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“Whoo-wee, you keep that up, girl, and I’ll be flirtin’ with you all night long.”
Liv turned to walk Micah back to the barns. There was another round tomorrow night, and if she did well, she might be in the money on Sunday—at her first rodeo.
She walked back out after Micah was settled and looked up at the stars. “Ben, are you seeing the same night sky I am?” She put her arms around her waist, as though she held him close to her. “What I would’ve given to have you here tonight. I wonder what you would’ve thought about all this?”
She knew damn well what he would’ve thought. Ben would’ve been proud of her. She missed him so much, it hurt deep down in her soul.
Don’t go home, the text from Paige said. What the hell? If heartbreak didn’t kill him, the heart attack Paige gave him would.
Ben pulled off the road. He couldn’t drive home, at least not tonight. He needed to find a place to stay, sleep, and leave in the morning.
Don’t go home, the text came through again.
I’m not, he wrote back.
Where are you?
Couple blocks away.
Meet us at Blue Water on Main.
Enough with the texts. He called her.
“Hey,” she answered.
“Paige, I gotta tell you, I haven’t been this close to havin’ a drink in a year. You have to let up on me a bit. You mean well, but…”
“She knows you’re here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Renie decided she needed to know.”
Fuck. Now what? Ben laid his head against the steering wheel. He never should have come. Liv would not be happy about this. No matter what he did next, it would be the wrong thing.
“I saw her, Paige. She was with someone else. I can’t see her and pretend like I don’t know.” He hit the off button on the phone and threw it against the passenger window, hoping it would break. Why had he come?
“Hey, sweet Mama,” Renie said, meeting her mother outside the barn. “Do you have any idea how proud I am of you? How happy I am for you?”
Liv hugged Renie tight. Thank God she was here. If she hadn’t been, tonight would’ve meant so much less.
“There were people in the stands tonight cheering you on that you didn’t expect to be here.”
Liv’s eyes flew open, and she tried to catch her breath.
“Mom, are you okay?” Renie started slapping Liv on the back.
“Stop! Stop it. I’m okay, it went down the wrong pipe.” Liv coughed a couple times trying to get her breath back. “Who?”
“Paige and Mark came down, you probably figured they would. And you already knew that Dottie and Bill were here. There was another person you didn’t expect.”
Liv wanted to strangle her daughter. “Who, Renie? Quit playing games and tell me.”
“Ben.”
Liv turned and walked back toward the barn.
“Mom, come back. Don’t run away.”
