“So how are you doing? With the whole ex back in town thing?” Drake asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine?” he asked, sounding very unsure of my reply.
My eyes wandered down to the creek. “I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t hurt to see him. It did. But I’ll be okay. I doubt he’ll be in Comfort long.”
“At least a month, maybe two.”
Jerking my gaze back to Mindy, I asked, “How do you know that?”
“He told me. He said his manager told him not to come back to Nashville for a couple of months. His assistant—that’s who’s here with him—she’s staying in Fredericksburg with her husband for a few weeks.”
I leaned forward. “You sure do know a lot.”
She smiled at me sweetly. “I ask the important questions. I know how to gather intel.”
There wasn’t any arguing with that. Mindy had a way of finding out information, that was for sure.
“How do you think Carl is going to react when he sees Anson?” Drake asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was pretty angry that he left. Pearl told me that she’s caught him listening to Anson’s songs sometimes.”
Drake cleared his throat and gently dropped Mindy’s foot. “Hopefully while he’s here he can make amends with folks.”
I didn’t say anything as I took another sip of tea and let my eyes move back to the water flowing lazily downstream.
“Well, I figured you were here. I thought I would stop by to check up on my two favorite girls before I head back to the station.”
The way Mindy was looking up at my brother said she was confused. Very confused.
Things were about to get interesting in Comfort. And not just between me and Anson.
Anson
THE TRUCK CAME to a stop as I stared at the letter M on the black iron gate.
“What in the hell was I thinking?” I mumbled, looking at the drive that led to my folks’ cattle ranch.
It had been six years since I even set foot on the ranch. What would my father do when he saw me?
A part of me wanted to put my grandfather’s truck in reverse and get the hell out of Dodge. But the other part of me longed to be here. The urge to climb on top of a horse and just ride on these pastures and hills was so strong it nearly left me breathless.
I reached up and hit the gate opener. I watched as the large iron gate slowly swung open. The alarm at the house would alert them that someone was coming in. I knew my father knew I was here. Grams had insisted she wanted me to go to the ranch and not call ahead, and my mother had agreed when she called me last night.
Word had also gotten around that Bristol had greeted me with a warm welcome, and I had followed that up by ruining her dinner date. Which I was pretty sure I hadn’t, but the town would believe the worst about me at this point. Bristol had truly looked like she wanted to reach across the table and slap the shit out of the suit sitting across from her.
As I drove down the winding driveway, I couldn’t help but smile. The memories of this place started to settle. Slowly, I felt a sense of peace come over me. When I saw the giant, two-story Victorian house come into view, I pressed a little harder on the gas.
My mother stood on the porch and waved. Her smile was as bright as the morning sun. I put the truck in park, turned it off, and quickly got out. She nearly knocked me over when she ran at me. I held out my arms and laughed when she plowed into me.
“Anson! Oh, sweetheart! You’re home. You’re home!”
I held her tight. “I am, Mama. I’m home.”
She pulled away and gave me a thorough once-over, then looked up at my nose.
“She got you good.”
With a laugh, I nodded. “She did. Wasn’t anything I didn’t deserve, though.”
Mama pulled in a long breath and then exhaled. “Anson, she was angry.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “I’m not mad at her, Mama.”
Her arm snaked around my waist, and we made our way toward the steps.
“Your daddy laughed when he heard about Bristol punching you.”
“I imagine he did. He’s probably ready to take his own swing.”
She huffed. “He’ll do no such thing. If he does, he knows I won’t talk to him ever again.”
I hugged her tighter at that confession. Damn, it was good to be walking up the steps of my childhood home. As we walked into the house, I drew in a deep breath.
Lavender. Mama always had fresh lavender, no matter what time of year it was.
“Your room is ready, if you’d like to stay here.”
I smiled. “I think it’s probably best I stay in the guest house at Gram and Granddad’s.”