Page 18 of Christmas with the Cowboy
Unfortunately, Reed had no answer to that.
Trenna tucked a loose curl behind her ear, and her voice softened as she said, “Mostly, I followed Jay because I don’t like him. I thought he might stir up trouble.”
Reed dropped his thumbs from his pockets. “Were you aware that your dad changed the boundary fence?”
“I don’t talk to my dad that often.”
Which was strange considering how she’d once idolized the man.
“You bought this place next door,” he pointed out.
“It’s an investment, Reed. I’m going to rent it to fishermen. Side gig.”
“Ah.” He glanced at his boots, then back up again. He needed to get out of there. Being close to her was more difficult than it should have been, and he was seconds away from asking what had happened between her and her father. “From now on, I’ll fight my own battles, Trenna. You owe me nothing.”
“Why would I owe you anything?”
He shrugged. “Old times?”
She gave him the smirk he remembered so well. The one he used to kiss from her lips. Then she raised the paintbrush. “You’re on your own, cowboy.”
“Thank you.”
The empty feeling that had threatened to overwhelm him as they’d talked intensified as he retraced his steps down the walk to the side-by-side. She’d once been the center of his world. Now she was…
What?
Damned if he knew. Off-limits, he guessed.
“Reed?”
He hated that his heart jumped at the sound of her voice. He stopped and turned back.
“I don’t want things to be awkward when I’m working with your mom.”
“I’ll stay out of your way.”
And with that he turned and headed toward his truck.
*
Trenna paced throughher house after Reed left, too buzzed with adrenaline to focus on painting the front bedroom. Why did she still feel this stupid connection to the man? After all this time, why did it feel like no time had passed? Like, if she hadn’t screwed things up between them, she could walk into his arms, savor the feeling of his body pressed hard against hers, which was where a primal part of her insisted it belonged.
Not going to happen.
The obstacle she’d placed between them fifteen years ago was still as wide and high as ever. Reed didn’t appear ready to forgive and forget, which left her, the person who needed forgiveness and couldn’t forget, in limbo.
Your own doing.
True. She’d allowed her father to convince her that a wild boyfriend and a career as a historian didn’t jibe with the life she was destined for. History was a fine hobby, but Trenna needed to major in business and take her rightful place with Hunt Enterprises. She needed to put aside childish dreams and face reality. As to Reed, Carter had been too smart to try to convince her that she wasn’t in love. Instead, he’d hammered home how different their lives were, and how the disparities would only increase when she went to college. How they would ultimately lead to the inevitable.
Trenna had recognized the truth behind his words. Reed taking a welding course by day and continuing his partying ways by night while she attended a private college a thousand miles away would create a gulf between them. Would it be better to let their relationship slowly wither, or to end it before she left? The answer had been unwelcomed, but clear. They couldn’t continue their relationship half a continent apart. She comforted herself with the knowledge that if they were meant to be, then they would find one another again.
Reed disagreed.
Trenna rarely revisited that awful night when she’d broken up with him; the utter betrayal on Reed’s part, the certainty that even though it was ripping her heart out, she was doing the right thing on hers. Adulting involved reality and sacrifices. Her dad had said so and she believed him. He was an adult. She was on the cusp and finding her way. She needed guidance.
Shit.
