Delicate Promises (Southern Bride 2)

Hurt, and most likely embarrassed because he asked me in the middle of a restaurant, Jack decided we needed to take a break after I turned down his proposal. He said we needed to figure out where we both saw our relationship going. I agreed. That was three years ago. Radio silence ever since.

Jack was now married to Candace Littleton and had a six-month-old baby. I was truly happy for him and also sort of pissed he never told me he’d fallen in love with someone else until I got the wedding invitation.

“I can’t believe she is already that close to having the baby,” I said.

“I’m pretty sure Lana is beyond ready for this baby to make his appearance. She’s pretty miserable.”

Smiling wider, I asked, “And what about you? You and Macy decide to have any more kids?”

“Hell no. The three little ones we have are enough. Momma would love more grandkids, though. She loves having them around, says they keep her feeling young.”

“I bet she does. She’s really lucky to have those grandbabies keeping her company,” my father added.

My eyes jerked to my dad. Was that sadness I heard in his voice?

My parents never pressured me to settle down, but I felt sure they were more upset about me and Jack breaking up than I was. My father had accused me of wasting my time waiting on Miles to come home. It was an insane thing to say. It was also ninety-nine percent true. Then. Not now.

Once a upon a time I might have wanted that, but Miles made it crystal clear what he wanted. His military career was his one true love. The first few years after he joined the Marines he had come home to visit regularly. We’d missed each other on most of those visits because I was away at college, but he at least made an attempt to come back to Hunt. It killed me not to be able to see my best friend. The few times our paths crossed, though, something was different. He kept his distance, intentional or not. I had been dating someone else, and Miles seemed to be pissed at me for that.

Then he surprised me and came home to help me celebrate my twenty-fifth birthday. This time I was single, not dating anyone. We ended up sleeping together again, in the barn. I guess it was like our place to have noncommittal sex. My birthday wish was that Miles would ask me to be his. Exclusively. But then Miles had gotten a phone call he said he had to take. I’d gotten dressed, made my way down the barn and figured I’d go sneak some muffins from my momma’s kitchen to bring back to Miles. Jack had showed up looking for me and found me as I was about to leave the barn. He asked me out, and I turned him down without hesitation. I wanted Miles. Period. We’d talk, he’d tell me what was on his mind, and we would find a way to make it work. His momma had hinted that she knew Miles was going to be getting out of the Marines soon, and I was almost positive that was what he was going to tell me. My heart raced like it was Christmas morning. Miles came down from the loft as I stood and watched Jack drive away. I’ll never forget his words. A knife piercing my heart.

“You should go out with him, Kyns. He’s a good guy.”

Rich’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Listen, Steve, if you need help repairing that fence just let me know.”

“What fence?” I asked before taking a bite of a blueberry muffin.

“Aw, it’s nothing. Just a small break in the fence over on the north side of the property.”

“Daddy, I can ride out and fix it.”

“I know you can, sweetheart, but that’s a man’s…”

His voice trailed off when I lifted a brow.

“What were you fixin’ to say?” I asked.

“Nothing. I didn’t want you to have to do anything on your birthday.”

“After thirty, birthdays no longer count,” I stated.

“That’s right! That’s Miles’s way of thinking too,” Rich said with a laugh.

Damn him for mentioning Miles. I couldn’t not ask about him, even though my father was giving me the glaring side-eye at the mention of Miles’s name.

Screw it, I had to know.

“Speaking of Miles, has he mentioned his next visit?” I asked, popping another bit of the muffin into my mouth. Oh sure, he’d been home to visit his momma a few times over the years, brief in and out trips, usually no more than twenty-four hours. Always when I was out of town. Last year I was at a marketing conference in Atlanta. The year before, I was on a girls’ trip to Mexico, and the year before that, I was in New York City for my mother’s birthday. I hadn’t even seen Miles in five years.