Chapter 2
Two
Macklin
When Copeland called to tell me that his mom and sisters-in-law were throwing him and his new wife a co-ed baby shower, I didn’t even blink when I told him I’d be there.
I know what you’re thinking. That’s creepy for a man to want to be at a baby shower, and normally, I might agree with you.
However, Copeland and Ellison are two of my oldest friends, and I’m thrilled that they found their way back to each other and are starting a family.
That’s my canned excuse. And it’s true. I might have even practiced it in the mirror in case the guys ask why I’m not grumbling the way that they are.
You want to know the real reason? Well, the other reason?
Baylor Moran.
There really is no more explanation needed, but just in case, I’ll give you more. Baylor, with her long blonde hair and those big blue eyes, has captivated me for years. Her laugh is infectious, and her confidence is sexy as hell.
Baylor is five years younger than me. It wasn’t until her high school graduation that I really took notice of the woman she’d become. She had just turned eighteen, and I was twenty-three and already on the rodeo circuit. Baylor, just as smart as she was beautiful, was headed to college.
She was still far too young for me, and I was on the road all the time. She was also one of my closest friends’ little sisters, so instead of pursuing her, I kept my head down and focused on riding the next eight seconds.
I traveled the circuit, rode hard, and all the while, I never forgot the beautiful woman with long blonde hair.
I tried. Trust me, I tried. No matter who was next to me, I was acutely aware that it wasn’t her.
I can’t really explain it except to say it was like a light switch was turned on that day, and there she was.
Beautiful Baylor, far too young, and so far out of my league, we weren’t even sitting in the same damn stadium.
But still, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I came home anytime I knew she might be here, too.
Spring break. Christmas. Random long weekends I pretended lined up with my schedule better than they actually did.
My mother thought I was finally remembering where I came from, that maybe the road had stopped owning me so completely.
She’d hug me a little tighter, cook a little more, smile like she’d won something back.
And yeah, I liked being home. I liked the smell of cedar that always lingered, and the way the screen door still stuck from time to time, and you had to give it a good push to open it.
I liked my mom’s cooking and tinkering in the garage with Dad, talking about life, the circuit, and just spending time with them.
But all of those miles, all of those flights and long drives back to Magnolia Ridge?
They were for her.
I’d tell myself I didn’t know if she’d be there. That I wasn’t timing anything, wasn’t checking Baylor’s social media, wasn’t asking too-casual questions over the phone like “What’s everyone up to this weekend?” as if I didn’t already have a suspicion.
But I always knew.
She was no longer the kid who used to trail after Ellison, the guys, and me, making us all friendship bracelets and stealing fries off our plates.
She wasn’t the girl I’d told myself was off-limits because she was too young.
She was, however, still Ellison’s kid sister.
I had no business noticing the way her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled.
Suddenly, she was different. She was more.
I spent years thinking about her more than I had any right to.
That made every trip home feel as though I was walking a fine line that I wasn’t allowed to cross.
I somehow managed to keep my distance and played it safe.
I leaned into the role that was expected of me.
Just one of the guys, one of her older sister’s friends.
One of the three who helped pick up the broken pieces of her sister when Copeland left to enlist. I became the guy who was just passing through with dust on his boots and a bull to ride.
That didn’t stop me from watching her.
You learn a lot by keeping yourself on the sidelines, acting as if you don’t have a single care in the world.
But inside, my heart raced anytime her name was mentioned.
Watching her taught me that she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous.
I learned that she laughed with her entire body, as if holding back wasn’t even an option.
Her feistiness shone through, but so did her loyalty to those she loved. Namely, her sisters.
She captivated me.
When she graduated from college, I was already running on borrowed time. My body had been warning me for years. Aching joints, slow recoveries, and the kind of pain that didn’t fade after a good night’s sleep. The circuit had taken its pound of flesh, and then some.
I told everyone I was thinking about retiring because of that. Because it was time. Because I’d done enough. But the truth was that I thought, for the first time, we were going to be in the same place, and I’d thought it was finally time to make my move.
