Page 6 of Second Chance Saloon

Eve gave him a sad smile. “You kept talking about the future, making all these plans, saying all the right things, but I could tell your heart wasn’t in it. We were great on the surface, but I’ve always felt like you’ve kept me at arm’s length when it came to really knowing you.”

“You can’t seriously be trying to blame this on me—”

“I’m not. I am sorry, for what it’s worth.”

“It’s not worth anything right now.”

Her chin dipped in a solemn nod. “I suspected as much. Face it, Mitch. You’ve always had some walls around your heart. You gave me pieces of yourself, but never all of you. Something was always missing.”

Bitter acid burned his palate. His first instinct was to get defensive and snap back, but he thought better of it. It wouldn’t change anything. Eve had cheated on him. She had been cheating for months. He wondered briefly how many of his calls or texts went unanswered when she was on tour with Lionel, because the two of them were together. Nausea rose in his mouth. He preferred to stay ignorant of the details.

“I wanted to grow old with you, Eve. I loved you,” he choked.

She let out a sigh. “This is what I mean. Already the past tense.”

Mitch swallowed a retort. He gritted his teeth, deciding to distract himself with another mouthful of whisky. He was furious. Disappointed. Regretful. But he also had no strength left to fight with her—or for her.

“I’m fine with being the villain in your story if this is who you need me to be,” Eve said. “But once you get over everything that happened today, you’ll see what I mean. I don’t think you ever let her go.”

That caught his attention. “Oh, come on. You’re just looking for excuses for what you did. What do you want from me? Some kind of absolution? I have none. I can’t even look at you right now.” He dropped his gaze to his shaking hands, trying to control his breathing.

Mitch knew all too well who Eve meant. His epic heartbreak. The woman who broke him.

Jackie.

He coughed. “I did let her go, before we even met.”

“Then why do you still hold on to the drawing of that ranch? And the letters?” Eve asked quietly. “I know you keep it all in the top drawer of your desk.”

His lungs cinched. “You went through my things?”

“I was looking for something one day.” She stood, pulling up the corset of her strapless dress. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m going to go and pack my stuff. I’ll leave my key under the doormat.”

Mitch nodded stiffly.

“Goodbye, Mitch. I did love you, you know.”

He let out a strange noise, something between a chuckle and a cough. How had a couple of hours pushed his entire world off its axis? And even worse, how was he supposed to comb through the debris and make peace with the wreckage?

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. It was like the neurons in his brain misfired. Or maybe his heart and brain didn’t want to cooperate.

CHAPTER FOUR

September, fourteen years ago

Jackie

Jackie was supposed to be in Manhattan. Strolling through Central Park, spotting cute dogs and listening to music on her daily walks. Stopping from time to time to look up and admire the imposing skyscrapers towering over New York City. Imagining her future as a busy surgeon, spending her days off slipping in and out of trendy restaurants with her friends, colleagues and a partner, maybe. It was everything she had ever dreamed of since she was twelve years old and had visited the city for the very first time over the Christmas break.

New York was magical.

It breathed its own air of mystery and achievement, promising heartbreak, hard work and fun in equal measures.

And she couldn’t wait to get out of Texas.

But apparently, Columbia University didn’t think she was the right fit for their pre-med program. So, here she was, at UT in Austin, pretty much around the corner from the ranch where she grew up.

“We expect all our students to keep up with the required reading ahead of each class, so that you can make the most of each lecture. The labs will take place …”