All I need is a maybe.
Without wasting another moment, I rush through the crowd in search of my dad. My heart beats rapidly with the anticipation of getting to her. In convincing her not to leave with the way things are.
The moment I spot him talking to the hardware clerk from town, I catch his eye and shout from a distance that he’s going to have to ride home with someone else. Laughter escapes his lips for a moment, seeming to think that I’m joking. But he must quickly realize that I’m serious by the way I swing the keys in my hand.
I’d driven to this place, and now—I’d be driving out.
I peel out of the parking lot and drive like a bat out of hell to the Montgomery Ranch, tearing up the long driveway, all the way to the main house. I screech to a halt in front. Gravel sprays everywhere. I jump out of the truck, the engine still running.
“Oakley!” I yell, taking the steps two at a time as I scale her front porch. “Oakley! Please, don’t leave like this!”
It’s too late, though. The sound of tires on gravel perks my ears. My feet rush around the side of the house as I leap over the porch railing just in time to see Mrs. Montgomery’s car pulling out from the shorter driveway at the back of the house.
There’s no way that she didn’t know I was here. She knew, and regardless of that—she left.
Head hanging, I finally stop. Tears brim my eyes as I trudge back toward the house. Defeated.
I’d tried everything to get her to see me… To listen to me and potentially forgive me.
And she refused. She refused to give me the time of day.
By the time I reach the front of the house, Bo’s standing by my truck, which isn’t running anymore. His eyes narrow in my direction as his arms crossed over his chest, completely dissatisfied by my presence.
I wonder what he sees in my expression since he looks like he’s squaring up. I’m suddenly too furious to hold back. “Call her,” I demand. “Tell them to come back.”
“No, man.” He scoffs, standing up so that his arms fall to his side. “That’s fucking stupid. You need to get over yourself and let her go.”
I don’t care. “Call her. Tell her I’m here. She’ll want to say goodbye. She can’t leave without…without…”
“Let her go,” Bo says again, a little more firmly. “She’s better off without you.”
At that moment, I’m a bull and Bo’s the red flag. All I see is red. I’m not even sure how I end up crossing the distance between us, only that my fists are swinging, and Bo clocks me square in the jaw. Sending me back spinning, only to put my head down and come at him again.
He ducks out of the way. “Cut it out, J! She’d hate this!”
Panting, I face him. My face hurts, but not as much as my pride. Or my heart.
“What did you think would happen when you took up with Savannah?” Bo says, shaking his head. “You can’t think my sister would stand for that.”
“I didn’t take up with that fucking whore. Shit, why would I? I already had the most perfect girl in the world! That stupid bitch tried to force herself on me on purpose!”
Bo looks startled for a moment. His eyes widen before his shoulders sag slightly with a nod of his head. “I should’ve known better than to believe anything that girl says. But, J, man, that’s not the only reason you chose the circuit over her.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the circuit. I was only doing it to make sure that I had money saved to take care of her. To make sure our future was set. I’d never fucking leave Oakley. My life is nothing without her.”
Before Bo can open his mouth again, the sound of the screen door slamming against the house echoes through the air, turning both my and Bo’s attention to the house behind us. David Montgomery storms out of the front door. The man is nothing but pure intimidation with his six foot seven linebacker-built physique, and dark narrowed eyes that are staring straight in my direction.
“What the hell is going on out here?” he snaps, glancing at his son. “Bo? Is this jackass coming at you?”
Despite the man having more graying hair than most men his age, he isn’t out of shape. I know better than to piss off David Montgomery, but I suppose that did go out the door the moment Bo told me to get lost.
“He held his own,” I reply, running a hand over my jaw. “I didn’t even get in a punch.”
“Good. Because if I found out you’d put a hand on my son, your ass would be in jail so fast your head would spin. Now get out of here,” Mr. Montgomery says in a steady, flat voice.
I can’t figure out why it sounds so familiar. Then it hits me. It’s how Oakley had sounded when she told me she was going to New York.
My chin tips up, my voice solid and steady with the same icy chill as his. “I came to say goodbye to Oakley.”
