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“Grace…” His voice cracked. “I wish there was another way.”
“I would’ve done anything for you, you know that? Turned my back on my family, if that’s what it took. But you won’t do the same. And you know what? Maybe it’s a good thing I’m finding this out now. Before I got too attached.” What a lie. She was already so attached that every word was like a dagger piercing her heart. “So don’t bother giving me this crap about it being for my own good when we both know it’s for yours.” She inhaled sharply. “You promised not to hurt me.”
He winced. “And I’m trying to keep that promise. It’s for the best. And I know you won’t see that now. But one day you will.” He ran his thumb over his jaw. “And maybe you’ll be thankful you don’t have to be with an old guy like me.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I know that.”
They stared at each other, the night air clammy around them. And she felt the shutters come down. Pushing away the thought of his arms around her, of the way his lips would softly brush against hers.
The way he was the only man who ever understood her.
She couldn’t think about them because it hurt too much. And she needed to protect herself. If he wasn’t going to fight for her, then fine.
She’d fight for herself.
“You need to leave now.” Her voice was thick, but there was no emotion there. Just a weariness that sleep couldn’t push away.
“I’ll always love you,” he told her. “Always. And I’ll always be here for you.”
Her throat tightened. “I don’t want your love if it feels like this. I don’t need you to be here for me. If you can’t fight for me when it matters, then I don’t need you at all.” She felt the tears rising, but there was no way she was going to let him see them. Instead, she closed the door softly, leaning her head against it as they finally stung against her eyes.
She half expected him to knock. To tell her he was wrong. That he’d changed his mind. But there was nothing. And she was still leaning against the door when she heard the slam of his car door and the roar of his engine.
It was only when it faded away that the tears finally fell.
* * *
“Are we going to talk about this?” her mom asked the following Saturday, sliding her foot into the stirrup and mounting her horse with ease. “Or are you going to avoid the subject every time his name is brought up?”
“Pretty much,” Grace said, leaning forward to pat Arcadia’s mane. She’d spent most of the last week here at the farm. Logan had let her be, not asking why she was there instead of at work. She assumed Cam – his twin brother – had gotten to him and told him what had happened.
Not that she really cared. Though she was planning to avoidChairsfor a few weeks, like she did last night, just in case the gossip was already rife. It was only a matter of time before the whole town knew that she and Michael had been together and now they were completely apart.
“Dad wanted to come here today,” her mom told her. “I told him you’ll come to him when you’re ready.”
“Probably for the best,” Grace said, steering Arcadia out of the cobbled stable area and into the fields. She really didn’t want to talk to her mom about this. Didn’t want to talk to anybody. That’s why she’d been holed up with the horses – they didn’t ask questions and didn’t make judgments.
The first night she’d cried until the sun pierced its way through the curtains. The next few nights she’d lain exhausted on her bed and gone through every moment they’d spent together, looking for clues.
And tonight? She hoped she’d actually get some sleep. Because she couldn’t keep going on like this.
She was proud that she hadn’t crumbled and called him, not even when he’d messaged a few times to check in. She’d left them unread, not just because she was afraid she’d change her mind and message him back, but because he needed to know she wasn’t reading them.
Even if she really wanted to.
“Your dad’s really sorry, you know?” her mom said, her horse’s hooves clipping against the ground. “He shouldn’t have reacted like that. Or interfered.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Grace muttered. It wasn’t his fault that Michael walked away. And she wasn’t quite numb yet, but she would be. Just as soon as she could see a future without him.
They rode in silence for a while. The sun’s rays were caressing their backs as they headed toward the mountains. Grace took a deep breath and tried to push Michael out of her mind, at least for a few minutes. She let her horse take the lead and they rode along the edge of the foothills.
Suddenly, Arcadia stopped dead, his ears pricking forward. Grace looked up and saw something on the ground ahead of them. A snake. A copperhead by the looks of it, with distinctive russet coloring, basking in a pool of early morning sun.
“What’s going on?” her mom asked, pulling her horse to a stop next to Arcadia and Grace.
“There’s a snake. Arcadia got spooked.”
