Page 9 of More Than an Ex-Girlfriend

How long has Lettie been living in town? And why did she keep it a secret? Of all the places she could live, why here? Why would she follow me to this place?

Clearly it wasn’t to apologize because she hasn’t done that, and she’s had time to find a job. And meet Dag. How else would he know she lived here? She has to be the reason he insisted that I come with him this morning.

The nerve of her to sob. She wasn’t the one who had her heart stomped. She chose to end the relationship. It was her decision. When I begged her to discuss it with me so that we could find a solution to whatever was wrong, she only shook her head and cried.

And I suffered from her choice. For years.

The one person I thought would be in my life forever broke my heart without giving me a reason. And I really thought I was starting to get over her, but my reaction says otherwise. Dang it.

I yank the collar up on my coat. My tantrum walk was a bad idea. I’m cold. And nothing about exerting the energy is making me any less angry or miserable. In my head, I just see her sobbing, and it both tears me apart and makes me mad. But the worst part of it all is that she’s somehow prettier. The jolt of attraction that zipped through me when I saw her is a betrayal.

Tires sound on the pavement, but I don’t stop. I’m out of the road, so hopefully the driver will manage to avoid hitting me.

Dag’s truck pulls up alongside me. He slows the truck to match my pace and rolls down his window. “Are you mad?”

Frustrated, I try to remember that Dag isn’t responsible for any of my hurt. Clearly, he kept a secret about Lettie living here in town, and I’m irritated about that. Or maybe he just found out about Lettie. But either way, in Dag’s head, my bumping into my ex-girlfriend is a good thing. He can be a bit clueless. He’s not great at reading situations. If you tell him to read the room, he’ll probably ask which room.

But I know he was trying to be a good friend by coordinating this accidental meeting, so I don’t bite his head off.

“I don’t know what I am.” I keep walking, wishing I could rewind time and choose to stay home instead of going with Dag to get donuts.

“If you get in, I’ll give you a donut. It hasn’t been on the floor or anything. Those are in a separate box. Tessa gave them to me cheap.” He sticks his hand out the window and hooks his thumb back toward town. “She was pretty upset. Lettie, not Tessa.”

“Don’t care.” There isn’t a lick of truth to that statement, but if I repeat it enough times, I’m confident it’ll become truth.

“See now. You say that, but I’m pretty sure you do care. Like that night I couldn’t decide if I should give up on getting Goldie to go out with me, forget about winning her heart. Then she called Dallas and wanted him to meet her in San Antonio, and I knew that I did care, and giving up wasn’t an option.”

I hate that Dag is right. “Goldie didn’t rip out your heart and hand it to you smashed. I thought I was going to marry Lettie. And without warning, right after graduation, she broke up with no explanation. The situation isn’t at all the same.”

“Actually, there are similarities. Think about how many people saw that first proposal. Goldie didn’t even glance at the ring before turning me down. And, not gonna lie, it stung because I was absolutely sure she’d say yes. Granted, that’s because I was dumb, but still...” He shrugs. “I’m going to wear out the brakes trying to go this slow. Will you please just get in?”

I stop and sigh. “How long have you known? Does everyone on the ranch know?” My brain is in too much of a tangle to even think about damage control on this issue. I like living here. People on the ranch are like family. Except, I haven’t told anyone about my past. Never mentioned that my parents died in a fire when I was a kid. Never mentioned that the love of my life dumped me the day I was planning to propose. The only person who knows that stuff is my buddy Grayson, and he’s excellent at keeping things to himself.

But now everyone will know. And I don’t like feeling exposed.

Dag’s gaze bounces between me and the rearview mirror. “I’ve known a while. She was roommates with my cousin’s girlfriend. Have you met Nico? He’s a deputy in the next county. And Layla isn’t his girlfriend anymore. They’re married now. And I don’t know for sure who else knows. But I doubt it’s many. I only kept the secret because Nico didn’t want to be in trouble with Layla. I just figured y’all would run into each other somehow. I mean, this town is small.”

“Why does she live here?”

“Hand to heaven, I have no idea. None.” His shoulders relax when I climb into the truck. “But you could ask her.”

“That would require talking to her. Where’s that donut?”

Stopped in the middle of the road, he opens a box. “You can have whatever you want except the strawberry filled because those are for Goldie. I like you and feel bad that you’re upset, but not enough to give you her donuts.”

I snag a chocolate one. “Let’s stop talking about Lettie.”

“Sure. But if anyone asks, I didn’t tell you.”

My mouth full of donut, I nod. “I don’t plan to tell a soul. But thanks for what you did.”

Dag shrugs. “Maybe it’ll work out.”

Now that Dag and Goldie are engaged, he thinks everything in life ends with rainbows.

“Doubt it.” Calming down, I take another bite and savor the rich chocolate glaze and lightly sweet donut. “Tessa really knows how to make these. So good.”

Dag grins. “Lettie makes the donuts now.”

---