“He’s right about that,” Doris said softly, sitting back to peer at Ryan’s weary expression. “But if you didn’t mean it, why say you’d stay? Can’t he see that?”
Tears welled in Ryan’s eyes. She blinked them away, her voice barely a whisper. “I wouldn’t have lied. I fell for Clifton, but mostly… I fell for Seth. And now I’m never going to have him in my life.”
Doris let out a sigh. “Honey, why don’t you go home? You sure you want to stick around here?”
Ryan pressed her fingertips to her temples. “If I go home, I’ll just cry all day. Please, let me work.”
With a reluctant nod, Doris pushed back the chair, then pulled it back across to the other desk. It scraped across the tile floor with a jar that made Ryan wince. “Alright. But remember, if it gets to be too much, you let me know.”
“Thanks,” Ryan murmured, managing a small, grateful smile. “I’m going to call Skylar later, ask her to come over tonight. I haven’t even told her about Seth.”
Doris shook her head in mock disapproval. “You haven’t told your best friend about the man you’re head over heels for? She may not be thrilled, but she loves you.”
“She’s been so busy. I hated to bother her.”
“She wouldn’t have cared. You know that. Have a good weekend.”
“You too,” Ryan whispered, turning back to her desktop’s matte screen where the pixels glowed too brightly. She blinked hard, momentarily blurring the photo of Seth and Cull that dominated the display, their weathered Stetsons casting identical shadows across their faces, the brims nearly touching as they hunched over a spindly seedling cradled in Cull’s gloved palm. She clicked to the next image, both men caught mid-laugh, their breath visible as crystalline clouds in the crisp early air, while copper-gold sunlight filtered through the cottonwoods, illuminating dust motes that hung suspended between them like tiny constellations. A fresh ache bloomed beneath her sternum, hollow and persistent like a day-old bruise accidentally pressed.She missed Cull, too, along with the other men. She had fun with them, and they never once treated her like an outsider.
That evening, Ryan steered her red SUV along the winding country lane toward her townhome. She pressed the button on the steering wheel and dialed Skylar McCoy on Bluetooth.
“Ryan! Hey, what’s up?” Skylar’s warm voice came through the speakers.
“Skylar, you’re not at your cabin, are you?”
“Not yet. I was just packing to leave. Why? What do you need?”
“Would you come over here for the weekend instead? We can order takeout. I’ve got so much to tell you.” Ryan gripped the wheel, her knuckles whitening. Skylar was a best-selling author and was published through a huge firm out of New York. Though she lived in California, her publisher was across the country.
“Of course.” Skylar said. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve missed you, with your busy author life and all that.”
Skylar groaned theatrically. “If my hero doesn’t start talking again, I swear I’m killing him off.”
Ryan laughed, genuinely this time. “You’d never do that to your readers. Plan for an all-weekend catch-up. I have plenty of take-out menus. We’ll find something and watch some sappy movies.”
“Uh, oh. Sappy? It does sound like you have something to tell me. I’ll bring wine and chocolate, see you around six-thirty?”
“Sounds great. Love you, Skylar.”
“Love you too, Ryan. See you soon.” Skylar hung up, and Ryan exhaled.
Later, Ryan opened the door to see her best friend, Skylar, already dressed in an old T-shirt and red sweatpants. Ryan looked at her feet to see she was wearing her fuzzy bunny slippers. Her wheat-colored hair was up in a ponytail and her pale blue eyes filled with concern. Skylar balanced two bottles ofrich merlot, a gold-foil box of chocolate-covered cherries, and a plush box of tissues.
“Hey,” Skylar said as Ryan opened the door wider, the hinges creaking slightly. Skylar stepped over the threshold and wrapped Ryan in a tight embrace that smelled of vanilla perfume.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Ryan whispered, her voice catching in her throat.
“I will always be here for you. I promise,” Skylar said, squeezing Ryan’s shoulders before letting go.
“I’m sorry to take you away from your cabin.”
“Oh, honey, I’ll just go Monday.”
“You didn’t drive in those bunny slippers, did you?”
Skylar laughed. “No. I just switched them out with my sandals before coming inside.”
