Page 4 of Home Is Where You Are

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to keep them from falling. I took a deep breath and counted to five before I squared my shoulders, readying myself to face the man I’d left all those years ago.

two

GENTRY

My lungs seized, and my heart pounded against the ribs that enclosed it—a hollow organ that ceased to beat since she’d left me. I thought the two-hour drive had given me enough time to prepare for seeing her after four years of her being gone.

But I’d been wrong.

Just at the mere sight of her, I couldn’t breathe. My heart constricted, and I struggled to get air into my lungs as I fought the urge to turn around and run.

It’d serve her right if I did just that.

My stomach felt like I just got sucker punched in the gut by a heavy weight champion. I thought I’d put our past behind me, but seeing her again, the pain came rushing back full force.

She was still just as beautiful as the last time I’d seen her. The day before she’d taken my heart and shattered it without any regard.

A letter.

A letter was how she’d said goodbye.

After everything we’d gone through, I was only worth a few scribbled words on a piece of paper torn from a notebook.

She couldn’t even do it to my face. She’d had her brother Holden, my best friend, pass it along to me long after her flight had left the ground.

“Gentry,” she whispered. Her mouth opened and closed, but no other words escaped.

“Yeah, butterfly.”

“Please don’t call me that,” she said so low I could barely hear. She looked down at her phone and typed with the speed of lightning as her eyes filled with tears. She shook her head as if to ward off the threatening tears. Her head looked to the sky after she finished typing. Her lips moved, but no sound escaped. I couldn’t read what she mouthed, but once she finished, she looked at me, her eyes still glossy, but she appeared more composed.

“I’ll call you whatever I please. Get over it. Let’s go. I’ve got things to do today,” I said as I clenched my teeth.

I knew picking her up was a bad idea, but there was an emergency at the ranch, and it was all hands on deck. Her father needed her mother there, and her brothers were out on a guided hiking tour. I was the only person available.

“I’m waitin’ for my mom to respond. I’ll wait for her to come pick me up.”

Stubborn woman.

“You’ll be waitin’ a while then,” I said with an insolent smirk. I’d love nothing more than to leave her here stranded, but I couldn’t do that to her parents. Not after everything they’d done for me over the years. I’d bite my tongue the whole two-hour drive if I had to.

“What do you mean?” she questioned, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ranch emergency. You’re stuck with me.” I was about as thrilled as she was to be with her in my truck for a couple of hours, but that was what loud music was for. I could drown out the thought of her being back with my favorite tunes.

“Is everything okay?” she whispered as she looked at me briefly, but quickly diverted her gaze to the sky.

Standing there with just the Texas sunshine beating down on her, I finally took in the sight of the woman who’d broken my heart into a thousand pieces.

She hadn’t changed at all. She still looked the same as the last time I’d laid eyes on her. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back just the way it used to. Her big blue eyes still had the same deepness that I used to get lost in. Her figure that I’d loved holding in my arms was still curvy in all the right places. Even her style was the same, given her oversized shirt and exercise shorts that fit her like a second skin.

The only thing that appeared to have changed was the frown on her face at the sight of me when I used to receive the brightest smile.

But I didn’t have time for questions from her today. “Are you done? We’ve got to get goin’.”

“I’d rather take my chances with hitchhiking than be trapped with you for two hours.”

“You see, you’ve got two options. Walk to my truck willingly, or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you kickin’ and screamin’. What’s it goin’ to be?”