Chapter 3
Jace rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache.
The food had helped, but then again, he and Cooper had been in this condition more times than either wanted to admit.
The majority of them had been when they were much younger.
Jace didn’t want to become an alcoholic, which meant he had to face some hard facts.
Probably sooner than he wanted.
“You all right?”
Jace swiveled his head to Cooper as they drove from the restaurant to the bar where Jace had left his truck. “Much of last night is nothing but a blur.”
“You really should’ve called me if things were that bad.”
At one time, Jace wouldn’t have hesitated. But now that his friends had all settled down, he didn’t want to bother them.
“And if you tell me you didn’t because you didn’t want to disturb Marlee and me, I’m going to punch you,” Cooper stated with a hard look as they came to a red light.
Jace shot him an attempt at a smile. “You and Marlee are busy hiring people to help in her private investigation business, finalizing the plans for her new headquarters here in town, as well as getting her parents settled. Not to mention the house the two of you are building. As for Brice and Naomi, they have little Nate, who takes up all their spare time. Caleb and Audrey split their time between the ranch and the animal sanctuary. So, yeah, I’m aware that everyone has other obligations. ”
“If I weren’t driving, I would absolutely punch you,” Cooper said and shook his head. “After everything that Brice, Caleb, you, and I have been through, you should know each one of us would drop whatever we were doing for you and each other.”
“I know.” And Jace did know, but that didn’t make it any easier to call them.
Cooper blew out a breath. “Going to a bar makes me think you were looking for trouble.”
“I wasn’t. Well, maybe subconsciously, I was. I don’t know.”
“You were surrounded by three women. All of which wanted you to go home with them.”
Jace laughed. “I suppose Ryan told you that?”
“That he did. It’s a good thing he happened to stop by when he spotted your truck. He thought he’d have a beer or two with you. But he said you were already pretty drunk when he arrived.”
Jace twisted his lips. “I started drinking around four.”
“So, you were lit.” Cooper made a sound in the back of his throat. “Ryan also said that you kept saying her name after he got you home.”
There were some kindnesses in life. Cooper not saying Taryn’s name was one of them. “I don’t remember that.”
“Is there anything you do remember?”
“I recall Ryan being at the bar and getting in his truck. While I don’t remember getting home, I could almost swear I saw her.”
Cooper’s head jerked to him. “Her? As in . . . her?”
Jace pointed to the road and waited for Cooper to return his focus on driving. “Yeah.”
“Why do you think she was there?”
“I don’t know. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. But even drunk, I swear I saw a person move out of the shadows.”
Cooper was silent for a moment. With one hand on the steering wheel, he propped his left elbow on the door and scrubbed his hand over his mouth and jaw.
“She was the reason you were drinking in the first place. Memories and all that. Maybe it was just thinking about her that made you believe she was there.”
“If it wasn’t her, then someone else was in my house. I saw a person. I can swear to that.”
Cooper briefly met his gaze. “I don’t have an answer for that. But, think about this . . . If she had been there, wouldn’t she have spoken to you? And how did she get in?”
“The light in the kitchen was on,” Jace said as he tried to push past the fog of the night before. “I don’t remember unlocking the front door either.”
“You still keep the spare key in the same place,” Cooper said.
Jace nodded slowly. “Probably not a good idea.”
“Maybe you should move it.”
Instead of answering him, Jace pulled out his phone and called Ryan, who picked up immediately. He put it on speaker so Cooper could listen in, as well. “Thanks for last night.”
“Anytime,” Ryan said with a chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so bad before.”
“Yeah, about that. Did you unlock my front door?”
“Your door?” Ryan was quiet for a heartbeat. “No. I told you to stay by the truck while I searched for the keys to your house that you lost between the seats right as we drove up. When I looked up, you were already inside the house.”
Jace exchanged a look with Cooper. “I’m very good about keeping my doors locked, and the front door opened for me. I do keep a spare key that some people know about, though. Did you see anyone?”
“I didn’t, but I was more intent on getting to you. When I finally made it into the house, you had fallen on the floor, face down.”
Jace rubbed his head. “So that explains some of my pain. Did you hear anything that sounded odd?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, I only there a little while before Cooper showed up.”
Cooper quickly added, “And I didn’t see anyone.”
“Why?” Ryan asked. “What’s going on?”
“Jace thinks someone was there when y’all arrived,” Cooper said.
There was a frown in Ryan’s words when he asked, “Who?”
“My ex,” Jace replied.
“Ah,” Ryan said, drawing out the word. “I’m sorry I can' help.”
Jace’s lips twisted. It had been a long shot. “No worries. I owe you for last night.”
“You owe me nothing,” Ryan said.
Cooper shot Jace a knowing look as the call disconnected.
Jace pocketed his phone. He had now heard from the two people who had been in his house when he arrived home, and neither of them had seen anyone.
Had he imagined Taryn? Was it like Cooper said?
Had his memories manifested her? Jace wished he knew because he couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been there.
