Page 47 of Wasted

He cranked the four-wheeler and zoomed toward the road. He eased to a stop next to the black truck and killed the engine. It appeared the two were having a conversation, but they were too far away to hear anything. Sucking in a deep breath, I turned and went inside.

Bailey and Cole showed up at the house about thirty minutes later, which was oddly enough alone time. We all worked our way through each room of the house, starting with mine, since the majority of that room would be going wherever I did, and before we knew it, the sun was getting ready to set.

"I'll head over to the bar and get it opened up tonight," Bailey said just before sunset. "You take the night off."

"I took last night off," I said, following her out the front door and onto the porch. "You should take the night off."

"Nope." She laughed. "I got this. You have," her gaze flicked to Cole, who was sitting on the front porch swing, and then back to me, "other things to take care of." She wasn't referring to packing my house up. "I'll come by tomorrow and help."

I would normally protest and tell her no, but I was too mentally exhausted. "Thanks, Bailey."

I strolled over to the swing, and Cole slid to the right, and I dropped onto the seat. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with all this stuff."

"You should probably figure out where you're going to go?"

Sucking in a deep breath, I exhaled slowly. "For now, I'll stay at the bar and maybe get a storage unit, but long term, I don't know yet." The truth was I'd never seen myself leaving Bridgewater permanently. This was my home, and I loved it, but now I didn't know what I wanted.

"I'm actually heading back to Nashville in a few days, and I was hoping you would move back with me." My head snapped up, and my gaze met his. "We could find you a place in the city."The city?I'd never once in my life thought I wanted to live in the city, but I would be closer to him.

"So you're not moving back here then?"

His gaze dropped, and he shook his head. "No, my life is in Nashville."

"What about Kylie and River?"

"Kylie and I are still working that out, but it looks like she wants to stay closer to her family here. Wyatt and Kylie are discussing getting a piece of land out here."

It never crossed my mind, even though I knew Cole lived in Nashville, that he would be leaving and what that meant for us. It made more sense for me to go there. Other than the bar andBailey, I had nothing left in this small town. His entire life and career were still in Nashville.

"So you want me to move to Nashville with you?"

"I don't think the long-distance thing would work at this point in our relationship."

"Are we in a relationship?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "But I know that we'll never figure it out if you're here and I'm there." I nodded, understanding what he was saying. "I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. Are you?"

I shook my head. "No."

"So you'll think about it?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "I still have the bar..."

"If you'll come with me, I'll make sure the bar is taken care of."

I forced a smile and nodded, but I didn't want him to take care of the bar. It was literally the only thing I had left, and leaving it to move to Nashville for something neither of us was sure about seemed wrong, but when I was with him, it also felt right.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cole

Staring off into the sunset, I couldn't help but replay the day through my head. Everything was done. Taylor's house was on the market, and I'd invited her to move to Nashville with me, but even though she put on a happy face, I hated how sad her eyes looked. Her words said something different, and I knew she didn't want to move to Nashville. She wasn't a city girl. This was her home, but she was too damn stubborn to just take the money.

I think we both knew that her staying here meant the end of us. My life was in Nashville now, even if Kylie stayed here, but maybe Taylor and I's time had passed, and we were different people now. Maybe a second chance wasn't in the cards for us.

"Look what I found." Taylor laughed, stepping out of the house in ripped cut-off shorts and a black tank top that hugged every curve of her perfect body, holding out a small key.

I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward to get a better look. "Is that the key to the old gator?" The gator was a John Deere side-by-side that Taylor and I used to ride. We'd put hundredsof miles on that old thing covering her land and mine. Over the years, my parents bought new side-by-sides, and eventually, so did hers, but we stuck with big green.

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