Page 117 of Talulah's Back in Town

“Do you think the last few weeks have been fun for me?”

“No, and I’m sorry for that. But I couldn’t have changed anything.”

“You could’ve refrained from cheating on me.”

“I didn’t cheat on you. I made it clear that we weren’t together.”

“You slept with me right before you left!”

Because she’d felt so much pressure to finally advance the relationship, and she’d hoped it would bring her some clarity as to whether she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. “One time! And when we talked about it afterward, I told you I wasn’t sure about us, that I needed to take it slow.”

“You were worried about how it would impact the diner.”

“Not only the diner, Paul. I didn’t know my own heart. I made no secret of that. You said, ‘Take as long as you like.’”

“Which was nice of me. I’ve been patient all these years, but that was obviously a mistake. I had no idea you’d—”

“Stop.” She lifted her hand. “Just...stop. Let’s not do this. What happened in Coyote Canyon happened. I can’t change it now. So where does that leave us?”

He turned the beer can in his hand. “You tell me,” he said, coming to his feet. “Are you finished having your fun? Are you home for good?”

“What do you mean byhome for good?”

“Is everything going to go back to the way it was before?”

She walked over to the window and stared out at the city lights. She loved Seattle, enjoyed her life here and had never dreamed she’d consider leaving. She also loved the dessert diner. But she’d left her heart with a cowboy in Coyote Canyon. “I’m hoping to have the answers we both need by the time you get back from Europe.”

He set his beer can aside and walked over to her. “I’m sorry for how I’ve behaved,” he said as he came up behind her. “If...if we could just forgive each other and start over, maybe we’d be able to save everything.”

“I’m sorry. That’s not possible,” she said. Because now that she knew what love really felt like, she could easily say her feelings for Paul had never progressed beyond friendship.

When Brant saw Charlie come into Hank’s with some of the guys they played poker with, he turned away. It’d been three weeks since Talulah left. She’d stayed in close touch, but he knew Charlie didn’t believe she was coming back. Charlie was probablyhopingshe wouldn’t. He wanted Brant to feel the heartache and rejection he’d felt, and the longer her absence went on, the more confident he became that Brant would be the next guy to get burned.

“Nice shot,” Kurt said as Brant banked the four ball into the side pocket. Brant had needed that shot and could stand to make a few others like it. Kurt was winning for a change. But Brant could tell his brother was equally distracted by Charlie, who was making a big deal about buying drinks for everyone in his party. “Look who’s here,” Kurt muttered after he missed what should’ve been an easy shot.

“I saw him,” Brant said.

Doug Stringham, who’d gone to high school at the same time they did, had come in with Charlie, but the moment he saw Brant, he walked over to say hello.

“Hey, man,” he said as Brant sent the cue ball into the three ball with a solid crack that sank it into the side pocket. “Where’ve you been lately? I haven’t seen you at poker in ages.”

Brant hadn’t felt like being around Charlie. He’d been busy at the ranch, too, getting ready for fall. It wouldn’t be long before they were once again facing the cold winter months. And there was the window to repair and some dry rot he’d been taking care of for Talulah at Phoebe’s place. “I’ve decided to let you keep a little more of your money for the time being,” he told Doug, who was married and had three kids.

“But now there’s no challenge,” Doug joked. “Tell me you’re coming back. It’s not the same without you.”

“I’ll be there eventually,” Brant told him. “I’ve just been busy.”

Doug lowered his voice. “Charlie says it’s because of him. That the two of you aren’t speaking.”

Brant shrugged. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”

“He can be a dick sometimes,” Doug said, but he was grinning, making the statement more playful than derogatory.

“Maybe I’m the dick,” Brant said. “I fell in love with the wrong woman, but I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Doug watched Kurt set up a tricky shot. “You and Talulah are for real, then?” he said. “She always was gorgeous. But she has one hell of a reputation. I hope you won’t get hurt.”

Brant didn’t say anything. It was his turn at pool. He sank one ball, but missed the second, and by the time he looked up again, everyone Doug had been with had joined them, including Charlie.

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