Page 6 of Rugged Guardian

As I watch him drive away, my emotions are in turmoil. Today has shown me that our connection is still there, buried beneath years of hurt and misunderstanding. But it’s also clear that we’ve both changed. Are we still compatible?

I turn to look at the cabin, thinking about Waylon’s words.

With some work and TLC, it could be special again.

Maybe the same is true for us. Maybe we can rebuild what we once had, only this time, stronger and better.

CHAPTER 4

WAYLON

My heart pounds when I drive into the Heartland Hardware lot and see Angelica standing by her car. The memories of us as teenagers come flooding back, but I push them aside. We have work to do.

“Hey,” she says, her voice soft and a bit uncertain.

“Hey,” I reply, adjusting my grip on the toolbox. “Ready to get started?”

She nods, and I follow her inside.

“This place hasn’t changed much,” she remarks, looking down the aisles we pass.

“I expect you’ll get to know everyone here.” I chuckle, stroking my beard. Being this close to her again stirs up emotions I thought I’d buried.

Angelica smiles at me. “I bet you’re right.”

The silence between us stretches with tension. I clear my throat, trying to break the awkwardness. “How long are you planning to stay in town?”

She hesitates, then shrugs. “I’m not sure yet.”

I nod, but my mind races with questions. Why is she intent on fixing this old place up? Why did she really come back? Is she planning to stay? And why did she call me for help? Did she know I wouldn’t be able to refuse her, no matter how gruff I was when we talked?

“So, you never told me,” she begins, “what have you been up to all these years?”

“Army,” I reply. “Spent a good chunk of time overseas. Came back and took over my dad’s work. We watch over the mountain and run a few rental cabins.” I almost tell her about Creek Ravine but pause. I know Angelica isn’t the type to spread information, but sharing our work there is too big a step right now.

“That explains the muscles,” she teases, giving my arm a playful squeeze.

I chuckle, though my heart is pounding. Everything in me is hungry to wrap my arms around her and hold her. I want to feel her soft body against mine and fall into her like I did when we were young. I could always tell her anything. Some days, she felt more like home than my own family. We fit together so perfectly that I wondered if one of us had been adopted because while our families hated each other with a hellish fury, Angelica was my angel. We loved each other fiercely, no matter how many times our families warned us to break things off.

“And you? What brought you back here? You’ve been gone a long time.”

She sighs. “Family business, mostly. After my parents passed, I had this urge to come back and...I don’t know, try to make things right.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your folks.” They may have taken Angelica away from me, but I know what it’s like to lose your folks too young and how much it must have hurt Angelica to go through the same thing.

We work our way through the hardware store, filling up the oversized basket.

After we check out, Angelica suggests we have dinner together. “I bought way more food than I needed the day I saw you in the grocery store. Let me cook dinner for you.”

I hesitate, knowing all the reasons I should say no. “I don’t know, Angelica…”

“Please,” she says, her voice soft. “I just want to spend a little more time with you.”

I look at her for a long moment, getting lost in her eyes. Eventually, my heart overrules my head. “Sure, dinner sounds good.”

She beams at me, and I feel like a teenager again, hopelessly in love with the girl next door. The way her hair falls over her shoulders, the brightness of her smile, the sparkle in her eyes…I can’t say no. The force of how much I’m still attracted to Angelica is staggering. She’s even more beautiful than she was in high school. Now, she has the mature curves of a woman, igniting my caveman instincts.

I don’t know if I can continue to resist my feelings for the only woman I ever loved.

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