“Right,” he draws out the word. “You lost your accent.”

“Well, seventeen years in the North will do that to you.” I smile. “God, it’s so good to see you.”

Wyatt’s eyes go from my head to my toes and he smiles. “You look good too, Pres. You doin’ all right up there in the big city?”

He doesn’t know? “I’m . . . well . . . I’m sorta back here for a while.”

I shouldn’t be surprised that he doesn’t know. Wyatt was always the guy who ignored the town gossip. He’s the youngest of the Hennington brothers and was always into trouble. He and Trent were always creating some kind of town uproar while—the other brother—was on the field. And I was in the bleachers.

“I feel like I’m missing something.” His light brown eyes study me as if he were trying to solve a puzzle.

“I honestly can’t believe no one told you.” My mother isn’t one to blab anyone’s business, but she and my father leaving town for a week would’ve been big news. Especially if they were heading to the city.

His brow furrows. “Heard what?”

I might as well get it out now. “Four months ago, my husband passed away.”

He steps forward and places his hands on my shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Pres.” Wyatt’s voice is filled with compassion. “I’d heard something, but you know how it is here. I figured it was bullshit.”

I wish that were the case. I shrug him off and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s true. He died, and it turns out we were struggling financially. So, I’m here. Back where I swore I’d never be again.”

“You know you love it here.” His grin tells me he knows I’d rather be homeless.

“Oh, yeah.” I roll my eyes. “It’s paradise.”

He laughs and then raises his brow. “Well, it’s something. You should probably get dressed before some of the handlers get here. They’re not used to this view.”

“Huh?” I look at my tiny shorts and tank top—with no bra. Immediately my hands cross over my chest. “I’m off to a great start.”

“I’ll see you around, Presley Townsend. Homecoming queen. Thank you for returning and reminding us of your beauty.” He clutches his heart and laughs as he walks away.

“Jerk!”

Mama’s standing at the door with a blank expression. It’s way too early for this. I can feel her eyes studying me. “Wyatt’s grown to be a good man.” My mother always wished it were Wyatt I loved. Our parents practically tried an arranged marriage.

“Mama,” I warn. “Don’t.”

She smiles with her hands in the air. “I’m not sayin’ a thing.”

It’s what she’s not saying that has me worried. She doesn’t believe in a woman being without a man. She met my daddy when they were eleven and told him they were going to be together forever. He laughed and walked away. The next day some boy threw a rock at her, he punched him, and they’ve been together since. Daddy tells it different, but my mother says a woman knows. I can remember feeling the same way at twelve. Seeing him and knowing we’d be married someday. Then he left me. Just like Todd. I’ll never do this again.

“It hasn’t even been six months since Todd died. I’m in no way ready. I have to battle to get to sleep and I have to pry myself out of bed every morning.”

Her hand rests on my forearm. “I’m just sayin’ it would be good to have a friend. I feel like there are demons you’re battling, sugar. You need to have a shoulder to cry on.”

I don’t want friends here. I don’t want to be here. This town will slowly close in on me again. There’s no way I’m residing here long enough to warrant trying to be nice to anyone. I have to keep my vision clear. Make some money, get out of the immense debt, and get back to my life.

“I’m not the most popular person here, Mama. And I don’t need any friends. I have enough back home.”

“This is your home.” The hurt in her voice is clear.

I sigh. “I didn’t mean . . .”

“Presley, I’ve been understanding that you’re not happy about this. But it’ll be better if you make peace with your life now. I’m not happy that Todd dying and you havin’ no money is what brought you back to Bell Buckle, but I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t glad to have you back. I’ll let you keep your secrets because every woman has them.” She looks away. “Just know I’m here.”

“It’s not that simple.”

My mother’s eyes close as she lets out a breath. “I wish you would talk to me. You give me half answers. Your father and I want to help you. Cooper too.”

Right.

“Like I said, Mama. I’m here to get on my feet.”

“It makes no sense that you lost everything, Presley. Didn’t y’all save?”

“Mama, please.” I’m not ready to tell her. I’m not ready to admit this to anyone. My parents would never understand this. Hell, I don’t understand it. “I don’t want to talk about all this. The sooner we can get out of Bell Buckle the better.”

“Why do you hate it here so much?” Mama asks with a tinge of anger. “Were we that bad of parents?”

“God, no!” I say quickly. “I never wanted to be a rancher or live out in the country. I wanted to live in the city, have a different life. It wasn’t you or Daddy.”

“Is it about Zachary? Is he what kept you away all these years?”

My breathing stops at hearing his name. It’s been seventeen years since I saw his face, but it still hurts. “No.” That’s not entirely true, but I won’t allow myself to go down a road that has a caution sign glaring at me. Shattered glass, shredded metal, and broken bones are what wait for me if I let my heart go back there. I loved him so much.

Her eyes tell me she doesn’t believe me. “You know he—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I don’t need to hear anything about him. He doesn’t exist in my life anymore.

Mama’s lips purse and her head shakes. “All right then. Just know that I love you and I’ll always be here to listen.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

“Now,” she says, wiping her hands on her apron. “Why don’t you whip up those eggs while I get the bacon going?”

Thankful for her dropping the subject, I smile and get to work. Now, to figure out how I’m going to stop everyone I see from bringing him up. That’s the thing about young love in a small town—it never dies.

The rest of the day passes with the boys off with Cooper. He promised them a day of fun. They wanted to see the ranch, and Cooper was all too happy to not have to see me. He had big dreams and he blames me for crushing them, but it’s time to get over it. We’re going to have to deal with this—and soon. I’ve been going over all the books trying to make sense of Cooper’s accounting methods, which is difficult since a lot of his bookkeeping is on Post-it notes.

I start tossing around papers, and folders tumble to the ground. Awesome.

As I’m gathering my mess, I hear the screen door shut. “One second,” I call out from my spot on the floor.