Page 23 of Come With Me

Then he flips me the bird before finally getting lost.

“You two have a beef or what?” Laney asks, standing from her chair.

I grunt, remembering thedramafrom a few months ago. “You could say that. How’d you sleep?”

“Not great, but I never do in hotel beds.” She shrugs it off.

“Sorry to hear that. I have a spare room you could’ve slept in, but I didn’t wanna interrupt your plans.”

“That’s alright. I’ll be home by supper and should be passed out by nine.”

“Let’s get you some food before your flight. Hope you’re hungry. They feed ya like it’s your last meal here.” I take her hand and lead her toward the buffet.

“I love the theme of this place. Everything looks so genuine and rustic.”

“Garrett and Dena love their horses.” I snicker. “Reminded me of home the first time I walked in. Probably why I liked it so much.”

“I can see that. Remember the time Brandi’s horse followed her all the way to school, and Mr. Williams had to give her a pass to walk it back to her ranch?”

I bellow out a laugh. “Shit, yeah, I do. Took her an hour to return.”

“At that point, I would’ve just stayed home.”

We each pile food on our plates filled with biscuits and gravy, grits, eggs, and sausage. Then I grab two mugs of hot coffee and bring them back to our table.

“Thank you,” she says, adding two little creamers.

“Still don’t drink it black, huh?” I taunt.

“No way.” She smirks, glancing at my plate.

“What? I’m a big boy now.” I pat my stomach.

Laney chuckles, and the sound goes right into my chest. “Just not used to seein’ you eat so much. Not used to thinkin’ of you as a cowboy.”

“Howie and I played plenty of cowboy games.”

“You mean the two of you wrestling and tryin’ to put each other in headlocks?”

I laugh as I shove a forkful of food in my mouth. She’s not wrong.

“I remember there being props,” I defend. “We just had more fun tryin’ to kill each other.”

Laney’s gaze lowers to her plate, and I worry I hit a sore spot. I’m not sure how close they were after I left, but his death obviously affected her.

“Lane,” I murmur, reaching over and squeezing her thigh.

When she looks up, tears form in her eyes. I hate the pain behind them and wish I could take it away.

“I’m okay. Just rememberin’ all the fun the three of us had as kids. Every memory through graduation had you and Howie in it.”

I nod, feeling the guilt slice up my spine at how I never kept in touch once I left. Though I was determined to have that clean slate, I should’ve thought more about what it’d do to the ones who loved me.

“He thought you’d come back,” she says as if she’s read my thoughts. “The day after you left, he was convinced you’d turn around. After a week, he said you probably got lost and would make your way back. After three months, he said there was no way you’d last another three. After a year, he stopped makin’ guesses. A part of him—and me—thought you’d walk through the door again.”

The pain laced in her voice eats me inside.

“I’d thought about it a million times, Laney. I really did. I almost called both of you a hundred times. I was so scared my dad would find me. I knew it was unlikely, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him somehow tracin’ your phones to get to me.”

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