“Baby, wait.”

Her steps didn’t falter as she made her way toward the barn, where the Easterlys stored their equipment.

“Come on, cricket. Don’t do this.”

Finally, she turned around. Her cheeks were ruddy and wet, but she was still one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.

“Owen, I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” I asked as I stepped closer.

“I… I don’t know. I just can’t be anything but what my family needs right now. I’m it. I need to run the farm while my dad heals.” Her breath hitched as she spoke of her father.

“They don’t expect you to do everything all at once, Aspen.”

“But they do. They’re all relying on me. Not just my family, but the workers, the town, all the contracted companies. They all need me. I’m… I’m sorry. I need to see what needs to be done today.”

“Can I see you tonight?”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“Please. I need to talk to you about something.”

Aspen’s eyes grew heavy with the weight of my words. We both knew the time was coming, but now that I had an actual date, it made it all the more real.

“Okay. I… um… need to grab my car anyway.”

She turned on her heel, and I reached out for her wrist in an attempt to stop her.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Aspen. Please try not to overdo it.”

The moment I released her arm, she walked away, and my heart thundered in my chest. I wondered what she’d do if I told her I loved her.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I’d probably been in love with Aspen Easterly since the day I met her when we were kids. But it wasn’t until I saw her dad lying in that hospital bed that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wouldn’t want anyone at my bedside but her.

Back at my rental, I tossed around a baseball in a makeshift booth I set up in the backyard. The netting kept the pitches from soaring into the neighbor’s yard.

A cool breeze brushed across my sweat soaked back, and I shivered. I imagined Aspen riding around the property, with the devil cow, Carrie, chasing after her. Wounding herself in the process… again. I shook out my arms, trying to rid myself of the memory of Aspen all cut up and bleeding.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed, and I found a thousand unread messages from Vanessa and a new one from Marc. I considered changing my number, but I knew Vanessa would somehow figure it out. Either through my lawyer, who was still working to remove her items from my house, or from my agent. Vanessa had a way of getting what she wanted.

Marc: She’s at it again. Check her socials.

My best friend had been playing private investigator for me while I was gone and keeping me updated on Vanessa’s shenanigans.

Pulling up the various social media pages Vanessa owned, I rolled my eyes. Pictures of us from our rehearsal dinner plagued her pages, with a post stating that we were happily planning our nuptials in a new location.

Taking a few screenshots, I forwarded the images to my lawyer and asked him to nip it in the bud. I was growing tired of Vanessa and her clingy nature. I was really not looking forward to possibly dealing with her when I returned to LA.

Taking that thought into consideration, I messaged my lawyer again and asked him to have her stuff removed from my place before the end of the week. Then messaged Marc to see if he could get the locks on my house changed. Thankfully, I lived in a gated neighborhood and had spoken to security about the ongoing Vanessa issues. Their team escorted her to my house whenever she needed something.

A few hours later, I sat on the couch with a beer in hand and dinner staying warm in the oven. Aspen texted an hour ago that Jenna was bringing her to the house, even though I offered to pick her up. Jenna had been at Aspen’s house to check in and claimed it was easier.

She was probably right, since I’d spent the better part of my afternoon towing Aspen’s car to the mechanic, only to find that it wasn’t worth salvaging. I’d already known that much, but having it verified made me feel better about the new SUV I bought for her and had delivered to my rental. It was waiting outside in all its shiny red glory.

Sighing, I moved from the couch to the front porch and leaned my arms against the railing, my beer bottle dangling from my fingers as I waited.

Cricket: 5 minutes away

Smiling down at my screen, I replied quickly and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I’d spent most of the day worried Aspen wouldn’t show tonight. I was seeing her one way or another though, and I planned to go to her house if she tried to avoid me.

Off in the distance, I noticed Jenna’s car turn into the neighborhood. Aspen had let it slip a couple of nights ago that Jenna and Derek were still going strong. I was happy for them and jealous at the same time. Some people had it so easy.

Finally, the car came to a stop in front of the house, and I smiled as Aspen stepped out with narrowed eyes.

Jenna was in on the car purchase and immediately drove off once Aspen was safely out the door.

“What’s that? Where’s my car?” Aspen asked as she approached the luxury SUV.

“That’s your car.”

“No.”

I shrugged as I stepped off the porch and moved toward my girlfriend. I felt like I was approaching a wild animal that was ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

“I took your car to the mechanic to get it fixed, and Earl said it wasn’t salvageable. He was surprised you were still able to drive it at all. So, I left the car with him, made a few phone calls, and here we are.”

“I don’t want you spending your money on me.”

I couldn’t fight the smirk that grew on my lips. Vanessa was the opposite of her in every way. My ex begged me for a car when we’d only been dating for a month, and Aspen wanted nothing to do with my money.

Standing in front of Aspen, I tucked a piece of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. “And that’s one of the things I love about you.”

By the way her breath hitched, I could tell my words surprised her.

“You… I…,” she stammered.

“You’re welcome, cricket. Now, come inside with me.”

“Okay,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the SUV one last time before I clasped her hand in mine.

“So, you said you had some things to talk to me about?”

We crossed the threshold, and I closed the door behind us. “Yeah. Why don’t we go ahead and sit down?”

I followed her to the couch and shifted to face her, one leg bent and propped on the cushion.

“I’m not sure how to say this, but instead of the two months I thought I had left, I actually have to leave sooner.”