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She should be. You know this already though, don’t you? She can’t resist me.

CHAPTER7

Anticipation

ABBI

I can hardly stand it.

I’m prettysure you know where Rhett takes me, but if you don’t, it’s Tilly’s. Barron’s aunt Tilly, she owns a bar near the Grady Ranch. It’s where we spent a good amount of our childhood. Probably because we got away with everything here, including underage drinking. To be fair, she always took our keys. Jace was just really good at getting his back.

“So… you’re seeing someone?” I ask Rhett, trying to make the conversation anything but about me.

Rhett tips his head slightly to the right, a smirk on his lips as the headlights of a passing car shine on his face. “I don’t know. I suppose so.”

He’s never one to dish on his love life. He was dating Londyn Murphy all his senior year of high school and nobody knew about it until they broke up.

Rhett sighs when we’re in the parking lot and stares at Jace’s Jeep. I have no idea if it’s Josie who’s here, or Jace. My heart pounds in my chest and a heavy weight settles over me. “Why did you really leave Griff at home?”

I look over at Rhett, the wind blowing my freshly washed hair in my face. He’s a year older than me and though not always wiser, he knows me about as well as Josie. He’s also Jace’s best friend. I have to be careful what I say here. “Griff had to work.” It’s not a lie. He did. “He’s been on call every night for the last month.”

He nods to the bar. “Or ishethe reason?”

I shrug one shoulder, unable to answer him.

Rhett draws in a deep breath, scratching his jaw covered in a thick dark beard. He looks like a mountain man and plays the part of every other cowboy in this state from the Southern accent, flannel shirts, and arrogance you find here. “Whatever the reason, be careful.”

When we were kids, Rhett was adamant Jace wasn’t the one for me. Somewhere along the lines, he stopped caring and it became more about Jace thinking we were bad for one another. “I really did come home to see family,” I admit, unsure if that’s the truth. You and I both know it’s not. So why do I keep saying it?

Well, because as I look out into the field that the headlights paint a frozen picture frame of, I can’t help but think it’s hard to close the book on your past when there’s a chapter left unwritten.

“Is he here?” Do you notice the way my words tremble? I think it goes unnoticed by Rhett, but I can never tell with him.

“Probably.” Rhett raises an eyebrow and nods to the Jeep. “That’s his Jeep.”

Oh, believe me, I saw it parked in the shadows before we even pulled off the highway. “Josie was driving it earlier,” I point out, flipping my phone around in my hand. I have half the nerve to text Jace and tell him I’m in town.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Rhett reaches for the keys in the ignition and pulls them out, grabbing his cell phone and pocketing it as he slides from the truck. “And it’s not here in this cold-ass truck.”

He gets out and leaves me sitting there. When he’s in front of the truck, he nods to the bar, his arms raised up as if to ask what the fuck am I doing. I don’t even know.

With a deep breath, I get out. This time I’m mindful of the ice as I step onto the ground. The wind hits me immediately and I regret not wearing more layers. The air is crisp and refreshing despite the chill, and I breathe in deeply. My nose burns with the action, my steps slow and light. I’m afraid of what will happen when I step inside this bar.

Okay, I’m afraid of who I will see. Will he have the same effect on me as he always does?

The first person I see in the bar? Lillian. She greets me at the door with open arms.

I smile at Lillian, those familiar bright blue eyes widen at the sight of me.

“Holy shit, girl, is that really you?”

I tuck strands of my red hair behind my ear. “Last time I checked it was,” I say with laughter on my lips as I pull her in for a hug. This feisty little blonde I spent my childhood running around with—her, Josie, and Tara. We were quite the group raising hell in this small town. It’s probably a good thing I moved away. Saved me an arrest record for sure.

I look up to see Morgan at the bar. His back’s to me, but I’d remember those burly shoulders and the rigid posture anywhere. “So… you and Morgan?”

“Ugh.” She groans, her cheeks turning a shade of pink in the blink of an eye. “Did Rhett tell you?”

“No. Josie. What happened?”