Page 51 of Long Time Coming

“Thank you.” I take the box, knowing she won’t let me leave without it even though they could make twice the money by selling it to someone else. And I don’t have the willpower to walk away from their biscuits. They’re comfort food, and right now, stewing in my vulnerability, I can use all the consolation I can get. “He loves your biscuits.”

“Tell him to come by and see me sometime. It’s been too long since we had a visit.”

It’s true. He doesn’t leave the ranch much if he can help it. And other than the feed store, he really doesn’t go anywhere. It’s actually a good idea to bring him with me next Friday. “I will. Thank you again.”

Lauralee is slipping off the apron. “I’m going to take a break and chat with Chris, okay, Mom?”

She replies, “You girls enjoy.”

We walk outside together and start a short stroll down the small main street Peachtree Pass has maintained for the past one hundred-plus years. The stores have changed, but the bones are still here.

The sun is blasting today, but the covered sidewalk gives us a nice reprieve. I stop in front of the only clothing store in town to peer in. It’s straight out of the nineties in style, but I score something good every once in a while.

“What’s going on with you?” she asks, standing at my side and staring through the glass. “I held a whole conversation with you that you didn’t hear. You didn’t even realize when I left. You just sat there, staring . . . and eating a biscuit. What gives?”

“Nothing,” I say effortlessly, but I’m certain the heavy sigh that escapes right after gives me away.

“That nothing sure is weighing on you.” She shifts to face me, blocking my window shopping. “Chris? What is going on?” I’m given an arched brow and hands-on-hips stance. She means business. I’m not getting out of this easily, and if she has her way, she’ll crack me open like she always does and know everything down to the soap I used this morning. “Is this about Tagger and him leaving?”

What can I say that won’t involve information I’m not ready to share?

More importantly, why am I hiding this from her in the first place?

I tell her everything, but my lips feel locked when it comes to Tagger. He didn’t ask me to keep a secret. I didn’t think to say anything to him about it. I know neither of us is rushing to tell my brother anything, but Lauralee is different. She would never betray me. Or judge me for any good or bad decision I’ve made.

But I still say nothing.

Why am I protecting the time we spent together?

It’s not like he will hop on a plane and surprise me just because we kissed in the middle of the road at four o’clock in the morning. I mean, maybe if this were the movies, a romance comedy or even a dramedy. But it’s not. This is real, and my life doesn’t work like that.

I once heard to never meet your idols. It will only disappoint you.

Is there a phrase about hooking up with crushes? I could really use the advice since it was better than I ever imagined, and now I’m expected to live life like it never happened.

Yeah, it’s too soon. Too raw. My thoughts are unable to wrap around why my heart is so involved when it was only supposed to be a little fun.

This is too personal to talk about just yet, so I hook my arm with hers and redirect her down the sidewalk. Without pressuring me, she says, “There will be other men, better ones, the kind that call you babe and then stay.” She stops and looks at me. “Forget him, Chris. It was a fluke that we even saw him. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.”

“You’re probably right.” I know she is. Tagger and I were lightning striking at the right time and place. We couldn’t predict that sparks would fly in the aftermath. That he had the same idea, the same urge and craving, to drive over to see me one last time before leaving . . . Those sparks were fireworks. And then we left the door cracked open, inserting hope where it doesn’t belong. The thing is, he’s not here to walk through it. “I know you are,” I add as we start walking again. “I need to get my head out of the clouds before I waste my life waiting for something that can never happen.”

Her arm comes around my shoulders, and she hums. “Always here for you.”

“Thanks.” Starting now, I refuse to lose more time to a daydream. I put on a smile that feels more natural with each passing second. “As for you, who’d you go home with from Whiskey’s?”

“It’s a sad tale as old as time.” She laughs. “I went home alone, crawled into my pajamas, and watched reruns ofThe Golden Girlsuntil I fell asleep. Exciting? Nah. But I needed the rest, so it’s all good. You got home alright?”

“Got home safe and sound.” Though the image of his taillights disappearing into the night still plagues me.

“I was hoping you’d have a good story to share. Like he kissed you because he couldn’t resist you any longer. Or confessed under a full moon that he’s always loved you.” She shrugs. “A girl can dream for the big romantic gesture.”

“A girl can dream, but this is real life. You know my family and what they’re capable of. If they get their way, I’ll never date anyone, much less get married.” The realization that there is no winning in this situation with Tagger has me adding, “If they found out Tagger even glanced my way, we’d be attending his funeral.”

“Stop living your life to please them.”

I turn back to see her poised on the sidewalk with her brows cinched in irritation. “Trust me, Laur, it’s not about pleasing them. It’s about the first and only man I’ve ever felt connected to living an entirely separate life in another universe. We might as well be living on parallel timelines. I doubt we’ll ever cross paths again, and if we do, it will be as friends and only friends.”

With my truck parked nearby, I signal it. “I should get back to the ranch.”

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