Page 5 of Rewrite Our Story

My heart twinges from the memory of Mom.

I wait as Mare stares down at her phone. Pippa said it’d be best if Mare didn’t know I was going to be the one to pick her up. At first, Pippa had intended to do it. But the funeral director had questions for Dad, and he didn’t have it in him to answer what kind of casket or what flowers she preferred, so he delegated it to Pippa. I don’t exactly have an eye for details—not in the way Pippa does—so she was the easy option.

Staring at the woman in front of me, I almost wish I was the one going over the funeral details. At least I wouldn’t be spending the next two hours in a car with a woman who clearly hasn’t forgotten the scars of our past.

“Couldn’t Pippa have sent someone else?” Mare questions. When I try to take one of her suitcases, she slaps my hand away in defiance.

I fight a grin. There’s something about the way Mare–the girl I nicknamedGoldie—attempts to look intimidating; it soothes the ache in my heart.

Despite her attempts to push me away, I grab her larger suitcase and head toward my parked truck. “And who would you suggest?”

Mare reluctantly follows me, and her eyes narrow when they focus on the tailgate I pull down. “I don’t know, one of the stable hands.”

I shake my head at her. “They have jobs. Trail maintenance in the morning and then we’ve got a full schedule of trail rides today.”

“Oh,” she says under her breath,

“Is there anything you didn’t pack?” I heave the larger suitcase in the truck bed. It’s heavier than I was expecting. “How much did you pack?”

“I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying…”

I scowl, turning around to face her. “Hopefully not long.”

She anxiously chews on her lip as I tear the other suitcase from her grip and gently toss it in the bed of the truck.

Turning to face her, I look at the space surrounding her for more bags. “Anything else?”

She shakes her head. “That’s all I brought.”

“I meant did you have any other questions, but that’s good to know,” I quip sarcastically.

“I see you’re just as peachy as ever.”

“Since when has anyone called mepeachy?”

Mare rolls her blue eyes at me. “It’s a figure of speech, Cade. Trust me, if anyone knows how much of a dick you are, it’s me.”

Damn. She’s going there already. Apparently living the big city life has strengthened her backbone. The Marigold that left for college and the Marigold glaring back at me right now are two very different people. This new version of her has way more bite, it seems.

It shouldn’t excite me. Yet, it does.

I prop my arm against my truck. I don’t bother hiding the lingering look I give her as I observe her from head to toe.

Marigold Evans.

My Goldie.

Fuck has she changed since the last time I saw her. She was nineteen and eager to see what else the big world had to offer. She had freckles on her face and a slight sunburn on her forehead. Now, she stands in front of me with pain in her eyes and skin shades lighter than back then.

She’s different now in so many ways, yet she’s somehow exactly the same. My gaze is drawn to her lips first. They’re still puffy, the bottom one plumper than the top. If she were to smile at me, she’d no doubt have the deep dimples on either side of her face that had, at one time in my life, driven me wild.

Her hair isn’t as light as it used to be. Probably because the sun isn’t beating down on it during long trail rides like it used to. It’s sad to see her typical golden locks not shining like they used to.

“Are you going to keep staring?” Mare asks, interrupting my thoughts. It’s probably for the best.

I slap the truck, smirking at her as I shake my head. Pippa’s always scolding me about how I need to smile more, especially when it comes to customers. I’ve told her countless times that my face wasn’t meant to smile. Yet, I’ve been in the presence of Mare for five minutes, and I’ve already caught myself smiling more than usual.

Maybe it’s the familiarity. For all the bad between Mare and I, there’s still a lot of good too. She and Pippa were glued at the hip growing up, which meant I was also always around her. I never admitted it, but I liked it. She and Pippa were the only kids on the ranch. We had to wait for school days or for customers to see anyone else. It’s only natural how close we all used to be.

---