Page 3 of Sweet and Wild

“Hi, Daddy,” I whisper, fighting back tears as I remember him sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch, whiskey in hand, condensation trickling down the glass as the heat of the day bled away into a balmy night. Now, I’ll never get the chance to see him again.

A man with a cowboy hat pulled low on his head, tight Wranglers, and worn dusty boots comes flying out of the house. “You can’t park here, ma’am. This is private property. The bed-and-breakfast is three miles down the road.”

I open my door, climb out of the car, and for the first time in twelve years, I come face-to-face with my first love.Colton Hayes. I don’t have a single childhood memory without that boy in it. “Hi, Colt.”

He tips his hat, those eyes narrowing under heavy brows as he looks me over from head to toe. The hurt on his face is evident as he whispers my name like a curse. “Lemonade?”

“The one and only.”

“What are you doing here?” he barks.

I shrug one shoulder. “I could ask you the same thing. The gate has my last name on it, after all.”

“Right.” Colt’s eyes narrow. “Well, you’ll forgive me for not knowing what you’re changing your name to these days. It seems you’ve had a few options.”

“Excuse me?”

“Where’s your husband, Lemonade?”

“It’s just Lemon now,” I bite out. I have no intention of divulging the humiliating whereabouts of my ex-fiancé.

His brow furrows but he quickly schools those perfect, chiseled features and folds his huge arms across his chest. “Well then, Lemon now, welcome home. Are you staying long?”

“I don’t know, Colt. My daddy just died of a massive heart attack, and my whole world was blown apart, so I figured I’d come home for a little while to lick my wounds. Is that okay with you?” I shake my head. I should have known this was the wrong thing to do. I should have stayed far, far away, so I never had to see that face, or those gray eyes again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me …” I brush past his wide shoulders. “I need to see my family.”

“Right, I forgot I was never a part of that.”

I spin around and stalk closer, keeping my voice low, “You know what? I’ve been driving for several damn days straight. I just got here and already you’re startin’ in, so what is it you want from me, Colton?”

“Well excuse the hell outta me.” He laughs. “I guess you really can’t take the country out of the girl.”

“Screw you.”

“Oh, and to answer your question”—he leans into my personal space, and for half a second I think he’s going to try to kiss me, but he opens his mouth and all of the butterflies in my stomach crumble to ash— “I don’t want nothin’ from you, least of all that.”

I pull away to see his face, and that smirk that I had always loved so much spears me right through the chest. Colt backs away, and then climbs into a truck that I remember all too well. I can’t believe I didn’t even notice it when I pulled in.

He kicks over the engine and careens out of the drive at breakneck speed, and all I can do is stand there with tears in my eyes and my mouth hanging open. If I thought Colton was rock-my-world kind of handsome when we were teens, he’s so much better now. Broad shoulders, thick arms, a toned muscled body, and tighter jeans than he has a right to be wearing, but it isn’t any of those things that drives the knife through my chest. It’s the way those steely eyes assessed me as if I were the enemy that really broke my heart, especially after he’d spent so long looking at me like I hung the moon and stars.

“There’s no place like home,” I mutter under my breath as the screen door opens and I turn to see who else has come to give me a piece of their mind. Mama, Wyatt, Wade, and West all stand on the front porch. Mama had a thing for W’s. Except when it came to me—I was special. That’s what she always told me. I silently curse her for filling my head with lies. If I’m so damn special, why did my fiancé cheat and my ex-boyfriend run outta here like the devil was chasing him the second I returned home?

My family’s faces are a mixture of relief, somber delight, and total and utter boredom from West and Wade.

“Hi.” I wave.

“Lemonade,” Mama says on a sob as she rushes toward me and engulfs me in her arms. She’s always been fit from working the land alongside my daddy, but right now, she’s skin and bone. I’m afraid to hold her too tightly for fear she might snap.

“Hi, Mama,” I say, as the floodgates open. She squeezes me tightly.

“I’ve missed my baby so much. It’s been too long since you been home, girl.”

“I know.” I sniff and pull away.

“You doing okay?”

I shake my head and swipe my tears with the heels of my hands. At least Colt wasn’t here to see me fall apart. I bet he’d just love another opportunity to rub it in.

“Alright, Mama,” Wyatt says. “Quit hoggin’ my little sister’s hugs.”

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