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I look up at him.

“And I would know. Bulls are terrifying.” He smiles.

I scrunch my nose like I don’t believe him.

“Seriously,” he says. “I’m scared every time I’m in that arena.”

“Well, then I guess we do have one thing in common.” I blow out a breath. “Thank you for the encouragement. It helps.”

“I’m your biggest fan.” He reaches out and messes up my hair like I’m a little kid who just got his autograph.

I knock his hand away, and try to laugh it off, but I’m dying a little on the inside. It’s exactly the kind of thing one of my brothers would do.

He sees me like a sister. Still.

How embarrassing.

I replay that whole scene in the Woodlands over again, realizing I did it again. Just like when I was in high school. That bad habit of misinterpreting his actions is impossible to shake.

It’s really, really important that I figure out a way to knock it off.

Otherwise, he’s going to drive out of town without saying goodbye just like he did all those years ago, only this time, I’m not sure my heart would recover.

Chapter Ten

Noble

Things are weird, and I hate it, and I know it’s because of me.

I’m the one who left, and when I did, I hurt her.

I can’t pretend I don’t know why. How do I make her understand my reasons? The truth is so, so complicated.

It’s there, on the tip of my tongue, but when I think about how tenuous our connection is right now, I swallow the words. I can’t risk upsetting her even more.

I want to prove to her that I can still be the guy she always thought I could be. The guy who shows up for the people he cares about. The guy who doesn’t screw everything up.

I’m just not sure how to begin. Navigating this is like trying to ride a bull on a sheet of ice.

As we drive, she periodically picks up her phone and talks into it, adding items to her to do list. She’s tense, but focused, and I find myself wanting to ease her burden.

My phone buzzes with an incoming call. I pull it out of my pocket.

Nell.

Her name lights up the screen, and I click it off and turn it over.

Not right now.

“You can get that if you need to,” Hattie says without looking away from the road.

“No, it’s not important.”

My phone buzzes again. A text this time.

Nell

Are you ignoring my calls? We need to talk!