“Everyone ready?” he asked.
He heard a few enthusiastic replies from Will and Cooper, along with Tank's excited bark. He glanced over one last time.
That Scot practically had her in a clinch. Two weeks. He had two weeks until he had to become accustomed to seeing Hannah daily—with her new work husband. Hell, he was still attracted to her. Great, like he didn’t have enough toworry about. Like would she be okay seeing him and Cooper? Oh, it was going to be a hell of a time for sure.
“You sure you’re okay to drive?” Will asked cautiously.
“For the last time, I’m fine,” he growled, putting the car in gear.
He hit the gas. They flew backward until he hit the brakes sharply. Cooper started laughing. Tank started barking.
Reba simply leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, you’re mighty fine all right.”
Angry with himself, he put the Jeep carefully in drive this time, knowing he’d embarrassed himself. Well, it wasn’t the first time, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, not with Hannah coming back.
“Still want to drive?” Will asked quietly.
He didn’t even glance his way as he started driving off. The distance he covered didn’t make him feel any better. The old saying was right.
There was no outrunning the past.
HOMECOMING TEA
1 part elderflower…for excitement
1 part cinnamon chips…for that sense of home
1 part hawthorn…for all you’ve missed
1 part nettle—to nourish and reestablish your roots
—
Brew for ten minutes and serve with a teaspoon of honey for sweetness while telling yourself YOU’VE GOT THIS.
Drink as often as necessary, especially when you feel like you’re losing your mind.
Diary Entry
Hannah Montgomery
CHAPTER SEVEN
Stay calm.
Sip your tea.
Under no circumstances fight with Dad.
Hannah gripped her thermos and pasted a smile on her face as Neil pulled into her parents’ driveway. “You sure you don’t want to leave me here and wander around town before we head out to the ranch?”
“Lass, we agreed visiting your parents was our first stop before heading to the ranch, especially with today being Father’s Day,” Neil answered, cutting the engine of the truck Will had arranged for them when they landed in Bozeman this morning from Scotland. “Come on. We don’t have to stay long. Remember the treat awaiting you after.”
When Neil bribed her with food, the world was ending. Then again, he knew she was a little shaky. What he didn’t know was that the new black Ford F-150 truck Will had picked for them from the ranch smelled like Ben, and she’d had a ball of strong emotion lodged in her throat the entire way to Sanctuary Springs. He must have used it recently, but his smell was the same. Leather from his saddle, that earthy smell that came from working with animals and beingoutdoors, and the spicy scent of his skin she’d never forgotten.
She was definitely better off inhaling more lavender essential oil and thinking about her favorite potato chips. “I’m telling you. Wait until you have Old Man Roy’s Crispy Spuds. They’re life-changing. The universe clearly agrees since we’re arriving the day after he dropped off a fresh batch at Pioneer Pantry. I called ahead and told them I’m reclaiming my family’s allotment. My parents never ate them.”
She and Sarah would rush over after school to pick up a bag, and if it had been good weather, they’d run to the playground and dangle on the swings as they munched on them, doing their best to make the most noise as they crunched. God, how they’d laughed.
