Her eyes widen, knowing whatthatmeans to me.
“As we were leaving, a black sports car call pulled up as if they were looking for us, or someone. He got out of the car and told us he was looking for Blair. The moment I looked at her, I knew it was her ex-husband.” I shake my head at the memory from not long ago. A moment that will be engraved in my head for days to come. “He called her babe.”
Nan scoffs. “That means nothing.”
I narrow my eyes in confusion at her.
“Did she send you back in here for them to work it out? Like, what did she say to you?”
I don’t answer as I replay the interaction in my head.
I didn’t give her a chance to say anything.
Regret churns in my stomach because I should have fucking stayed out there with them. No. I should have put her in my truck and drove us away from her past, leaving it where it belongs.
As if Nan can sense my uncertainty, she continues. “Listen, I don’t know what happened or how everything played out, but I do know Blair cares about you. She’s got this weird twinkle in her eye when she looks at you,” she says with a chuckle. “And just because someone from her past showed up doesn’t mean she’s going to run back there. It doesn’t mean she’s ready to pack up and leave. She doesn’t seem like the type.”
I raise an eyebrow. “She ran here, didn’t she?”
“She alsoboughtthe house,” she rebuttals. “Not rented it. She showed up in town with every intention of staying.”
Nan makes a very valid point.
But the part of me that has built these walls to protect my heart from the cycle of my life repeating itself, is struggling to come to terms with that.
“I feel like I’m being brought back to the past and reliving everything all over again,” I admit.
She eyes me with consideration, realizing quickly that Blair means more to me than I’ve expressed out loud before.
These feelings have only grown stronger with every moment I’m with her, or think about her. The way she smiles and lights up every dark part of my soul. The way her contagious laugh has helped me remember how to laugh again myself. The way her kiss has made me feel things I told myself I would never feel again.
“Can I tell you what I think you should do?” Nan cuts through my thoughts.
“No, but you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“Yep,” she says with a curt nod, placing both hands on her hips. “I think you’re jumping to conclusions here. Which is justified, considering your past. You’ve been through some shit, only making you come out stronger in the end. The light may have been turned off for a few years, but it’s time to turn it back on for good,” she says with a pat on my chest. “However, you two have something that neither of you can deny. Maybe she’s out there right now telling him to fuck off.”
Just as the final words roll off her tongue, shouting forces both of us to snap our heads toward the open barn doors. I move before I even have a chance to register what’s being said.
“Fuck you, whore,” I hear him say to her.
When I turn the corner, I spot her standing halfway to the barn, as if she was on her way back here.
On her way back to me.
My chest feels tight, my head feels lightheaded. The only thing I can hear is my own heartbeat before I hear her ex-husband shout to her, “This was the biggest waste of time. You’ll never be nothing more than a piece of shit.”
My vision clears.
My feet move on their own accord.
Blair is still facing him, and neither of them notices my presence as I stalk toward the entrance of the ranch. He’s already turning around to walk to his car when my feet turn into a jog to catch up to him.
Flying past Blair, I hear her gasp, but she doesn’t stop me.
My focus is on one thing and one thing only.
Reaching him, my hand grips his shoulder so tight, that he startles in surprise before turning around to face me with wide eyes.
