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Nothing.
Not an ounce of what I was hoping for.
He never talks about me?
In a moment’s notice, Ledger spewed, “She’s just Chance’s sister.”
I wanted to yell at him.
Hurt him as much as he’d hurt me.
With my words.
My actions.
With everything inside me.
I didn’t do any of those things. I just stood there like a deer in headlights, suffocating in the reality that we’d never make it back to a place where we were close friends again.
He didn’t want me in his life, and that was the hardest pill to swallow.
“Oh!” She extended her hand for me to shake. “I’m Valerie, Ledger’s girlfriend.”
I shook it, trying to hide the shock of her announcement.
He’d never had a girlfriend before.
Not once.
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her statement. I couldn’t believe it. He’d finally settled down with someone. And of course, she was gorgeous, completely his type.
“Do you want to—”
“Valerie.” He interrupted her. “Hazel was just leaving.”
Fucking asshole.
I couldn’t bring myself to say it, so I just turned around…
And flew home to New York City.
Six
Ledger
Now: Ten years later
By the time I made it to the bar in downtown New York City, it was after eleven. The place was packed to the brim with people. I was only in town for the night, meeting with some potential meat buyers for our ranch. My father was near retirement. Soon, he’d hand everything down to me.
I was exhausted. Spending the entire day talking about one thing or another with clients was never my strong suit. I didn’t care much for people. The ranch consumed my life. Always had. Except now, I’d be the boss, and I had no fucking problem with that. If anything, I couldn’t wait to be in charge.
That was why I lined up buyers in the first place. I hated the bullshit of having to play nice to win people over, but it came with the territory. My routine was the same every day. I was up by four o’clock every morning and home way after dark every night.
Day in and day out, my time was spent on the ranch.
Nodding to the bartender, I ordered a beer and sat down on the barstool, trying to unwind from the day’s busy events before returning to my hotel room.
A woman sat down beside me, greeting, “Hey there, cowboy.” She tapped my cowboy hat. “You in the wrong city?”
