Page 109 of Sundown Somewhere

“Doesn’t change anything,” I say, deflating again. “She still⁠—”

“Hux, go fight for her,” Ewan declares. “Go be the guy who stood in the peach grove that day and told us that he was just happy being the man in her life. Be the man in her life.”

When Ewan got so wise, I don’t know. But his words hit me like a sledgehammer through concrete. I promised to be the man in her life, no matter what. And that’s what I’m going to be.

Which means talking to her and figuring out what’s wrong.

Without another word, I push past Miss Belle, heading for the door. I still don’t have a fucking clue where she could be, but I won’t find her by sitting on my ass in Pour Decisions.

Here’s to figuring this out.

28

DOLLY

“Can you fall in love with someone in a month?”

I ask the question before the heavy motel door is even fully open, the loud bang of it hitting the wall punctuating my question.

“You’ve been missing in action for hours and that’s how you greet us?” Emily responds.

She pushes past me, Alice hot on her heels, holding up a pie dish.

“Grasshopper,” she informs me, lifting the dish a bit to show it off. “Because it was that or sweet potato with a bourbon glaze, and this didn’t feel like a savory kind of panic button.”

She’s right, it’s not. Hell, I’m not even sure if this is an eat your feelings kind of moment. My stomach has been too tied up in knots since I pulled out of the church parking lot hours ago. Looking down at my hand, it’s still shaking, although at this point that might be because I haven’t eaten since o’dark-thirty. So pie is probably a good idea.

If I can manage to keep it down.

“Chocolate and mint is never the wrong answer,” Rose comments, following them in the door, Margeaux and Brenna right behind her.

Gang’s all here. Thank goodness.

“Exactly.” Alice nods, her proud smile saying it all. “I didn’t bring plates, but I do have forks!”

I let the door slam, the vibration rippling through the cheap motel room. The Ramblers’ Rest is about as far from a five-star accommodation as you can get. Pretty sure this place wouldn’t even get one star. Don’t get me wrong—it’s clean and decently maintained from an upkeep perspective, but that’s about where it ends.

The Lanes, who have owned the Ramblers’ Rest since before even my parents were born, haven’t renovated it or upgraded anything since the seventies. Maybe the eighties. It’s not a place that is designed for long-term stays—a quick in and out for those passing through. Or those looking for a quickie.

Or a girl who needs to not be found for a couple of hours.

“Have you been here all day?” Margeaux asks, her brows knitted with concern. “Hux is in knots.”

“You missed his big reveal,” Rose says.

“No…I…” I trail off. One question at a time.

I look to Rose. “I didn’t—at least not completely. He shared it with me privately first and…”

Guilt claws its way through me again. Between the way I reacted and missing his big reveal to the town, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over this. Even if Hux manages to forgive me, I’m not sure this is one I’ll be forgiving myself over.

This morning was far from my finest moment. Like the distance from here to the moon far.

Actually, that might be too close.

“And no,” I continue, turning to face Margeaux. “I drove to Tifton.”

“You drove to Tifton?” Emily exclaims.