Page 55 of More Than an Ex-Girlfriend

My happily ever after might be one admission away.

CHAPTER20

ARCHER

It’s never fun when cattle get loose, but with a storm brewing, it’s worse. Grayson and I are herding cows off the road, trying to get them corralled before the rain gets here.

Lightning streaks across the sky, and a loud thunderclap startles us both.

Grayson shakes his head. “I don’t like being out here.”

“Lightning is getting close.”

The cows don’t like the lightning either. The ringleader darts across the road and hurries back onto the ranch. Where she goes the other cows follow. And when we finally have them all back inside the fence, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’ll do a patch job on this stretch of fence. Once the cows make it through the other gate, you can head on home.” I want to get back to Lettie, but Grayson has been out here longer.

“Appreciate it. Daisy is blowing up my phone.” He grins. “She worries about me.”

“Because she loves you.” I wasn’t sure Grayson would ever talk to a woman long enough to fall in love, but he did. And Daisy makes him happy.

“Hey, how did tonight go? I heard you went to the wedding with Lettie.”

“Good. I’m glad I went.” Dancing with Lettie was everything I’d hoped it would be, but also painful. Until she told me she wanted to talk.

“She loves you, Archer.” He waves and follows the cows to the gate.

I drive to the tool barn, get what I need for a patch job, and hurry back out to the broken fence. As I nail boards into place, I try to think of every possible thing Lettie could give as the reason. It wasn’t something I did, and it wasn’t cheating. Beyond that, I can’t fathom what it could be.

Maybe her mom threatened her. That’s entirely possible. But to what end?

The phone buzzes in my pocket, and I slide it out.

There are two notifications on the screen. A message from Lettie and one from Regretful-Raccoon.

Lettie:I’ve been watching the weather, and the red band is now purple. Please be careful.

Regretful-Raccoon: This will likely be my last message. I’ve decided that I should tell my ex the secret I’ve been hiding. It’s not like a secret baby or anything. Nothing that big. Just something someone said. But I’m nervous. It’s storming here, and I hope that’s not an omen for how the night will end. I’m messaging because I wanted to thank you for our chats and for the compliment earlier. I hope you get everything you want out of life.

I shove the phone back in my pocket, then yank it back out to reply to Lettie’s text.

Me:Cows are out of the road and back where they belong. I’m fixing a fence and then making sure the tool barn is closed up. I’ll head home after that.

She likes the message, and I finish the temporary repair on the fence. I just need it to hold until tomorrow.

Rain drops start pelting the truck as soon as I climb in. Thankfully, everything I need to do is just about wrapped up.

As I’m driving toward the tool barn, my phone buzzes. I swipe to answer and put it on speaker. “Hey, Anderson. How’s your sister?”

“No injuries, but I’m guessing her car is totaled. The guy has insurance, so it’ll work out okay. But listen, I left my horse out in the pasture for the night, and I’m seeing the weather reports. When I raced off, I wasn’t even thinking about my horse. I called Parker, but he didn’t answer.”

“No worries. I’m guessing he brought in all the horses, but I’ll drive by there and make sure. You staying in San Antonio tonight?”

“Probably not. But I’ll let this blow over before I drive home. Thanks, Archer. And how’d it go tonight?”

“Good. I’ll have more of an update after I get back. Lettie wants to talk. So I might finally learn why she broke up with me.”

“Then you’ll have no reason to stay broken up. But, just because I’m curious, is there anything she can say that would change how you feel about her?”

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