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When he was finished, he stood there with his heart hurting and his breath pumping in and out of his lungs.Jace stared at him for a long time before he released his breath.
“Well, shit.Why the hell didn’t you tell me all this when I got here and asked who you were seeing?”
“Because I didn’t want to hurt you any more than you were already hurt over losing your dream.I planned on telling you this morning, but you ran off to Sweetie’s before I could.”He couldn’t help feeling angry all over again as the image of Sweetie and Jace sitting on the porch swing popped into his head.
Jace must have read his expression because he held up his hands.“Now don’t start swinging again, Deck.Nothing happened.I didn’t come back here to start something up with Sweetie.I do love her.I’ll always love her.Which is why I came back to apologize to her for being a shitty boyfriend and for not defending her to the townsfolk.”He sighed.“But you’re right, it’s not the kind of love that will last a lifetime.Sweetie and I both know it.I just got a little hurt when I found out that you not only have a good life here in Wilder, you also got a great girl.While I’m nothing but a washed-up football player with nothing to show for his life.”
“You’re so much more than football, Jace.It’s just a game.”
Jace smiled sadly.“Unfortunately, it’s never just been a game to me.”He sighed.“You always did have a better head on your shoulders than I did.You always made the right choices.So make the right choice now.Don’t let her go, Deck.Don’t make the same mistake I made.”
Decker didn’t want to let Sweetie go, but deep down he knew he’d already lost her.He couldn’t forget the way she’d looked at him when he’d started spouting his jealous nonsense.He had worked so hard to make her feel like he respected her enough to listen to her and he hadn’t even given her a chance to explain.And why should she have to?She had never made him any promises.At least not with words.With her body, she had said things that had made him think maybe they had a chance of making it work.
But it had just been wishful thinking.
“You couldn’t hold her, Jace.”He tried to ignore the fist squeezing his heart.“And neither can I.Now I’m going to go get out of these wet clothes.”
Once inside, he was greeted by George and Dixie Chick, but not even their slobbery love made him feel better.Nor did a long hot shower.After getting out, he planned to go back to bed and try to sleep for a few hours before he had to get up and go to work, but then he stepped out of the bathroom and saw Jace sitting in Nana’s chair reading something in a spiral notebook.
“What are you doing?”
Jace glanced up.“Have you seen this?”
Decker moved into the living room.“What is it?”
“I think it’s one of those songbooks you were telling me about.”
“Sweetie’s?But how did it get here?”
“I don’t know.I found it in Nana’s knitting basket.”
Decker took it from him.“You shouldn’t be looking through it.Sweetie doesn’t like sharing her songs.”
“If I remember correctly, she didn’t seem to have a problem singing her songs to you.When I asked her to sing them to me, she always had some excuse for why she couldn’t.”He pointed at the notebook Decker had clutched possessively to his chest.“And she needs to share those songs.I don’t know how to read music, but the lyrics about made me cry.Especially the second one.I think you need to read it, Deck.”
Decker shook his head.“I’m not going to invade her privacy.I’m sure she left it here by accident.”
Jace cocked his head.“You sure?Or maybe she left it here because it’s always been easier for her to express her emotions to you in songs.”His eyes grew as intense as they did when he was getting ready to throw a touchdown pass.“Go on, Deck.She wrote it for you.”
Since leaving Sweetie, Decker hadn’t felt a spark of hope.He felt it now.Without saying another word, he carried the notebook into his room.
George and Dixie Chick were sound asleep on his bed, Dixie on one pillow and George on the other.Decker sat down on the foot of the bed and set the notebook on his lap.He shouldn’t open it, but he did.
There were only two songs in it, scribbled in Sweetie’s almost illegible writing.The first song was the song Sweetie had sung to him in the hayloft.“Small Town Regrets.”The second song was called “The Right Boy.”
Taking a deep breath, he read the lyrics:
A boy who sees me for who I am ...and who I was, a boy who loves me just because.A boy who gives me space to breathe, a boy who offers a country dream ...the right boy for me.He’s the right boy for me.
“So are you going to offer her that country dream?”
Decker looked up to see Jace standing in the doorway.
“I don’t have much of a country dream to offer her.I don’t have a lot of money, or a big house ...I can’t even help her save her family’s ranch like the Remingtons.”
Jace came into the room and flopped down on the bed like he’d done a hundred times before when they were kids.“Mama told me about the Holiday Ranch being in trouble.But what do the Remingtons have to do with the equation?”
“Mimi cooked up a plan to marry one of her granddaughters to Casey or Rome in the hopes that their money will get the family out of debt.”
