Chapter 11
Hazard Falls was the type of place where everything and everyone had a story—and most of those stories got passed around without permission. Shylo had learned that quickly. Like most small towns, gossip ran rampant.
The area had its charm, though—tree-lined streets, tidy sidewalks, pleasant little shops, and a town square with a well-groomed lawn and a gazebo.
The “business area” was about two blocks wide by five blocks long, with Main Street running down the center.
But beneath some of its polite smiles and conversations ran a current of judgment—subtle, but unmistakable.
Over the last two weeks, she’d asked subtle questions in passing wherever she went.
She mixed in different places and residents’ names so it didn’t appear she was targeting anyone.
Most people spoke highly of Shane and his family, describing them as generous, kind, and involved in the community. But not everyone felt that way.
She'd also seen Seth. He'd stopped by Bar None near the end of her shift a few times.
After she clocked out, they'd have a drink or two and talk.
They'd exchanged a handful of text messages between visits too—nothing serious, mostly teasing each other or asking how the other's day had gone. Every conversation left her smiling.
Which was exactly the problem.
More than once, she had been tempted to suggest they keep the evening going somewhere else.
Instead, whenever the conversation drifted toward the possibility of making plans or stretched long enough that it might naturally lead to a goodnight kiss, she'd claim exhaustion from a long shift and head back to the motel alone.
Seth never pushed, never made her feel guilty, and somehow that only made him harder to resist.
The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted something she could never have.
Eventually, he'd learn who she really was and why she'd come to Hazard Falls.
When that happened, any trust between them would disappear, replaced by anger and betrayal.
Better to disappoint him now than leave them both with hearts that would be a lot harder to mend.
For now, all she could do was keep her focus on the reason she'd come to Hazard Falls.
It was Wednesday, her day off, and she took the opportunity to explore more of Hazard and run some errands. The first thing she did, though, was stop at the Front Porch Café for breakfast.
She was finishing her omelet when two older women caught her attention. They sat at a nearby corner table, their voices pitched loud enough for Shylo to hear over the clink of other murmured conversations and metal utensils scraping against plates.
The silver-haired woman shook her head. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His father was the same way—suave and handsome, but always had one eye wandering.”
Her friend gave a knowing nod. “Exactly. So it’s no surprise Shane ended up in that kind of relationship. A husband and a wife? It’s like they’re daring the town to judge them.”
“And the worst part? They walk around like it’s all perfectly normal. Like there’s nothing shameful about it. Their poor children.”
Adjusting her glasses, the second woman leaned in, lowering her voice only slightly.
“And don’t even get me started on what their lifestyle did to that sweet Blair Hadley.
Convinced her to turn into a... well, I won’t say the word out loud, but it’s five letters, starts with a W and ends in an E.
Two brothers, one woman, and calling it a marriage? It’s disgusting.”
“Exactly.”
They said it as if it were fact. Like love had a right way and a wrong way, and anything outside their narrow view of it deserved mockery.
Shylo didn’t flinch or show a single reaction on her face.
But her hand tightened slightly around her mug.
From what she’d learned, Shane didn’t have “one eye wandering.” He seemed completely and utterly devoted to his husband and wife.
She'd seen the way he looked at Tucker and Paige at the barbecue and at the party, as though they were the only two people who mattered.
Forcing herself to finish her coffee, she resisted the urge to turn around and give those two biddies a piece of her mind.
She wasn’t there to defend the Wilsons or anyone else, and doing so would probably put a target on her back.
While it was impossible not to be singled out as a newcomer in the small community, she tried to keep her presence low-key.
She would make waves soon enough when the time was right.
It wasn't the first time she'd heard her biological father come up in conversation—usually with admiration and a knowing smile.
People remembered him as gregarious, generous, and always the center of attention.
But charm didn't erase the betrayal she felt.
From everything she'd pieced together, Peter Wilson had cheated on his wife repeatedly, and Shylo couldn't help wondering what that said about the man he really had been.
She came to Hazard to claim what was rightfully hers. That was the plan—direct and unemotional. She hadn’t expected to like Shane or his amiable, unconventional family and their friends. And she sure as hell hadn’t expected to meet someone like Seth.
Still, sometimes she wondered if she'd inherited more than Peter Wilson's DNA. Whatever had driven him to look beyond the life he'd already built, maybe a trace of it lived in her too.
