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She thought of the ear kiss. Of Gray’s hot face. Of him naked in her dream, and she wasn’t sure she could last three hours much less three days.
“Maybe clear heads are overrated,” Alana grumbled under her breath. Oh, the illogical things a mind could come up with when it wanted what it wanted.
And what both her mind and her body wanted was Gray.
That brought on more clucking, more pinched lips from Mildred. “It’s not overrated, and you need to put on your big-girl panties and do the right thing.” She paused. “Especially since Gray will likely be around a lot more than usual. I’ve heard he’s buying Nightfall Ranch and maybe plans to live there.”
So, there was talk, incorrect talk, but Alana didn’t set Mildred straight about Gray buying the ranch. But if Mildred and others thought that’s what had happened, then word wasn’t out yet about Sadie Jo being Gray’s birth mother.
Alana’s phone dinged with a text, and she could have sworn her heart did a little happy dance when she saw Gray’s name on the screen.
Can you come to Nightfall Ranch?he’d messaged.I’m going through Sadie Jo’s stuff, and I found some things.
Her heart quit dancing, and the worry returned full force. Alana couldn’t imagine whatsome thingswould be, but it was possible that whatever Gray had found had sent him into another downward spiral.
I’ll be there soon, she texted back.
Alana kept her farewell remarks to Mildred at a muttered goodbye because anything she said to the woman would spur her disapproval. Heck, even the goodbye caused her to frown, but that didn’t stop Alana from hurrying to her car.
Yes, hurrying.
She assured herself that this wasn’t about the fire-hot heat between Gray and her. This was about comforting someone whom she clearly still had feelings for. It was true that he’d broken her heart, but she could rationalize that they’d been young and stupid then. They were no longer young, but the stupid label might still apply to her. Because she knew any comfort she could give Gray would automatically add more fire to the already-existing flames.
Alana was frowning at herself by the time she drove out of town and toward Nightfall, and she forced herself to remember there was a reason she’d needed the support group in the first place. Her frown deepened considerably, though, when her phone rang, and she saw her mother’s name on the dash screen.
Like the support group meeting, Alana would have preferred to skip this chat, but she’d put it off long enough. She’d already dodged two other calls, and her mom would just keep calling until they’d spoken. Or worse, her mother would pay a visit to Gray or her.
“I just got off the phone with Mildred,” her mother greeted when Alana answered.
Alana groaned though it really wasn’t a surprise because Mildred was a tattletale. “Yes, I’m on my way to talk to Gray,” Alana admitted. Over the years, she’d discovered it was best to tattletale on herself, but she chose her words carefully since she didn’t want to spill about what wasn’t hers to spill. “He asked to see me.”
There. It was the truth. He had, indeed, asked, probably because he’d found something that had cut him to the bone again.
“You could have said no,” her mother quickly pointed out. There was snobby disapproval coating all five of those words.
Over the years, Alana had also discovered that it was best to remind her mother of boundaries, and for that to happen, Alana had to use that spine she’d finally grown after years of dealing with her controlling parents. Of course, there was always a fine line between setting boundaries and being respectful, but she thought she’d gotten the right balance.
“I was in love with Gray,” Alana stated. “That doesn’t mean we owe each other anything, but I’m still going to find out why he wants to see me.”
Her mother’s sigh was loud enough to extinguish birthday candles. “You’re not looking before you leap.”
Her mother had obviously learned the motto of the support group. “I’m not leaping,” Alana argued. Which might or might not be the truth since she’d kissed Gray’s ear. “And before you continue, there’s nothing you can say that will make me cancel this visit. Nothing,” Alana emphasized, doling out some of that spine she’d grown.
Apparently, though, her mother did think there was something she could say. “You’re risking your heart to a man who’s already broken it once. Just remember how long it took you to get over Gray when he left. Remember all the nights you spent crying yourself to sleep and ask yourself if you can come back from that again. Because, Alana, I don’t think you can.”
Her mother didn’t give her a chance to respond to that because she tacked on an “I love you” and ended the call.
Alana admitted there could be some truth in that whole “not being able to come back from another broken heart.” Admitted, too, that her mother did, indeed, love her and didn’t want her to get hurt. But even that wasn’t going to stop her, and that told Alana loads.
Like maybe her being in love with Gray wasn’t a “past deal” sort of thing.
Maybe it never would be.
And with that utterly depressing thought, Alana turned into the driveway of Nightfall Ranch.
She spotted Teddy, the groundskeeper, tending to a flower bed that was bursting with colors along with being in the guitar shape. Alana also saw Gray’s truck, not parked out front but rather on the side of the house. Maybe he’d done that so the truck couldn’t be seen from the road and therefore start some gossip, but that ship had sailed.
“Afternoon,” Teddy called out to her.
