6. Weston
Weston
Red fuels my vision as I rip aged boards down from the side of the old barn next to my house. I’d driven straight out here, three miles from Vivian’s place, hoping to avoid any further run-ins with a woman who should’ve never come back to town.
Which, logically, I understand isn’t realistic, given her mother lives here, but it’s been years since she returned to Stormwatch Landing. So why is she here now?
Shouldn’t she be off, married with kids?
Living a perfect picket-fence life so much more than I could have ever given her?
Anger twists in my gut like a knife, and I toss the boards into a pile just beneath the left overhang, then return inside to put the new ones in place.
Normally, restoring this old barn brings me an incredible amount of peace.
But today? In the midst of this nightmare that I find myself re-living? There’s no shred of anything but pain.
One after the other, I continue drilling the new boards in place, filling the hole I created this afternoon. I work unceasingly until my body is coated in a thin layer of sweat and every board I’ve taken down has been replaced. Now I’m standing here, wishing I had a thousand more boards to replace.
Maybe it’s time to just tear the whole place down and start again.
Maybe then I’d be so tired that I wouldn’t still be focused on Reese Faye.
The love of my life.
The one woman I have never been able to forget, no matter how badly I tried.
There was a time when I breathed only for her.
And then there was a time when I desperately wanted to stop breathing because of her.
I’d needed the pain to end. So I joined the Navy. Hoping that would push her from my mind. All it did, though, was make it so much worse because there was no escaping my thoughts of her. Nor my desire to beg her for another chance.
“Thought I’d find you here.”
I glance up as Zane Knox, my best friend since childhood, strolls into the barn. Instead of his typical board shorts and t-shirt, he’s dressed in jeans, work boots, and a dirty grey work shirt. Which likely means he came straight over from whatever project he was working on at his house.
“Not interested,” I growl.
“Anastasia called me.”
“Again, not interested.” My tone is sharp, and if it were anyone else besides Zane, they would have turned around and left out of sheer self-preservation. Unfortunately, my best friend and former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy doesn’t fear much.
And I never quite made that list.
He grabs an old board from the ground and carries it out after me, depositing it on the pile with the rest of them. Moving silently, he’s a calming presence for me, though I won’t ever admit that.
You give people way too much power when you let them know you need them.
Once upon a time, Zane’s wife, Tessa, and Reese were good friends. I wouldn’t call them best friends, but Reese was supposed to be in the wedding party. Of course, the wedding never happened because, shortly after Reese took off, Tessa followed suit.
I’d laugh if it weren’t so depressing. What a group the four of us make.
At least Zane and Tessa found each other again. At least there was hope for them.
Reese and me? What was between us is gone. Destroyed. Leveled with the force of an atomic bomb.
“Did you know she was back in town?” I demand as I turn toward him.
“I didn’t know,” he assures me. “And if I had, I would’ve warned you.” It’s the truth, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. Would I have reacted differently if I knew running into her was a possibility?
Would the world have stopped spinning as abruptly as it did?
Would I still have lost my ability to see anything or focus on anything but the gorgeous redhead I fell in love with when we were little more than kids?
She saw the best of me.
But then I only gave her the worst.
Pain, fresh and searing, burns hot through me, clearly determined to break what’s left of my black heart.
“Weston.”
“I’m fine,” I snap. I toss my gloves onto the old chair in the corner, then stalk off toward my house. Unfortunately, Zane doesn’t quit that easily. He silently follows me up the steps and into the cabin I’ve lived in since I was ten.
After washing my hands and grabbing a bottle of water, I offer it to him, then take one myself before turning to face him.
I crack the bottle open and take a drink, but the liquid might as well have been sand.
It doesn’t touch the dryness in my throat, nor does it satisfy the thirst I’ve had since I saw Reese walk into Anastasia’s coffee shop.
“What happened between you two?” Zane finally asks.
We had everything, then lost it all.
“Just didn’t work out,” I reply. The truth is impossible to talk about. And why would I? Nothing will change. The only two people who know all that we lost are Reese and me.
Which is exactly how it will stay.
“Wes—” he starts.
“I’m not interested in a pep talk,” I snap. “Anastasia was out of line to call you because I’m a grown man, and I can deal with my own problems.”
Zane’s gaze sharpens. “We both know you never dealt with whatever happened between you and Reese.”
He’s not wrong, and yes, we both know it.
I spent three nights in jail after I found the papers she’d left for me.
I’d been on a fast track to a full-blown prison sentence when Officer Alan Leopold stepped in.
He’s now the local police captain, and I’m still thankful to him for setting me on the path to joining the Navy.
If it weren’t for that, there’s no telling where I’d be right now.
Prison.
In the ground.
Still, either one would have been preferable to running into Reese today.
