Page 25 of Where She Belongs

“What about your friends?”

She nearly told him she didn’t have friends. But she bit her tongue. “I told the people who matter.” Or rather the person who mattered—Aunt Roxy. Rylee blew out a frustrated breath. “I left for a good reason and that doesn’t include you.”

“Rylee,” he murmured, pained. “I care about you. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

She winced. There was no way she’d led this guy on. If anything, her aunt had put some fantastical thoughts into his head. From the moment they’d been introduced, he’d been attentive. Overly so. If she didn’t know he was harmless, she might have felt suffocated by his attention. Roxy had assured her that his family came from old money and Alexander was a romantic who wanted a love match.

“I want to come visit you,” Alexander continued. He’d still been speaking. Shoot, had she missed anything? “Rylee?”

Clearing her throat, she paced. “Visit? Alexander, you… can’t. That would defeat the purpose of what I’m trying to do.”

“And what exactly is that? You don’t need to escape anything. Your life back in New York was perfect.”

She closed her eyes and focused on breathing. “No, Alexander. It wasn’t. I don’t know how to tell you this, but sometimes a person needs to step away from everything going on in their life so they can see the bigger picture.”

“Bigger picture—Rylee, what is there to see? You’re everything I want.”

A laugh bubbled from her throat. “Do you hear yourself?”

“There’s nothing wrong with knowing what I want,” he said tersely. “And that’s you. Let me prove it⁠—”

“There’s nothing to prove. Look, I have to go. I’m busy. There’s a lot I’m working through right now. So maybe give me some space and let me do my thing.”

“I’m not going to stop calling.”

She sighed. “That’s your prerogative.”

“Will you answer when I do?”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she muttered, “We’ll see.”

When she finally got him off the phone, Tate was pretending he hadn’t heard every single word. He shuffled his feet. She took a few steps toward him, ready to continue with their walk when her phone vibrated again. She growled out in frustration and pulled her phone from her pocket only to see an unknown number.

Rylee held up a finger. “Hello?”

“Is this Rylee Black?” a male voice asked abruptly.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Black. This is a courtesy call. My name is Billy Holt. I’m with the Rocky Ridge Fire Department.”

“The fire department!” she blurted, and Tate straightened.

“Yes. It looks like there was an electrical problem out in your barn. Something sparked and the barn caught fire. Someone saw the smoke and we got there in time to salvage it, but the back side of the building will need to be rebuilt.”

Her hand came to her mouth, fingers trembling. She wasn’t even aware of Tate approaching her until he pulled the phone out of her hand and put it to his ear. “Hello? This is Tate Dennison.” His gaze locked with hers, and he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze. “Yes, sir. She’ll be fine.” He nodded while the man on the phone continued to speak. “Yes, sir. I understand. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Thank you, sir.”

Tate hung up the phone and gently placed it in her hand.

She looked up at him, her eyes shining. That barn was for all the animals her father had raised. No, there were no animals currently residing on her property, but that didn’t make the loss any less painful. Rylee closed her eyes and dipped her head, but Tate wasn’t having any of it.

He took her chin and turned her face up. “It’s going to be okay. It’s not a total loss. I’m sure Jason and I can help you rebuild.”

Blinking, tears slipping free, she whispered, “You will?”

“Of course I will, Ry-Ry. What are friends for?”

CHAPTER TEN