Page 12 of If You Loved Me

I gave her another squeeze. “Really.”

She laid her head on my chest. “I don’t know why I’m so emotional about this today. It usually doesn’t hit me this hard.”

“It’s been a rough few years, Callie Rose. Sometimes the pain of loss hits harder when other shit happens.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“I mean, I’m hardly ever wrong.” That got me a quick elbow jab to the ribs, but I took the shot with grace because the smile on my little sister’s face lifted the painful tug in my chest.

“Whatever, douche-canoe.”

“Douche-canoe?! That’s a new one.”

She smiled at me like a feral Cheshire cat. “Yup. And I think it fits you perfectly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, enough of your shenanigans. Let’s get to work. I’ll meet you at the orchard around one.”

“See you then,” she waved me off as she headed toward the door.

The work Callie Rose had accomplished on the orchard was incredible. All the vines were neatly pruned, ready for the chill of fall and winter. Every plant was perfectly alignedwith the next, which made my afternoon job a hell of a lot easier as we ran wires from post to post so the vines had something to grab onto as they matured.

Taking off my gloves, I found a spot on the ground and settled in just as Callie Rose came down the row with my glass of sweet tea. The year before I was released, Miles and she refurbished the old cabin on the property and made it all her own. She’d told me that as much as she loved having her big brother back, she didn’t want to share living quarters in case I needed to ‘sow my wild oats’ after being behind bars for ten years.

While I hadn’t been with anyone since my release, I appreciated having the ranch house to myself in the evenings. I needed the quiet to settle my mind these days.

“Here you go.” She handed me the tall glass and settled in a dirt patch next to me. Her black wavy hair was tied back with a red handkerchief and it fell over her left shoulder that was covered with a tanktop and overalls strap. She looked every bit the farmer I knew she loved to be.

“This is pretty incredible, Cal. The vines are coming along nicely. I think you might even be able to start harvesting next fall.”

She took a long swig of her tea and looked around at the surrounding vines. “Thanks. I have big plans for this place and it’s been pretty awesome seeing them start to come to fruition. I’ve been enjoying taking the small harvest from the garden to the farmer’s market every two weeks too.”

“I have to admit, I was a little surprised at how well thegarden’s been doing. Not sure who you got your green thumb from but it’s definitely panning out.”

She huffed out a breath. “Yeah, the few memories I have of mom include all the dead crispy plants she kept around the house.”

“And every year, dad still bought her another orchid,” I laughed.

“Maybe I was adopted and y’all just decided to keep it a secret.” She shot me a playful glare.

“Nah. With those blue eyes? You’re definitely an Adams.”

She smiled and linked her arm with mine. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

Her words struck my heart like a baseball shattering through a window. I swallowed against the knot in my throat trying to keep the emotions at bay.

Ranch life was hard, but it was the epitome of freedom. So, being on the inside, locked away in a cage that wasn’t truly meant to be mine was beyond anything I’d experienced. When our dad died, I’d stepped up. Became the man of the house and took over the ranch and all the other responsibilities of running the family and taking care of Callie Rose. It was hard, but I welcomed the challenge. I wanted to be the best person I could for my little sister, especially when our mom decided she couldn’t handle it anymore and left us in the middle of the night.

But those ten years being locked away because of some bastard narking on me was an offense I will never forget.

“I need to tell you something,” Callie Rose whispered as she lifted her head from my arm.

“What’s that?”

She started eyeing the dirt in front of us like it was the most interesting thing in the world. My sister had always been a deep thinker. Sometimes to the point of having to pull her back from her mind so she could be present in the moment.

This time it didn’t take her too long to say, “LeRoy Cummings is back in town.”

“You saw him?” My heart rate immediately shot through the roof.

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