No more semesters pulling her away. No more counting down to breaks and holidays. She’d be here. In Magnolia Ridge. In the hometown where our families were, where we both grew up.
And I didn’t want to miss it.
The five-year age gap didn’t feel so damn heavy anymore. Not when she was twenty-two, standing on her own, and I was twenty-seven, finally thinking about standing still. What I felt for her suddenly didn’t feel like something I had to lock away and ignore.
It felt… possible.
Yet I stayed on for three more years because Baylor left our little town and moved to New York.
I remember the night I decided I was done.
Sitting on the tailgate of my truck, I stared out over the fields, the sky stretched wide and endless above me.
My body hurt like hell—same as always—but for once, that wasn’t the thing weighing on me.
It was her. What staying might mean. What it might cost. What leaving might give me.
So, I hung up my spurs.
My career was my identity. I walked away from the only life I’d known since I was old enough to climb onto a bull and think I was invincible. Everyone said it was about time. Said I was smart to quit while I could still walk straight.
I let them believe that.
It was easier to let them believe my aches and pains were the only reasons. Easier than admitting that my true reason was for the hope of something that might never be mine.
Five years ago, I came home for good.
Five years ago… Baylor introduced me to Todd.
Turning my plans upside down.
Even thinking his name leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Toad fits better—short, squat, always hanging around where he doesn’t belong. The kind of guy who laughs too loud at his own jokes and claps you on the back as if you’re already friends.
Ellison had been pumped that her sister was coming home for a visit.
She hadn’t known about Todd. None of us did.
I was ready to shoot my shot. I was going to woo her, make her fall madly in love with me, but everything I’d hoped for crashed and burned.
It was bittersweet because she was smiling.
She was happy, and I wanted that for her.
I just wanted her to be smiling up at me. Not him.
I’d forced a smile and pretended I was happy for her. I never let it show that there was a crack in my chest, and all the hope I’d felt was seeping through. I was prepared to be an asphalt cowboy. I would have followed her to New York City and adapted.
For her.
Shaking out of my thoughts, I focus on what’s happening around me. The double doors open, and she walks in with her arms full of bags. Leighton and Courtlynn rush her, and I fist my hands at my sides, because I want to do the same. Instead, I stay rooted to my spot, watching as the sisters reunite.
They haven’t seen her since Ellison and Copeland’s wedding.
I know because they were talking about it earlier.
I haven’t seen her since then either. My eyes drink her in.
I know instantly that something feels off.
She’s smiling, but it’s not reaching her eyes.
There’s something hidden that she’s trying to hide.
Ellison walks in, and it’s another hug fest, but then Baylor speaks, and her words have my breath stalling in my lungs. “That’s why I’m moving back home.” Those six words have something shifting in my chest. It’s heavy and sharp and impossible to ignore.
Baylor’s moving home.
My Baylor.
I don’t know what it means. What about Todd? Is he moving here, too? I have so many questions, but as the sisters lead Copeland and Ellison to their places, I know I’m not going to get them, at least not right away.
My familiar friend, hope, sparks up once again, because maybe, just maybe, it was my time. Our time. I stayed in Magnolia Ridge, which is where my friends and family are. And I knew that I’d still get glimpses of her.
Could it be possible that we’re both finally in the same place, at the same time, with nothing in the way?
Baylor heads for the drink table, and suddenly, I’m parched. My steps are slow and even as I casually make my way to grab a bottle of water from the table. It’s a wonder I can pull off casual, because all I want to do is run to her.
“Welcome home,” I say, and she turns to glance at me over her shoulder.
“Macklin, hey, it’s good to be home.” She turns and opens her arms for a hug, and I step into her embrace, inhaling her scent, hoping she doesn’t notice.
The hug is far too short for my liking. “How’s New York?” I ask her.
She clears her throat. “New York is… in the past,” she says, her voice soft.
I take a step closer. “Is everything okay?”