Page 4 of Break Me Like a Promise (Oak Valley)

“No.”

“Are you going to?”

“I don’t know.”Probably not.

Archer glanced at him, running a hand through his short blond hair. “You probably should, given how things ended.”

“Should he?” Caleb grumbled, pushing his way to the front of the pack.

Colton stopped in his tracks, ignoring Caleb’s comment. He was probably right, but he didn’t need to know that. Instead, Archer thought he knew everything which only served to rile Colton up even more. “Oh? And howdidthings end, Arch?” Maybe his voice raised, but he didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t need this asshat reminding him that if he’d wanted to fight for their relationship, he could’ve. He didn’t need to be reminded that Ruby had always been too good for him. That she deserved better.

The guys turned around, giving each other a look.

Dean shrugged. “We just know how much you loved her and how hard it was. You took your football scholarship close to home, she went to New York City.”

Love, not loved.With all the fame and women he’d had, Colton never had the heart to tell them that part had never changed.

“You were together every day for four years, dealing with the high school b.s., and literally the next week you went your separate ways.” Dragan’s gaze pierced Colton’s. His friend, while sometimes a grump, was a bit of a hopeless romantic and saw right through everyone, everything.

“I wonder if Cara knows,” Liam added before continuing the hike.

Colton shivered, and not from the cold. Head-cheerleader Cara Griffin had always had her sights set on Colton. She was bubbly on the outside, but Colton heard stories from some of the other girls — she was a stereotypical mean girl, especially to the girls she had a bone to pick with. Nice to their face, nasty behind closed doors. Like to Ruby, although Colton could never figure out why. As football captain, they’d been constantly around each other, and she’d done everything to make that fact known. He’d been used to shrugging her hand off his arm, taking a step back when she stood too close to talk to him. Occasionally, Ruby saw. And while nothing had happened between them, and Colton did everything to set those boundaries with Cara, he’d seen the hurt in Ruby’s eyes.

His heart pained at the memories. When they ended things, even though Ruby hadn’t said anything about it, Colton knew Cara bothered her. After the breakup, Ruby went to New York City and Colton stayed in Oak Valley — and so had Cara. He couldn’t stomach the way she’d treated Ruby, and even after all these years, it made his stomach drop. So he stayed away from her, avoiding her in town or giving her car troubles to someone else.

It would be the one thing that would completely undo Ruby, and four years with someone as a teenager created a level of loyalty Colton didn’t want to — couldn’t — break.

Colton tried to focus on the conversation with the guys, but he’d missed the first bit. Archer still walked beside him, silent, while the others were up ahead goofing off. Since his football injury over a year ago, Colton’s physical abilities were limited. Going from a competitive athlete to bedridden had done a number on his mental health. But his friends and family had known that, had rallied, and made sure he got outside regularly. Hiking had become one of their favorite activities.

He took in the quiet stillness winter always brought upstate, in the woods and mountains. Ruby had always loved winter — the muffled beauty, the snow, the brilliant clear nights. He could picture her head of fire laughing at something he’d said, when they were seventeen. He could imagine her here, now, giving him that look she’d mastered without saying a word.

The look that said how much she loved him, but how much they’d hurt each other.

5

The doctor’s office was typical — blue-gray chairs lining the perimeter, a couple coffee tables stacked with magazines, mint green walls with framed watercolor landscapes. The reception area was quiet, Ruby’s mom nose-deep in a book on manifesting.

Ruby sighed and looked around. There were only a couple other patients, but she’d been waiting with her mom for what felt like hours. She’d tried reading the book she brought, but couldn’t focus. Being back in her hometown was strange and anxiety-producing. Every time she went to the post office or the grocery store, she wondered who she’d run into. If she’d run into any of the ghosts that still haunted the familiar streets.

If she’d run intohim.

Her body flushed at the thought of bumping into Colton. He’d been built when they dated all those years ago, but she’d seen him age like a fine wine since. Tall, broad-shouldered, having mastered the smirk that unleashed two perfect dimples. In TV interviews, she’d seen him lean into a cocky strut, casually flashing a smile framed by those two weapons at the camera. Ruby had rolled her eyes at the move, knowing what a teddy bear he was underneath the football star persona. After his injury, he’d disappeared from the spotlight. But she knew there was only one place he could go — one place either of them could go.

Tapping her foot, she glanced at the reception desk. Heads down, fingers clacking away. No one in a hurry. Ruby leaned forward, spreading out the magazines. Fitness, fashion, medical, parenting, home. Tiny homes. She smiled to herself. After living in the closet that was a New York City apartment, complete with three roommates so she could pay off her student loans and send extra money to her mom, Ruby could live anywhere.

She flipped through the magazines, surprised at how many cheap, money-pit homes profiled were upstate near her, and how many young couples had bought land to build a tiny home on. But there was one profile that made her pause: a young couple had bought a school bus and converted it.

Not only was it now classified as a motor home, but they could live and work rent-free from anywhere.

Ruby stared at the glossy image of the bright yellow school bus before its transformation, and the one of its hippy-dippy conversion, complete with running water, shower, toilet, kitchen, and bedroom. They’d built a pull-out sofa, included a projector and screen, and lived with their dog. The article revealed they’d known nothing about the project before starting — a mechanic friend looked at the engine upon buying it, and they’d used Instagram and Reddit to piece together the rest.

Something inside Ruby clicked. She looked over at her mom, still buried in the book on manifesting, and wondered just how easy it would be to build a new life. One that factored her independence with taking care of her mom. One that would give her the freedom to leave when it was time.

Placing the magazine back on the table, she pulled out her phone. School bus conversions — or Skoolies, as they were known in the community — were relatively common in the tiny house movement. A step up from van life and a step down from a stable tiny house, Skoolies afforded couples a larger mobile home without the usual cost and with the ability to be off-grid. So long as you could do the work. Ruby saved interior design ideas on her Pinterest and saved a conversion video from YouTube.

She could do this. Even if all conversions seemed to be done by couples.

“Beryl Delacey?”

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