Page 51 of Love Me Again

-Find a job at a vet in Montana

-Find a place to live (affordable)

That seemed to be it. The crux of her life was simply…finding a job and a place to live.

Sure, she wanted to find a place to plant some roots, but you couldn’t feed and water roots without an income and some shelter. That had to come first.

Why did it feel like all the shallow roots she’d ever had in her life were now tangled up here?

Because Boone ruins everything.

Which wasn’t fair, but she didn’t feel like being fair. She felt like…

She stared at her list. That was the problem. She didn’t know. She just felt bad. She missed her dad. She missed her old life. A time when things were… Well, her life had never been particularly easy, but it had been simple. Things had made sense.

Take care of Dad. Love Boone.

Lose.

She was tired of losing and hurting and stressing and grieving, and some of that had been eased here with the Tylers. There was some tiny piece of her brain and heart that kept wondering what would be the harm in just…letting them all convince her to stay. To get her vet’s license here. To talk to this Karl. To have Molly as a friend.

There was no doubt she could grow roots here. With support. With friendship. Maybe she didn’t belong to the Tylers, but they seemed determined to wrap her up in their orbit. Why fight it so hard?

She was afraid to even let herself picture it, because she wanted it so much. The fact she couldn’t relax and let it happen was also Boone’s fault.

Because if she stayed here, she knew herself well enough to know he’d wear her down. He’d be there, and he’d smile at her, and someday in the probably not so distant future, he would convince her that they could make this work again.

The terrifying part was how much she wanted that. But that was her heart talking—foolish and lonely. Her brain knew… Boone wasn’t all bad or evil, but he’d never be the kind of man who fought for something.

He wouldn’t even tell his family he was getting a surgery soon. He wouldn’t even admit he’d made a mistake in leaving her, even if he’d apologize for it. Maybe he had changed a little bit, but he hadn’t changed enough. Certainly not for her to believe in him again.

He’d broken something in her that couldn’t be fixed with a hug, an I’m sorry, and a handsome face. How could she ever trust him again? Desperation couldn’t make her stupid. She refused to make the same mistake twice.

And Boone Tyler was the mistake of her life.

When the knock on the door that she’d been expecting all day finally came, it was nearly evening. The sun had begun to set outside, and she was sitting in the gloomy dim light trying to work up the energy to make herself dinner.

She half-expected Molly again, with some new kind of alcohol. She would have to say no. Even though she really liked the camaraderie, she was not a drinker. And she did not care for how she felt after a night of it.

But it wasn’t Molly or anyone with an offer of liquid commiseration. It was Boone, dressed against the cold, black cowboy hat pulled low on his head. The winter world spread out behind him, the sky a peaceful sweep of pastel colors.

She shouldn’t be happy to see him. Not when he’d tried to kiss her yesterday, like that was at all acceptable even if…

God, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel his hands on her again, just like old times.

It wasn’t fair to want that. But the way he’d held her, like no one had held her for nearly two years, had made her all soft and jumbled and…needy, quite frankly. Because she knew what it was like. Knew what it could be.

He wouldn’t say no. He wouldn’t stop her if she rose to her toes and pressed her mouth to his. Whatever had kept him away for nearly two years was his own shit and nothing to do with her. She could accept that, even believe that. It would be just like him to punish them both for his own issues.

But that meant all that love and chemistry was still right there, shimmering between them like time and space and betrayal hadn’t killed it.

What if they just…did? Couldn’t it just be a kind of one-off reminder? Maybe a goodbye. Did it have to mean something?

The way his blue eyes intensely held her own, never saying a word, answered the question for her.

Yes, obviously.

“How are you feeling?” he asked when she dropped her gaze.