped around her neck.
My eyes travel higher, past her signature red lips before landing on her captivating blue pools and my smile widens.
“Lainey,” I chuckle, and she offers me a conspiratorial wink before focusing on the girls once more.
“I heard he has herpes. So yeah, a real dog. And you know what happens when you lie with dogs, don’t you ladies?”
The two who had been lusting over him moments ago, stare at Lainey in confusion while the blonde scrolls on her phone, completely uninterested.
Lainey leans in closer, her eyes wide and dramatic. “You get fleas.”
With that she straightens, smiles widely at them and sashays away. My chest shakes with laughter as I stand and pull her into an embrace.
“Did you just tell those girls your brother has herpes?”
“Yup,” she laughs, pulling back.
I wait for her to take a seat at the table before asking, “why?”
She shrugs. “He pissed me off.”
“What did he do this time?” I ask, bringing my straw to my lips and taking a healthy gulp of lemonade.
Lainey lets out a long sigh. “He told Dex I was on a date.”
“Oh no. How did that go?”
“About as well as you can imagine. Dex showed up at my house with an excuse about the kids and then he cornered me.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “He cornered you?”
“Yup. He followed me into the laundry room, backed me up against the dryer and was asking all of these intense questions, like ‘does he make you laugh? Did he touch you under the table?’ while running his hand up my leg,” she emphasises the questions with a deep voice.
“That’s kind of hot.”
She huffs, sinking back in her seat. “I know. I got worked up and he fucking knew it. He done it on purpose. I was practically panting when he pulled away and stormed out of my house.”
“Damn. And how do you feel about it now?”
“I’m pissed. At him and at Cass for telling him about the date in the first place. But mostly at myself because I don’t know if I would have stopped him if he went farther.”
My curiosity morphs into empathy when I register the torment on her face. The turmoil she’s feeling mirrors my own the morning after I kissed Killian. If his whispered words hadn’t triggered the memory of that phone call, I’m not sure I would have stopped either.
“Would you have regretted it?” I ask her, bringing forward the very question I’ve asked myself repeatedly.
Would I have regretted it?
I’m not sure I would.
“I don’t know. It would complicate things. Besides, we’ve been divorced for almost a year now, and it’s not as if we were very passionate at the end of the marriage, so him showing up and acting that way just makes me think he’s being a jealous asshole.”
“I’m sorry, Lainey,” I say, my tone softening.
Lainey bats a hand through the air. “Meh. It’s fine. I don’t want to talk about that anyway. Tell me about Killian.”
I knew it was coming. I’ve debated how much I should divulge to her about Killian and me, but if anyone can give me unbiased advice, it’s Lainey.
With a deep breath, I sit up straighter in my chair and tell her everything that’s happened since I came home.