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“The thought of dating right now is exhausting.” I take a swig of my soda. “Plus, a dating app in small-town Freedom Valley is like flipping through a yearbook. Everyone knows everyone. No thanks.” I shudder at the thought of dating someone’s sister or, God forbid, their mom.
“No kidding.” Evan grimaces. “I’m glad dating’s over for me. That does sound awful.”
I lean back against the counter and cross my arms. “The next woman I meet who’s a keeper can just have the key to my house. Dinner’s ready for her at six, left side of the bed is hers, and we’re just going to skip the dating and go straight to the good part,” I joke, picking my pizza up and taking a bite. But deep down, I know I only want that with one woman.
Ty laughs. “That’s pretty much what Mellie and I did. We just became a family, and that was that.”
“And that’s also what Beth and I did.” Evan nods in agreement.
Lucky. “Football season is not the time to try to date anyone. I’m too busy with the team and the shop.”
“What are you going to do with the shop when you coach full time?” Evan asks.
“Same thing I do now. Dad and Ty have it handled during the day. I’ll still work at night and on weekends.”
“He pretty much only works nights now to hide out anyway,” Ty adds.
“Why are you hiding out?” Evan frowns.
I know he’s asking out of concern for me. When I first moved back, I’ll admit I was in bad shape. I rarely left the house, I let my beard grow too long, and I was unkempt. I spent days building the cabin and nights working at the shop. I rarely spoke to anyone. It’s what I needed then, but it got out of hand. Evan dragged me out of my dark place and got me among the land of the living again when he made me go to counseling at the VA. I will forever be grateful to him for that. I’m sure my dad is too. I know he was worried about me, as well.
“I just prefer nights. I like to focus on work around the cabin and coaching during the day. Nights at the shop.”
Evan nods, but his eyes stay on me. I nod back. He’s got my back.
Ty leans in and jokes, “It’s hard to meet someone if you’re always working.”
“I don’t need a woman.” I roll my eyes.
“He used to have one,” Evan says smugly.
I shoot him a dirty look.
He puts his hands up. “Well, you did.”
“What happened with that?” Ty asks.
I sigh. “I messed it up.”
“Can you un-mess it up?” Ty asks.
I say nothing, not wanting to give them any more ammo to fuel the Callie fire. It’s already burning big and bright for me. The truth is, I know exactly what I want. It’s always been Callie. And while I can’t go back and change what I did, I’ll fight for her now. I have no idea how, but I know deep down she’s supposed to be with me.
“I heard she’s back,” Evan says evenly.
“I gave her a tow the other night.” I shrug like it’s no big deal and hasn’t consumed every single thought since it happened.
“Is that code word for hooking up?” Evan jokes as he looks at me carefully.
“No, dipshit.” I chuckle. “I literally towed her car.” I busy myself in the kitchen, hoping they’ll let up and move onto another topic. Doesn’t seem like this will be happening.
Evan leans in. “And?” He’s clearly not falling for my nonchalance.
“She’s still really pissed at me.” I pause, allowing images of her devastated blue eyes to bombard my mind. My head bows; gaze catching on an imperfection on the wood floor. “I really hurt her.” The words are low and gruff, almost like I’m ashamed to admit them out loud to these guys. But it’s the truth. Callie isn’t just pissed at me; I broke her heart and ruined us.
“Well, you did just up and dip. No one knew where you were for months until your dad finally told everyone you’d joined up,” Evan pointed out. “I didn’t find out until I came back on leave. But you never came back.”
“I know,” I acknowledge. “I had my reasons.”