If only he hadn’t been so drunk, he might be able to remember.
By the time Cooper dropped him off at his truck, his headache was worse, and all because he was trying to think too hard.
He gave his friend a wave and climbed into his vehicle before starting it.
After he fastened his seatbelt and put the truck in reverse, he paused.
It was probably his memories that had pulled Taryn from his head.
This wasn’t the first time some type of anniversary with her had brought him low, but it was the first that he had imagined her. Could’ve sworn she had been there. He knew the difference between seeing her in his dreams and in real life. And last night seemed so real.
Jace turned the wheel, heading in the opposite direction of his therapist and pulled out of the parking lot.
He took roads he hadn’t been on since she’d left.
Jace found himself driving past her house.
It was a two-story and had once been nice, but time and uncaring owners had let it deteriorate badly.
He remembered the first time he had visited her there.
Her father had met him on the front porch with a rifle cradled in his arms. Phil Hillman had had nothing but hate in his eyes for Jace that day, but that hadn’t deterred Jace.
Her father had told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want his daughter around cowboys.
Jace pulled over to the side of the road and looked at the house, recalling that occurrence and several after where Phil had continued to do his best to stop Jace from seeing Taryn. All he knew was that Taryn took his breath away, and he wanted to be with her.
Phil never stopped trying to break them up, though.
And it seemed Phil finally got his wish when the family left.
Based on the brief text Taryn had sent, they were starting over in a new town with no ties to anything in Clearview.
Since Jace had thought he and Taryn had something real, the kind of love that lasted lifetimes, he was blindsided.
Jace called, he texted, but Taryn never answered.
He even went so far as to contact her sister, brother, and father, but none of them answered him either.
That’s when Jace turned to Danny Oldman.
As the local sheriff, he had been able to dig deeper than Jace could.
All Danny had found was that someone had cut off the Hillman family’s cell phones.
Danny had done his bit, as had Ryan, but since Jace was the only one making a fuss, and there was nothing else to go on, they’d had to set aside the case.
All these years later, Jace still carried that hurt around as if it had just happened.
He blew out a breath and pulled back onto the road to turn his truck around to head home.
He knew that what he and Taryn had was real love.
There was no doubt in his mind. But no matter how certain he was, he couldn’t explain how the family had disappeared in one night.
Even more disturbing was the fact that they had left a lot behind.
For a family wanting to start over, they hadn’t taken much with them.
His thoughts remained in turmoil as he continued driving.
He decided not to visit his therapist because he was still sorting through everything.
Jace wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone but driving with a distracted mind wasn’t smart either.
He headed to his parents’ house and parked at the stables.
Thankfully, he didn’t see anyone when he walked inside.
He let out a whistle, and his horse stuck her head over the gate and nickered in response.
Jace smiled when he reached the blue roan mare and rubbed the animal’s head.
He had been at the ranch for Cinder’s birth, and he, along with Caleb, had trained the mare.
She was by far the best horse he’d ever owned.
Jace took her out of the stall and tied her to a post so he could begin saddling her.
He didn’t breathe easy until he was riding Cinder into the pasture.
He loved everything about his parents’ home.
It had been a great place for him and Cooper to get into trouble.
His father, however, had quickly taken the two of them and put them to work.
His father had taught Cooper how to ride.
Jace’s family was from a long line of professional steer wrestlers, and his father had given up on the rodeo circuit when he met Jace’s mom.
The two of them had started the ranch, which had been a good decision since people from all over the state came to learn steer wrestling from a family known for the trade.
Over a year ago, Jace had taken over the training duties from his father. Jace loved nothing more than being on a horse. The fact that he got paid to teach the very thing he loved to do still boggled his mind.
“Come on, girl,” he whispered to the mare.
Cinder easily moved from a walk to a lope.
But that wasn’t enough for either of them.
The mare wanted to run, and Jace wasn’t about to hold her back.
He gave Cinder her head and leaned low as she increased her speed until the ground was a blur beneath her hooves.
For the next hour, Jace rode the mare around the property before returning to brush her down and put the tack back. Riding had been exactly what he needed.
He glanced at his parents’ house as he stood by his truck, but he still wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. After climbing into his vehicle, he started the engine and drove away. On the way back to his house, he pulled up to an intersection to await the light.
Jace happened to look over when a car pulled up next to him. He was gut-punched when he saw none other than Taryn. There was no time for him to comprehend what he saw before she drove away when the light turned green.
He jumped when someone honked behind him.
Jace realized that he had been sitting through the green light.
He knew he had to follow Taryn, so he punched the accelerator and managed to get through right as the light turned yellow.
As he sped down the road, he searched for the newer model silver Camry that he’d seen, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.
There were several places it could’ve turned off, and with all the traffic, she could’ve gone anywhere.
Finally, he gave up and started for home again. On the way, he convinced himself that it hadn’t been Taryn in the car. Just as she hadn’t been in his house the night before. It was only his memories, making him see her everywhere.
Though he wasn’t sure if that was any better.