Page 5 of If You Loved Me

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Miles scarfed down his third muffin and grabbed his cowboy hat from the counter. “I’m going to get a head start. I’ll see you out there.”

When he was through the door, Callie Rose lowered her coffee mug from her lips and said, “So, are you going to tell me what that horrible look on your face was about or should I start making guesses?”

She was always the one catching me off guard with her annoyingly good observation skills. I tried to play it off. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about all the work we have to do to get the calves tagged in time.”

“Bullshit.”

I heaved a long sigh. “I don’t want to do this with you right now.”

Ever since I’d gone away, I’d developed a habit of keeping my cards close to my chest. Prison was every bit as bad as people made it out to be and to protect yourself, you either aligned with the right people or you kept your head down and stayed out of sight. Not wanting to affiliate with any assholes and have expectations follow me on the outside, I chose the latter route and it definitely had a lasting impact.

Before being convicted, I told Callie Rose everything. She wasn’t just my little sister, but my best friend. When our dad died in the war and our mom left us shortly after, we were all the other had to depend on.

Ten years was a long time, though. Even though she was still my best friend, the thought of being vulnerable and sharing what I was feeling had my skin crawling with tension. Vulnerability made you a target on the inside and even a year after my release, I was still adjusting to life on the outside.

She leaned forward on the island, her elbows propped onthe table before giving me a look that told me this conversation was nowhere near over.

But she gave me some respite when she said, “Okay. I’ll give you some space. But I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

“Thanks,” I murmured over the rim of my mug.

We stood in comfortable silence while each of us munched on the blueberry muffins and sipped on our coffees. Mornings like this were what I missed most when I went away. The freedom to just be. To enjoy the simple moments without having someone else telling me that it was time to go back to my cell.

When I looked at my sister, I wanted to say those things. I wanted to tell her how much this time with her meant to me. But I kept my mouth shut. That fear of vulnerability proving stronger than my own will at this moment.

Thankfully, she broke the silence before my thoughts dragged me back to a place I didn’t want to go.

“Do you think you could help me with some of the wiring for the grape vines? They’re really starting to take off and I want to get the wiring complete before I’m in over my head.”

“Yeah. How about tomorrow? I can take the second half of the day to help you with that.”

“Perfect. I was planning on taking today to focus on pruning and getting them ready for the first frost of fall.”

Callie Rose had always helped around with the ranch, but right after I went away, she left for college while Miles maintained what little cattle we had. She got her degree in agriculturebusiness. She wasn’t allowed to bring her paper degree into the visiting area of the prison when she graduated, but I could see the pride on her face. She was a first-generation college student and now she was using that knowledge to make our family ranch even more successful than I could imagine.

Even though our town was small and tucked away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, there was a lot the townsfolk had to offer. From artisan coffee shops, countless festivals, and Sarah’s divine desserts there was plenty to keep everyone satisfied. But the one thing Pebble Brook Falls didn’t have was a winery. Knowing how much the town’s wealthy would eat up the possibility of having fine wine made in their hometown, my sister had capitalized on an opportunity and I’d do everything in my power to help her succeed.

Eventually, she had plans to build a large seating venue at the south end of the property, next to the vineyard for people to come for tastings. More recently, I heard her talking to Miles about using it as a wedding venue sometimes too. She had a lot of grand plans and the first step was making sure the vines did well.

I watched as she drained the rest of her coffee and grabbed her small coat off the hook in the hall.

“See you out there,” she said before turning for the door.

“Cal?” I called after her.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “I’m proud of you.”

The smile that hit her face reminded me of how shesmiled as a young girl. Bright and full of life. In that moment, I felt overwhelmingly thankful that I had my sister. Even if I wasn’t ready to open up fully, I could tell her how much she amazed me.

“Thanks, Ranger.” As I watched her bound toward the front door, a little piece of my wall came crumbling down.

Chapter 3

Sarah

The bakery was filled to the brim with patrons. I wasn’t sure what caused the uptick today, but I was thankful for it despite running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I nearly burnt an entire batch of chocolate chip cookies earlier because the line was so long and I couldn’t break away from the cash register.

It also didn’t help that I’d been completely distracted by thoughts of a certain man’s lips and wondering how the hell someone could look so sexy while eating a muffin.

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