Page 77 of Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek)

“You’re so sweet to ask. I’ll make a list,” Mom says. “I heard Ellie’s comin’ today. You should invite her to stay for dinner tonight.”

“Okay, sure,” I say.

Once she hands me the list, I scan it over and then smile. “We’re havin’ a feast tonight or what?”

“Don’t we always?” Mom smirks, patting my cheek. “Appreciate ya goin’ for me.”

“No problem, Ma. I’ll be back in a bit.”

I drive to the stables and smile when I find Ellie at Ranger’s stall. She’s wearing those sexy-as-hell cut-off jean shorts.

“Hey.”

Her eyes brighten when they find mine and she noticeably checks me out. “You’re wearin’ a cowboy hat.”

“Yeah. A Cattleman. Do you like it?” I tilt my head down so she can see all of it.

“I do. How very western of you.”

Chuckling, I nod. “I like wearin’ it once in a while. Other times, I wear a baseball cap.”

“Like at the hospital.”

“Right.”

“Both suit you nicely.”

I narrow my eyes, and she mimics the gesture.

“What?” she asks.

“I was just waitin’ for you to mock me about it or say sike and that I look dumb.”

“Why? Oh, because of the whole I hate you thing?” She shrugs. “Well, I don’t today. But I do have a theory.”

Arching a brow, I lean against the stalls. “What’s that?”

“That we’re actually dating…but in secret. It’s why your name wasn’t in my contacts. I probably had it memorized anyway, but in case anyone saw me texting you, they wouldn’t know who I was texting. It’s why I would’ve deleted the thread. But for whatever reason, you don’t want anyone to know, or maybe it was my idea not to tell anyone, but either way, we pretended we couldn’t stand each other to keep anyone from findin’ out.”

“Have you hit your head again?” I ask.

She swats at my arm. “You can’t tell me that sounds any less crazy than us being enemies for no reason?”

“I’m sorry to burst your theory bubble, but that’s wrong.”

She folds her arms. “Then why were you sittin’ next to my bedside holdin’ my hand?”

“Because I didn’t want you to feel alone. Noah had just left and?—”

“Why were you even there in the first place if I hated you?”

Leaning in closer, I slide my tongue along my bottom lip. “Because I never hated you.”

Her breath hitches at my closeness, and I know I affect her as much as she affects me.

“We’ve been textin’ all week like it was a normal thing for us.” There’s a hint of sadness in her voice like she’s desperate to put the puzzle pieces together and frustrated that she can’t. “It didn’t feel like I was talkin’ to someone I’d just met.”

“It didn’t feel like that for me either,” I admit. “Even though I have memories from the past four years, the way we talk now is new to me, too.”

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