Page 17 of SEAL of Valor

Strong.

Protective.

Stubborn.

Cruel isn’t even close to being on the list.

“I think he was on his way out anyway. Come on.” Anastasia loops her arm through mine and guides me back toward the shop as though we’ve been friends our entire lives and never spent any time apart.

With every step, the pain in my knees fades, and I briefly glance down, so happy to see that my leggings protected my skin and didn’t tear on impact. Woohoo for small victories.

We move back into the coffee shop, and my gaze lands on the table where Weston had been only a minute ago. He’s gone now, just like Anastasia said. The other man is gone, too, but when Anastasia releases me and steps behind the counter, I see that he’s standing behind the register.

His light brown eyes are kind, and he smiles at me. “Hey, I’m Sawyer.” He offers his hand over the counter.

“This is my fiancé,” Anastasia adds with a bright smile as she grips his arm and stares at him with hearts in her eyes.

Her happiness is a punch to my gut, which of course makes me feel terrible. “It’s nice to meet you. So sorry about that. I⁠—”

“No need to apologize,” he interrupts as he waves a hand. “Cowboy seems to have that ‘I need to run away’ effect on a lot of people.”

“Cowboy?” I question.

“It’s what the guys call him,” Anastasia says. “What can I get for you?”

Cowboy. It’s a fitting name for him, that’s for sure. “Uh.” I try to gather my thoughts. “I wanted to grab something for my mom and me.”

“She loves the lavender lattes,” Anastasia offers. “They seem to be her favorite.”

Nodding, I force a smile back onto my face. “Then I’ll get her a lavender latte, and I guess I’ll have the same since I’ve never actually tried one.”

“Anastasia’s lavender lattes are the best,” Sawyer says. “And that’s coming from me, a chronic black coffee drinker.”

“Oh stop. You say everything I make is the best.”

“Because it’s true.” He kisses her forehead, and I force myself to look away as I pull out my wallet.

Once upon a time, I was that happy and in love, too.

But a happily ever after just wasn’t in the cards for me. I thought I’d come to terms with that, but if my reaction to Weston was any indication, I’ve clearly still got a lot of healing to do.

Which means I need to get back to the ranch as quickly as possible and hope our paths don’t cross again.

Chapter 6

Weston

Red fuels my vision as I rip aged boards down from the side of the old barn next to my house. I’d driven straight out here, three miles from Vivian’s place, hoping to avoid any further run-ins with a woman who should’ve never come back to town.

Which, logically, I understand isn’t realistic, given her mother lives here, but it’s been years since she returned to Stormwatch Landing. So why is she here now?

Shouldn’t she be off, married with kids?

Living a perfect picket-fence life so much more than I could have ever given her?

Anger twists in my gut like a knife, and I toss the boards into a pile just beneath the left overhang, then return inside to put the new ones in place. Normally, restoring this old barn brings me an incredible amount of peace. But today? In the midst of this nightmare that I find myself re-living? There’s no shred of anything but pain.

One after the other, I continue drilling the new boards in place, filling the hole I created this afternoon. I work unceasingly until my body is coated in a thin layer of sweat and every board I’ve taken down has been replaced. Now I’m standing here, wishing I had a thousand more boards to replace.