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How many times had she picked up the phone only to put it down again? They were no longer Kelly and Tate the couple. They were just Kelly. And Tate. Not that they’d been a couple for long, but long enough for her to fall in love with him totally.

“Look, Kel, I know you’re hurting. I’m not excusing what Tate said, but there were extenuating circumstances. But I also know you can’t turn your feelings off. Not when you’re in as deep as you are.” Macy grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “Come to the concert. It’s the final event of the weekend. After that you can go home and hibernate all you like. I’ve already told Gavin I’m going to sleep for three weeks.”

Kelly laughed and hugged her friend. “You deserve that sleep. You’ve done an amazing job. I’ve heard people say this is the best festival ever. And thank you for being a friend.” Straightening her spine and pushing out her shoulders, Kelly scooped up her purse. “Now let’s go to your concert.”

“Thatta girl!”

Kelly locked the door and wished locking away her feelings was as easy as keeping her business safe.

*

Tate took anotherswallow of beer from one he didn’t want. Tyler had dragged him to Silver Spurs to celebrate the end of the festival and the fact he’d received a lot of interest from people around the area for his wine. Tyler was excited for his launch in a couple of months—Tate wished he could get as excited.

“I should go home. Dad will be wondering where I am, and I’m sure Mrs. Hewitt would like to come to the town square for the last of the Founders’ Day celebrations.” Tate wanted to get out of the bar as soon as possible. Less chance of him running into Kelly, although that was exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to talk to her, but every time he thought about doing that he almost threw up. Which was silly considering they had no trouble talking previously.

“Mrs. Hewitt is fine, Tate. She told you she was happy to sit with Dad. Although, I can’t say he was too happy about it. He’s probably being a grumpy ass to her.”

Tate chuckled, the sound rusty to his own ears. He hadn’t laughed much in the last few days. “You’d be right about that, so I probably should go and rescue her from Dad.”

“No.” Tyler slammed his hand down on the table. “Stop trying to do everything yourself. I know I’ve taken advantage of you recently, and for that I’m really sorry. I’ve been a shitty brother. We’ve already discussed how I should’ve stepped up more after Dad had his stroke. I’ve been selfish and made you take a burden you didn’t need to. But that changes now. I’ve seen how you can juggle everything I’ve thrown at you, as well as what you took on after Dad had his stroke. I can do more at the farm while still making sure the winery gets the attention it needs with the big launch just a couple months away.”

Tate stared at his brother. Kelly had said the exact thing; that he always had to take the burden of everything on his shoulders. “Okay, what have you done with Tyler? Because this isn’t the Tyler I know and love.” And for all their faults, he did love his brothers. They’d all just gotten lost and their relationship fractured. Tate liked that he and Tyler had done a lot of work over the last couple weeks to improve it.

Tyler laughed. “Yeah, I deserve that. But, seriously, I’m proud that you’re my brother. But I’m not letting you go home tonight. We’re going to go to Macy’s concert and we’re going to have a good time.” He leaned forward. “I know that something happened between you and Kelly, and if I was somehow to blame, I’m saying sorry again. The last couple of days you’ve been walking around the farm in a daze.”

If only Tyler knew how hard it had been to keep away from the festival goings on at the farm. Dad’s health scare kept him close to the house, and the only times he left were to oversee the final harvesting of the peaches. Now that it was done, his life would slow down a little—which left him too much time to think about Kelly and how badly he’d fucked up with her.

Was it too late to fix it?

Tate stuck his hand in his pocket and fingered the bracelet he’d been carrying around. Somehow the delicate piece of jewelry had become a connection between him and Kelly, even though they weren’t together. He should put it away, back in his top drawer, but he felt if he did that then it would signify the end of what he and Kelly had shared. He wasn’t sure if he could do that. But how could he win Kelly back?

Tyler elbowed him. “Come on, it’s time to go to the concert.”

Tate grabbed his beer and drained the contents. The last thing he wanted to do was be around people, and especially happy couples, but Tyler asked, and Tate could admit he wanted to spend some more time with him.

By the time they reached the town center, a huge crowd had gathered to hear Macy sing. Having a famous country rock star for a resident, one who’d grown up in Sweet Ridge, was a huge drawcard, and ever since Macy moved back and married Gavin, the Founders’ Day concert had been born.

As stupid as it was, he scanned the crowd, hoping to see Kelly. While he’d tried to maintain his distance at the festival events at the farm, he’d always taken a quick look for Kelly. On the first day, he’d even hung around by the urns that had been part of their argument to see if she would update the flower display. Only it had been a young girl, one he guessed was from the local high school, who’d completed the task.

The hurt cut deep, but it was what he deserved after what he’d said and done to Kelly. How was he supposed to enjoy himself when his heart wasn’t in it? Tyler was buzzing with happiness; he hated to ruin his brother’s buzz. He turned to tell Tyler that he’d changed his mind and was going to head home when he saw the face he’d been yearning to see staring straight at him.

Kelly.

Without thought he pushed his way through the crowd.Please stay right there, Kel. Please don’t move.His breath whooshed out of him when he reached her side—she hadn’t run.

“Hey.” Well, that was original. He mentally slapped the side of his head.

“Hi.”

The crowd moved around them, but it was like he and Kelly were locked in their own little cone of silence.

“How are you? You look good.” Okay, well, that was a little better.

“I look tired, but thank you. Umm…” She glanced around, and he suspected that she was looking for a way to escape. Now that he had her close he wasn’t going to let her go. The pain and heartache that had been his constant companion was lifting after just being a few feet from her. His heart was beating again.

God, he loved her, and he didn’t want to go through life without her. He should’ve chased after her at the hospital. Not let her walk away from him.

The music started up and Macy’s distinctive voice echoed around the area. The crowd cheered as she belted out one of her most popular hits.