Page 64 of One Summer Day (Prosperity Ranch 1)

“And it’s true that I have always harbored something for Macie,” he continued. “Knox acted out of impulse and anger, which might have been justified when he was still married to her. But now, he has no leg to stand on. He gave up the best thing to happen to him.”

Heidi took a shaky breath. “What about you, Macie?” she asked in a trembling voice, “Did you come to the ranch because of Holt?”

“Mom—” Holt interjected.

Macie lifted her hand. “It’s okay. Your mom deserves an answer. Your dad, too.” She rubbed the sides of her neck with both hands, exhaling. “My only intention of coming to the ranch was for Ruby to get to know her grandparents. I didn’t expect to feel things for Holt.” She blew out a breath. That wasn’t entirely true, so she tried again. “When I met Holt all those years ago, I found him attractive. I was nineteen years old, and my friends dared me to go meet a cute cowboy.”

Macie winced at her own words. They sounded so trite and immature. “So I started talking to Holt. I liked him, yeah, in the way that any girl might like talking to a handsome cowboy. But when Knox asked me to the dirt dance, it wasn’t hard to shift my focus. I didn’t know either of them, not really. The entire night was a new experience for me. First rodeo, and first . . . of a lot of things.” She didn’t need to go into more detail. They were all adults here, and her message was clear without further embarrassing anyone.

“But I will say, Mr. Prosper,” she continued, looking at Rex, “you’ve raised a fine son in Holt. I never thought the man of my dreams could exist.” Her voice shook. “It turns out he does. But there’s a huge hurdle because he’s Knox’s brother. I hope you believe me when I say that I was blindsided by how my feelings could shift.”

No one said anything. Would they believe her? “I know that it’s best that I leave the ranch. I can’t keep hurting your family.” She met Rex’s gaze. “Can you give Ruby and I a ride to the next town where I can find a place to stay for a couple days while I make decisions?”

“You can stay at my house,” Holt said. “I’ll move back here.”

Heidi pushed back from the table and went to stand by the kitchen sink. She folded her arms and gazed out the window. Macie couldn’t guess what was going through the woman’s head. And she couldn’t look at Holt right now.

“I can’t chance running into Knox right now,” she said, “so I need to leave Prosper altogether.”

“Is that what you really want?” Rex asked, his tone even, not betraying what he thought of her confession.

“Yes,” Macie whispered. In a stronger voice, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to finish packing. Then we’ll be ready to head out.”

Rex gave a small nod. Heidi said nothing.

And Macie wasn’t going to stick around to hear Holt’s response. She rose from the table and hurried to her temporary bedroom.

She needed to stop crying. She had to be strong. What had she expected to happen when Knox came into town? Surely, she knew he’d find out about her and Holt at some point. Knox was competitive, and Holt was loyal to the core. No matter the scenario, the outcome was going to be devastating.

She could do this . . . start over. She’d done it before. More than once. Her mother’s death hadn’t broken her. Her unplanned pregnancy, her shotgun wedding, her divorce . . . Macie was strong. She was a mother now, and focusing on Ruby should be her top priority anyway.

Once she was packed, the tears had long dried, although her heart had gone completely numb. She opened the bedroom door and rolled the first suitcase down the hall.

Rex was in the living room, sitting in his chair, not reading or watching TV. Holt was still at the kitchen table. Heidi was nowhere to be seen—probably back in her bedroom.

When her gaze connected with Holt’s, she had to look away immediately. In that instant, she’d seen the questions and regret all rolled into one. She didn’t want to start crying again.

“Let me help,” Holt said, rising to his feet.

“I got this one,” she said. “You can grab the second one.” Ruby’s car seat was already in Rex’s truck from when he’d taken her for ice cream the day before. Macie headed toward the front door, not able to handle much more conversation.

Once she reached the truck, she unlatched the tailgate, then hefted the suitcase onto the truck bed.

Soon, Rex arrived, carrying the second suitcase.

Following him, Holt walked out onto the porch, a sleeping Ruby in his arms.

Macie almost started crying again at the sight of Holt carrying her daughter. Ruby was going to miss him. And her grandparents. Macie knew she’d be enduring days of endless questions.

Without a word, Holt set Ruby in her car seat. Her head lolled to one side, and Holt placed one of her stuffed animals next to her head for a cushion. Macie had forgotten to pack it—Ruby must have been sleeping with it.

Rex climbed into the driver’s side and started the engine.

Macie reached for the passenger door, but Holt put his hand on hers before she could pull it open.

“Call me when you get to wherever you’re staying.”

“Holt—”

“Please.”

She could hear his breathing, feel the warmth of his strong hand atop hers. “Okay,” she said at last, then lifted her gaze to meet his.

His blue eyes searched hers for answers, ones that she didn’t have.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then released her hand and stepped away from the truck.

Macie didn’t want this. Didn’t want to say goodbye to him. She wanted to throw her arms around him, bury her face against his neck, and have him hold her until the pain stopped.

Instead, she opened the door and climbed into Rex’s truck.

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