She didn’t want to be restless or unmoored. But sometimes, she wasn’t sure what she wanted—or who she was meant to be.
Seth stepped out of the hardware store, a bag of fencing nails in one hand and his keys in the other.
He blinked against the sun, scanning the street out of habit.
Early June in Hazard meant sidewalks busy with locals swapping hellos, shop doors propped open to catch the breeze, and enough noise to remind him the town was alive.
Same streets, same rhythm... only a few of the faces had changed.
One of the newest was about to cross the street in front of him.
Shylo had exited the bank, tucking an envelope into her purse. Her hair caught the sunlight long enough to make him forget what he'd come to town for.
She looked focused, unreadable—until she heard him call her name.
“Shylo!”
She turned toward him, and a brief flicker of surprise softened into something that might’ve been a smile.
“Hey, Seth,” she said with a small, hesitant wave.
He jogged over to join her. “Hey yourself. Didn’t expect to run into you.”
“Well, you did. Guess it’s your lucky day. Maybe mine too.”
He chuckled, shifting the bag in his hand. Truth was, he'd been hoping to see her. The last week and a half had left him more confused than anything.
Shylo laughed at his dumb jokes, teased him over text, and never seemed in a hurry to end their conversations.
She acted as if she enjoyed spending time with him as much as he did with her.
Yet whenever he hinted about getting together on one of her nights off, all he got was a smile and a vague, “Maybe,” or, “We'll see.” He couldn't tell whether she was trying to take things slow or quietly putting him in the friend zone.
It didn't help that their schedules rarely lined up.
He worked days while she worked evenings, leaving only a narrow window to see each other after her shifts.
Last Sunday, he'd finally thought they'd get a chance to spend an afternoon together, only for her to text that Lou needed her to pick up an extra shift at the bar.
He couldn't blame her for wanting the hours, but he was still disappointed.
More than once, he'd spotted her truck at the Moody Moon Motel and had to resist the temptation to stop, find out what room she was in, and knock on the door.
He didn't want to look like a stalker...
but the desire to see her every day was getting harder to ignore.
He couldn't remember the last time one woman stayed on his mind this much.
Part of it unsettled him, while the other part wanted to know everything about Shylo and what made her so special.
“Today’s your day off, right?” he asked.
“Uh... yeah. It is.”
That was exactly what he'd been hoping to hear. “Good. I was thinking we were only ever going to see each other late at night.”
She gave him a small, apologetic smile. “Our schedules haven't exactly been cooperating.”
“No kidding.”
He could've left it there. Should've, maybe. But this was the first time since the barbecue that neither of them had to be anywhere right away, and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
He hitched a thumb in the direction of the Triple-R.
She shifted her purse from one shoulder to the other, that flicker of uncertainty he’d expected passing over her face. He knew she’d never been on a horse before, never even stood close enough to touch one, but hoped she was interested in learning how to ride.
He almost told her it was fine, that she didn’t have to, when she said, “Okay.”
It threw him for half a second. He’d been ready for a polite no, maybe a laugh to cover it. Instead, she met his gaze as if daring him to back out.
“All right.” A slow grin pulled at his mouth. He held out his hand for her to shake. “Let’s make it official, then. First ride.”
She took his hand. “First ride. Don’t kill me, though, and make it my last one.”
“Would never happen.” A thought struck him, and he glanced down at her feet. “Do you have boots?”
A small, almost sheepish smile spread across her face as she kicked a tiny pebble into a grassy area. “I... uh... picked up a pair at the second-hand store yesterday morning. Figured I might need them at some point. And I felt a little out of place without them.”
That caught him off guard—not the boots themselves, but the fact she’d thought about getting them at all. As if she wasn’t “just passing through” anymore.
“Let me go change,” she added, “and I’ll meet you at the ranch.”
“Sounds good. Park where you did the other day and come around to the back of the house. I’ll bring the horses out.”
His gaze followed her across the parking lot.
She always looked like she had one foot out the door—even when she wasn’t going anywhere.
And maybe that’s what he’d noticed first, the thing he couldn’t quite shake—she didn’t seem like the type of woman who stayed.
Not when she had the freedom now to roam after her duty caring for her mother was over.
But she was still here.
Maybe she wasn't as eager to leave Hazard Falls as she once seemed.
He hoped it was true.