Page 8 of Ocotillo Kisses
“We all were.”
She hesitated, in case he wanted to say more, but no, his expression remained stony, so she turned to go into the house, collect her grandmother, and head back to the ranch that had been her home, that would be her home again for the next few weeks.
She was aware of the eyes of the others, especially Poppy, Lacey and Sofia, as she searched for her grandmother in the crowd. Of course the entire town knew her history with Con, which was why, when she came back to town for visits, she stayed close to the ranch. Sure, she knew how to deal with criticism, with judgement, but she didn’t want to deal with it from something she’d done at eighteen.
She could have stayed. She could have waited for Con, they could have gone to school together like they’d planned. She often wondered what her life would have been like if she had.
But he still would have come back here, which had never been their plan. Claudia was supposed to run the ranch when she got old enough. She was the one who’d loved it. But Con had felt so guilty that he’d taken over instead.
Everything had changed that day, everything. And it could never go back to what it was. Being here in this house, that thought dragged at her heart. She had loved Con. Not just puppy love, like their parents thought. Deep and true love.
Only grief destroyed it, and if grief could do that, well...what might have happened if they had stayed together?
She found her grandmother sitting on the front porch in one of the cushioned chairs with Marianne Skyler, Mrs. Lopez from the grocery store and Lupe Saldivar.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked her grandmother.
Her grandmother looked up at her, blue eyes wise. “You go on ahead. I’ll get a ride back home. You have your key?”
Britt really didn’t want to make her escape alone, but she maybe could use the quiet time without answering questions from her grandmother about Con’s reaction to her presence. She had to know. The last time she’d seen Con, last year, he’d turned around and walked away without saying a word.
But instead of saying anything to her grandmother in front of the town gossips, she nodded, drew her keys from her crossbody bag, and walked out to her BMW.
She was a success. She didn’t need the judgement of the people of Broken Wheel. She had done the right thing for herself. She was sorry her decisions hurt Con, but she had done what she needed to do, and her choice was rewarded.
So she might have put a little extra power on the gas pedal as she pulled onto the caliche road heading out of the ranch, kicking up some dust behind her.
The ranch house where she’d grown up wasn’t as grand as Con’s, but it did have a pool, so that was what she was going to do. She started stripping out of her blazer and button down shirt the minute she walked through the door, kicked off her shoes as she headed down the hall to her new/old bedroom. Her grandmother would not appreciate the trail she was leaving, but right now the only thing that was going to make her feel better was a swim.
She’d actually spent a lot of time in the pool before her grandmother walked out onto the patio, still in her funeral clothes. She held Britt’s heels in her hand, her eyebrows raised.
“Sorry,” Britt said, treading water. “I thought I’d be out before you got back.” She looked around the pool. “I’m kind of surprised that you kept the pool up.”
“I like the way it looks, and sometimes I come out and put my feet in.” Millie sat carefully on one of the poolside chairs. “I take it you talked to Con?”
“I know you told me it was a bad idea, but yes, I didn’t want to wait.”
“His father’s funeral was hardly the place.”
Britt sighed, the tension she’d worked off returning to her shoulders and neck. “I know. I should have waited. But I didn’t know if he’d give me another chance. He walked away when I was here last time.”
“And you didn’t even try before that,” her grandmother pointed out.
“I didn’t.” She’d hidden out here instead. “I just thought, since I’ll be here longer this time, it was best to get everything out in the open, since I’ll probably be seeing more of him.”
“Maybe. I keep telling you all I don’t need a babysitter.”
“But you like having us around,” Britt pointed out, swimming to the side and lifting herself out of the water. “Was it bad? The talk after I left?” May as well know now.
“About what you’d expect. More about your nerve cornering him at the funeral than anything else. But yes, a lot of people remember how you left.”
“I’m not proud of it, but it was what I had to do for myself.”
“You might have a hard time convincing people.”
“Maybe. Maybe I will try, maybe I won’t. It turned out best for me.”
“And that is where people will have issues. For you, but not for Con.”
