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I frown.Almost family? "Who?"
"Me," Tucker says, holding his cowboy hat in his hands as he steps closer to the counter.
"Really?" I ask, feeling like I keep parroting everything everyone is saying to me back at them.
He shrugs, smiling at me. "Yeah. I'm never going to leave Pine Ridge. It's home, and I help Dad with the ranch, which I'll continue to do, but this is something that's mine."
The whole time Tucker is talking, my smile deepens. “I think that sounds wonderful.”
My dad clears his throat looking at me. "So, everything is settled."
"I think so," I say tentatively, suddenly so unsure of my tomorrow. Yesterday I knew I would be here, but my tomorrows can be shaped anyway and anywhere now.
"Okay, but when you give your mom and me grandbabies, your husband is going to need to take time off to bring y'all down to Florida," Dad says, a little misty-eyed.
"I think we can do that," I promise, feeling free.
He pulls me into a hug, and I feel as if the pieces of my life that I couldn't get to fit before are finally falling into place.
"For now, we better get back to work. We don't want Tucker to get a run-down shop."
That gets a round of laughs as I fill Tucker and Henry's orders.
"If you leave town, how will I get my dog treats?" Henry asks, looking concerned.
"She's going to be my sister-in-law. I'll make sure we always sell them and anything else she might whip up," Tucker says, patting Henry's arm comfortingly.
I like that idea. I can't help but smile at them. My phone interrupts the sweet moment, pulling me away.
I don't recognize the number.
'That's weird," I mumble to myself.
I've had the same number for the last nine years, and no one has ever called me that I don't recognize unless there's a spam risk warning on it. There's no warning on this number.
"Hello?" I ask tentatively. It could be Kage or Faye, and they got my number from Ryder or Mary. Mary's already programmed into my phone since we talk so often. "Hello?"
"Is this Tillie?" a female asks.
"Yes."
There's a heavy pause before a sigh. "This is Emily."
I feel the blood drain from my face as my body goes cold. "Why are you calling?" All the emotion is gone from my voice. I'm surprised I can talk at all right now.
"I guess I deserve that," Emily says.
"Yeah, I guess you do."
"I was, uh, hoping it would've been long enough that maybe you'd forgiven me, but I guess not."
"What do you want?" I ask. I won't feed into it. She hurt me. There's a time for forgiveness and healing, but I can’t get there right now. “Seriously, why are you calling? We have nothing to do with one another. My life is in Pine Ridge, and last I heard, you moved to California."
"Well, I did go out there for a while, but I live in Cheyenne now," she says.
My stomach flip-flops as I realize she's only a few hours away now. That's not nearly far enough. It was fine when we had practically a whole country between us.
Maybe it's all the more reason to move out to Dallas with Ryder. A sign. That's what this is.
