Page 2 of Rescued Hearts

He shook his head, the brown mop of controlled curls swaying. “What we have is special. You won’t find this with anyone else.”

His words grew hooks and tried to dig into her.

“We’ve been through so much together. Don’t throw everything away now, babe.” He reached for her again, but she stepped away.

“I’m not your babe, Sully. Not anymore.”

What he heard in her voice made his spine stiffen. He barked a laugh of disbelief. “You’re really doing this.”

But something about the sound madeherdisbelieve the truth behind the statement. He sounded like he didn’t even put his whole heart into trying to keep her.

His brown stare latched on to hers, any spark of feelings gone. “When are you leaving?”

“Tonight.”

“So you’ll come back for the rest of your things.”

She realized he couldn’t see everything in the van. The cute little daisy-patterned curtains she sewed and hung herself concealed her belongings.

“No. It’s all in the van. I’m leaving now.”

The expression in his eyes shifted again, turning stony. “You’re joking.” He stepped back and threw his hands in the air. “Why did you even wait for me to come home? Why didn’t you just drive off into the sunset to begin your new life?”

This was getting ugly quick.

“I wanted to say goodbye. It’s the right thing to do.” She took in his appearance for a beat longer. “Goodbye, Sully. Take care of yourself.”

She yanked open the door and jumped in the van. When she started the engine, he didn’t try to stop her. As she drove down the street, past the houses with Memorial Day banners flapping in the breeze and the kids gripping ice creams that dripped down their hands, Honor felt…

Good.

Great, in fact.

She grabbed her phone and called Felicity. Her sister picked up on the first ring.

“It’s over. I’m on the road now. ETA is four and half hours.”

“You okay, sis?”

An upbeat song came on the radio, and she turned it up to blast through the speakers. The wind from her open window teased her loose hair and danced across her skin.

She was free.

“No sad breakup songs for me!”

“Oh yeah! That’s my girl!” She could almost see her sister dancing around her bookstore in the small mountain town of Willowbrook where Honor was headed.

The driving beat of the summer song blasted through the van. Ahead of her, the sky was wide and blue, the sun paving the road in gold. She was ready to embrace her new life, starting now.

A new beginning. A fresh start.

Not a single regret in her rearview mirror.

* * * * *

Gray Malone rolled his tense shoulders and drew a deep breath of the mountain air. The spring notes of damp earth were fading under the heat of early summer. Under the tang of grass lingered the stark odor of wood ash from the bonfire the previous night.

This meet-and-greet he was waiting around for was supposed to happen at the fire, but Gray hadn’t gone near it. Most people might think he preferred the quiet. They’d be wrong. The noise from his siblings, their significant others and any of the military veterans who came to the Black Heart Ranch to heal from their traumas, he could handle.

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