I can still see her standing there, those deep blue eyes widening when she saw me. She’d been horrified. Disgusted. And who could blame her? The boy I was when I saw her last has been dead a long, long time. There’s not a single part of me that even comes close to resembling him.
And inside? I’m even more scarred.
“Look, I’m really not interested in getting into this, Zane.”
“Fine. Then we don’t have to talk about it. What’s next on your list for today?”
I arch a brow, seeing right through him. “So, what, you’re just going to follow me around?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m not who I was before,” I tell him. “So, yeah. Pretty sure.” After downing the rest of my water, I toss the bottle into my recycling bin and cross my arms. “You know me, Zane. You know that I have no interest in getting into this. She’ll be gone again soon, and I won’t have to deal with it again. ”
“Until the next time she’s in town.” He steps forward. “You moved back here. To the ranch her mother owns. You had to know you’d see her again. Honestly, I always figured that’s why you did it.”
I swallow hard, once again hating that he’s struck a nerve. Not that I’ll admit it. I have no intention of ripping myself open for all to see. For them to kick dirt in. Even if Zane is my brother in everything but blood, I won’t let him see the wound still festering in my chest. “That all?”
Zane nods. “You know where to find me, Weston.”
“Yeah. I do.”
An hour later, I’ve successfully worked myself into near exhaustion. Every muscle aches, and my skin is slick with sweat. The main horse barn has never looked cleaner, though. As much as I would have loved to avoid this part of the ranch, the horses don’t deserve to suffer for my cowardice.
After sending Kyle home, I refilled grain buckets for tomorrow, filled our storage bins, organized the tack again, and cleaned up the breezeway.
Did the barn need all of that? No. But going to the gym to work off this frustration is too risky since my entire team works out there, and going for a run is out of the question on the off chance I end up seeing Reese again.
So, hidden in the main barn, I stayed.
It just had to be today, didn’t it? Of all days, it had to be the anniversary of the day I lost Violet. The domino that fell and destroyed everything else in my life.
Because, why not today? Why wouldn’t life level me when I’m already on my knees?
I hang up a rake, then step out into the breezeway, only to find a large, long-haired black German Shepherd sitting at the entrance to the barn, watching me with its ears perked.
“Hey there, bud. Lost?” I question.
His tail begins to wag, and he races over toward me, tongue hanging out. He does a dance at my feet, spinning in circles and rubbing up against me like we’re old friends. It brings a slight smile to my face, easing some of the darkness blanketing me.
“Who do you belong to?”
“Aragorn!” a woman calls.
Aragorn. I almost smirk. The Lord of the Rings reference is fantastic, but then recognition hits.
Seconds after I hear her voice, the world collapses on top of me all over again as Reese steps into the breezeway. She freezes in place, and I straighten, removing my hands from her dog.
That gorgeous jaw I’ve traced with my finger more times than I can count tightens, and she narrows her gaze on my face. “What in the world are you doing here?” she demands. All earlier shock is gone from her expression, leaving her furious instead.
Good. Anger is a whole lot easier to deal with than disgust.
“I work here,” I snap. She doesn’t need to know it’s a whole lot more than that. Because if Vivian didn’t tell her I own half of this ranch now, then I’m certainly not going to be the one to bring it up.
She crosses her arms. Aragorn drops down at her side, looking between us, clearly confused about the tension. “You work here,” she repeats.
“That’s what I said.”
Something flickers over her expression, though I can’t quite discern what it could mean. “I don’t believe you. My mom would have told me.”
“If she didn’t, that’s between the two of you.” I move toward her, but Reese stands her ground. She was always good at that. I’ve watched her go toe-to-toe with bullies her entire life. Most of the time, she was sticking up for someone else.
It’s actually how we first met.
She stood up to a boy who had no problem beating up on her instead of the kid he’d been picking on, and I refused to let him. I stepped in and knocked out two of his teeth after he’d shoved her to the ground.
We were inseparable after that moment. Or, so I’d thought.
Seems like some things change, even if others never do. “I have stuff to do,” I say, leaning in just enough to see the flecks of gold in her blue eyes. It’s dangerous for me to stand this close to her, but I can’t help it.
I breathe deeply, inhaling the delicate scent of her perfume.
When I’m on my deathbed, having forgotten chunks of my life, I know that I will still remember the scents of jasmine and fresh linen because it is so exclusively her. Reese Faye. The only storm I’d willingly walk right back into, even knowing the outcome.
Reese’s lips part, and her pupils dilate slightly. It thrills me even as aggravation runs through me at lightning speed. “This is my home,” she replies, tone sharp as a blade.
“You moved away a long time ago, Princess,” I growl. “Now, I’m busy.” I move past her, my hands flexing at my sides because, even as angry as I still am, I want nothing more than to reach for her.
And that hits me harder than any fist I’ve ever taken.