Page 27 of The Life We Left Behind

Delaney stood up, and I could tell she was getting ready to storm out. What the fuck was going on? I knew parting with the land would be hard for her. It had been in her family for generations, but I’d assumed she’d want the money and to make a clean break from this place.

Did she not want to sell? Was Delaney using this as an excuse for me to ask her to stay?

I mirrored her movement and stood in confusion. She couldn’t leave just yet. There was so much we both needed to talk about. I just didn’t know how to say it. I couldn’t let her walk out that door and know I’d missed my only chance.

“We can go and look at the parcel now if you want, and I can take some preliminary notes.” What the hell was I saying? I couldn’t be further from the truth.

For a moment, Delaney said nothing. She stared at me like she was trying to come to some kind of decision. I waited, not wanting to spook her by saying the wrong thing. Eventually, I saw the tension leave her body, and she nodded slightly.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

I could see then how tired she was, the exhaustion that she was trying to hide, and I felt like an absolute ass for not considering it before. She’d just lost her father. Barrett had been such a huge part of Delaney’s life. There was no way that any of this was easy for her.

When Delaney had first left Willowbrook, Barrett hadn’t looked twice at me. It had hurt at the time because he was more like family to me at times than my own parents had been. I’d respected the man a whole hell of a lot. It had taken years for him to even speak to me again, and while we weren’t anywhere near as close as we had once been, I’d still checked in with him from time to time. It was more than I could expect, given what had happened. I didn’t think he’d ever forgive me. But the thing about Barrett James was that he was the best person I’d ever had the fortune to meet, and he was working his way to the forgiveness I didn’t deserve.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DELANEY

This was the strangest meeting I’d ever had in my life. Something was going on with Trace. I was starting to wonder if he was high, not that the Trace I’d once known would ever have touched drugs. But the twitch over his left eye and the way he couldn’t sit still was starting to become more and more concerning.

“How about we head out to the south pasture and get it ticked off the list? Have you eaten yet? I know it’s past lunch, but I haven’t had time for a break yet. We could grab something from the bakery to take with us. I’ll leave Rosie a message to contact you tomorrow so we can schedule a time to look over the rest of the property.”

I found myself nodding along, even though I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d never sold land before and had no idea what went into it or what it was we were even going to look at. The south pasture was exactly that: grass and nothing much else. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been out there.

Trace quickly grabbed his coat and then his hand came to the small of my back as he guided me out the door. I could feel the heat of him through the thin shirt I was wearing, and as if mybody remembered what it had been like to be in his arms, a wave of awareness rushed over me.

I wanted to step away from his touch and beg him to never let go all at the same time. My mind became a jumbled mess of chaotic feelings. This was the man who didn’t have the guts to face me and sent his mother to dump me and threaten my family. This wasn’t a man I was supposed to be feeling weak at the knees for. But there were so many memories of a better time clouding my judgment, and maybe I just needed to not lose someone else, even if he was already lost to me.

I let Trace guide me through the building as the thoughts ran rampant through my head. Ten years was a long time to hold a grudge, and he’d seemed so sincere back at the pond. Maybe he was ready to ask for a chance? To apologize for what he’d done. Did I want an apology? What was I even going to say if he tried to give me one?

Oh god, we’re outside, and he’s looking at me like I’m supposed to know what he just said.

“Shall I grab us something to eat and then I can meet you there?” Trace asked. The hopeful look on his face just made me think of the teenager I’d been in love with, and I found myself nodding for some reason.

“Yeah, that would be nice. I haven’t had time to go to the store yet and?—”

Before I could finish my sentence, my head was yanked backward, and a blinding pain surged through my scalp. I felt fingers twist in my hair as I was pulled backward, and I staggered blindly, reaching for my hair that I was pretty sure some maniac was pulling.

“I told you to stay away from my husband,” Chelsea screamed in my ear.

Before I could even react, Trace was there pushing Chelsea—and I was pretty sure a chunk of my hair—away before pulling me protectively behind his back.

I fell against him as I tripped over my own feet, and my hands traced across the muscles in his back before I jerked myself away.

What the hell was I doing?

“What the fuck, Chelsea? You’ve gone too far this time. You can’t attack people in the street just because you see them with me.We. Are. Divorced.It’s over. Why can’t you get that into your head? It’s been a year. Why do you have to continue to try to make my life miserable? Haven’t we done enough of that to each other over the years? Why would you want to keep torturing yourself when you never wanted to be my wife in the first place?” Trace screamed.

People in the street stopped and stared at the drama unfolding in front of them, and I winced in embarrassment. This was clearly a private conversation, and even if a sick part of me was pleased that they were divorced, it had nothing to do with me.

I needed to wake up and see reality. I was leaving Willowbrook in a couple of weeks at most. Trace was buying my family’s land. There was no reason why I’d ever come back to this place. Trace didn’t want me ten years ago, and that didn’t change just because he was divorced now.

“This is clearly something between the two of you,” I said as the pair glared at each other. I’d known Chelsea well enough to know that she wasn’t going to back down now. Trace had basically waved a red flag, and even if she wasn’t in her right mind now, she wasn’t going to back down from the challenge. “I’ll just meet you at the pasture.”

I went to step back, but Trace’s hand snapped out and grabbed mine without him even taking his eyes away fromChelsea. I felt the tremor that ran through him as he clung to me, and it was the only thing that stopped me from pulling away and leaving as quickly as I could.

Something was wrong. There was something about this whole scene that I didn’t understand.

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