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Chapter Four
Tyson
I gazed at the clear blue sky, breathing in the fresh scent of grass and water. Horses whinnied in the distance and serenity settled over me. It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time and I barely recognized it.
The wooden dock beneath me was warm from the sun, but it wasn’t too hot out yet. A spring breeze kept me cool as I laid there, my feet dangling over the edge above the small pond on the ranch property.
I hadn’t set foot on Willow Hope Ranch in over three years, but the place hadn’t changed. This used to be my second home. The place where my best friends and I hung out all the time. I let out a long breath as I drummed my fingers against my chest. This place might bring me peace, but I didn’t know if I belonged here anymore.
At least, I didn’t deserve to belong.
I closed my eyes against the memory of Ellie’s face this morning. A pang of guilt shot through me. I hadn’t expected to see her. I’d been in physical therapy in the city about an hour away and I’d improved enough to move to a clinic closer to home. Nothing could’ve prepared me to see her, or her father.
I swallowed hard. No one told me her father was in that condition. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but it was serious. My fingers curled into fists as anger licked my insides. Someone could’ve told me.
But then again, would I have listened? When I left, I wanted a clean break with this town. I deleted my social media and created new ones under my fighting name. I blocked everyone from my phone except my brother. I thought it would be better that way. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
It had been a long road to recovery. When my brother dragged me back to Cypress Falls after my devastating fight, I’d locked myself away at home where I’d seen little but my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. It was very unlike me. If I even knew who I was anymore.
The dock shifted beneath me as the thud of boots approached. It was about time.
“I’ve been here for over an hour. Took you long enough.”
He was quiet as his shadow leaned over me, blocking out the sun. When I opened an eye, a narrowed gaze met mine beneath the brim of a weathered cowboy hat.
“Look who’s talking.” Knox crossed his arms over his chest.
I pushed myself up, my body ached from lying on the hard surface for so long. I winced as I got to my feet, my bad knee twinged with pain. I hated feeling this way, all worn and achy. Weak. It was another reason I’d stayed away while healing. I’d finally been able to stop using anything to assist my walking. The only visible sign of my injury was the brace.
I tried not to favor my good leg as I faced Knox, but he noticed anyway. His eyes shifted briefly to the brace on my right leg before meeting my face again.
“Where’ve you been?” My lips tipped up into a smile that felt rusty and unpracticed. No longer effortless like it used to.
Knox’s jaw hardened. “I think I should be asking you that question.”
I resisted the tension building in my muscles. Knox had been one of my best friends since we were kids. Only, I had abandoned him, and this whole town, years ago. I deserved whatever disdain he had.
I shrugged. “You saw me when I first got here. I’m sure Atlas filled you in.”
He stepped closer, his hands clenching as his biceps flexed. He’d gotten stronger, it seemed, since I’d been gone. Part of me wished he’d punch me and get it over with. I wouldn’t fight back.
“Cut the shit, Ty. What are you doing here?”
Looking away, I clenched my back teeth. It would be easier if he hit me. I hated the look on his face, the guilt it stirred within me. “I saw Ellie today.”
“I know.”
My eyes snapped to his. I don’t know why that surprised me. Of course he would know. He and Ellie were close. We all had been—before I ruined everything.
“Is she…” I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “Is she okay?” She hadn’t spoken a word, even though I’d been standing right in front of her. Not that I expected her to.
“She’s surviving.”
Surviving?The word sent dread pooling in my gut like concrete. What had happened in the last few years since I’d been gone? Did I even have the right to ask?
We stared at each other as shame and regret burned a hole in my chest. I’d stayed away from my old life for a long time. It was so hard to face everything I had left and everything that I was now. I might be weak, but I wasn’t helpless and Knox deserved something more from me than my asshole attitude.
I hung my head, letting out all the breath from my lungs. I couldn’t look at him.
