When Eve pulled up to the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic on Monday morning, she took a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Somehow it seemed like more than two weeks had passed since she’d been gone. The outside of the building still looked the same and she was certain nothing inside had changed either. The little blue building where Eve and Annabeth had hung out their shingle sat right in the middle of downtown near all the major storefronts. She walked to the door and traced the letters of her name:
Eve Iglesias, DVM
Annabeth Dantzer, DVM
Nothing was the same for Eve as the day she’d left for her scheduled vacation, after having had a small anxiety attack at the Maddox ranch. She didn’t think she’d ever been this happy in her life.
This morning she’d woken to a cup of coffee on her nightstand that had to have been Jackson’s doing. A note beside it said that he’d let her sleep in and would be with Hank most of the day. He’d spent the night in her bedroom, loving her all night long. Speaking tender words along with the sexier raunchier ones about what he was going to do to her and how much she’d enjoy it.
Whew!
She’d decided to skip her regular morning ride and slept in a little longer.
Last night, the sexual intimacy alone would have been enough, but she’d fallen in love with him. Head over heels, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him-love. She was happy about that, but she had a feeling Annabeth was going to wake her up to a few truths Eve didn’t want to face. She’d enjoyed the little bubble she’d lived in recently, where the past collided with the present and created something new and fresh. Precious. Something she’d never believed would be possible. But she feared Annabeth was about to burst that bubble with a sledgehammer.
She was already there when Eve opened the door and let herself inside the clinic.
“Good mornin’.”
“Hey, stranger. I sure hope you enjoyed your time off.” She handed Eve a Styrofoam cup. “Sorry. I still can’t figure out how to make the coffee.”
Hoping for the best, Eve took a sip, and tried not to grimace. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
“So, how did it go?” Annabeth perched on the edge of the front desk.
“Good.” Eve set her cup down. “Better than I could have hoped.”
“I heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“Just that you and Jackson were pretty cozy on the dance floor.” She crossed her arms smugly. “Did I call this or what?”
Okay, so Annabeth had warned her that she could wind up being tossed aside like all the other women Jackson had apparently been through over the years. But Eve regretted nothing. She was living her life again, fearless, and brave. He’d brought that out of her again. And he loved her as much as she loved him, even if he had yet to say it when she was awake. He’d shown her, and that mattered more.
“It’s complicated,” Eve said and sat at the reception desk’s chair to power up the desktop computer.
“No kidding. I would have never dreamed that taking up with the man you left at the altar would be complicated.” She smirked. “So…tell me. Was it just one kiss or are we talking some heavy make-out sessions?”
Eve might have blushed. Either way, her face hot, she got busy trying to locate this week’s schedule.
“Oh, crap. Are you…are you being serious with me right now?” Annabeth went hand on hip and swiveled her head. “That fast? After everything he did to you? He abandoned you.”
“After I abandoned him.”
And she should have known better. He’d already been abandoned once. Being abandoned by his fiancée in a church full of people had cut him in places she hadn’t even imagined. But she would give herself a pass because she’d been caught up in her own needs. Too young and immature. Too proud.
“We already talked about this. You were just nervous. Marriage is a patriarchal system and it’s no wonder you thought twice. It wasn’t like you didn’t love him.”
“But it’s just not that simple.”
“It is exactly that simple. You live here, and he lives there.” Annabeth pointed outside as if Nashville was in the parking lot. “It isn’t going to work even if I thought you could trust him. Unless you’re leaving me and our practice.”
“No, no, I’m not. You know I’m not.” Eve sighed and found the day’s schedule. She was actually amazed Annabeth had managed to put one together.
Routine usually helped but not so much at the moment. The first appointment of the day was Mr. Mansfield. She did not want to deal with him again. Not on her first day back.
She glanced up. “Does Holly have colic again?”
“He left a message on the machine and spent twenty minutes over the phone mansplaining.” She pointed to Eve. “He did ask for you, so you’re dealing with him. Only you can handle this and not throat punch the man.”
“Poor Holly.” Eve stood and went to the medicine cabinet to gather some analgesics. “I’ll get going right away. I meant to tell him that he shouldn’t wait long to call us.”
“Don’t let him intimidate you,” Annabeth said as she helped Eve load her truck.
“I won’t. I’ve got this.”
She spent most of the drive to the Maddox ranch thinking about how best to approach the situation. In the past two weeks she’d come to understand that it was better to lay everything out in the open. Like she’d done with Jackson. He made it easier, that was true. But if she could stand up to Jackson, she could stand up to Mr. Mansfield. The courage was in her, she just had to pull it out and put it on.
There were good men in the world. Just because she’d happened upon one of the worst of them didn’t mean that every big and burly man meant to hurt her. And no man was ever going to intimidate her again. She was Eve Iglesias, DVM, and damn proud of it. Once, a man had tried to take her apart, but hadn’t succeeded. She’d come out stronger in the end. Having been through the physical and emotional pain taught her that she could survive. Now, she’d learn how to thrive again.
She strode up to the stables, finding Holly in the same state she’d been in two weeks ago. Pawing at the ground, head down. In agony.
“How long has she been like this?”
“Two days,” Mr. Mansfield said.
Her stomach tightened, but she went ahead and gave him the benefit of the doubt. “My partner would have helped. You didn’t have to wait this long for me.”
“Got around to callin’ y’all as soon as I had a free moment.”
“If you’re too busy to take proper care of the horses, then maybe you need to hire some more hands.” She took a deep breath. “Or find another job.”
For a moment, the only sound heard in the stable was Holly’s horseshoes hitting the ground. No other sound, because a horse always suffered in silence.
And then Mr. Mansfield cleared his throat. “Guess I do need to hire a few hands. You hear of anyone lookin’, let me know.”
A pleasant surprise flowed through Eve, taking the place of the tension she’d felt up to that moment. “I will.”
And then she got busy helping Holly.
The end of the day came quickly, and satisfied at a great first day back, Eve headed back to the Double C. At the turn to the ranch, her curiosity peaked when she caught sight of a black limo turn, too, just ahead of her. A friend of Jackson’s coming to visit him from Nashville? It could be someone famous, like maybe Miranda Lambert, or Toby Keith. Eve could get an autograph. Excited, she caught up with the limo. She would try to remember not to be a total fan girl. This would be difficult, as she loved country music.
The limo pulled in front of the house and Eve parked behind the barn and quickly walked toward the house. She made it inside the door just in time to see the beautiful blonde who was Jackson’s ex-wife jump into his arms.
Everything in Eve froze, including her stupid heart. In a flash, she was back at the Piggly Wiggly parking lot. Her breath hitched and for the life of her she couldn’t seem to draw in another one. She’d been stupid to think that she and Jackson could just go back to the way they were. They’d spent years apart, and other people had been involved.
He had an ex-wife.
And now she was standing in their living room, her hands all over Jackson.
“I missed you, husband!” Winona said.
Jackson gently put her back down on the floor and took a generous step back. “Ex-husband.”
He supposed this was what he got for not returning her calls. The woman didn’t handle rejection well. She had resources in every state and though he’d stayed off social media, she’d tracked him down. He hadn’t seen or talked to Winona in months and now she was standing in his family’s living room calling him her husband just as Eve walked in the door. Perfect.
The timing of his troubled and talented friend was impeccable as usual.
A few years ago, his first record label had thought it would be a good marketing angle for their two newest up-and-coming musicians to be seen together. Someone had dropped a rumor that they were engaged, and the tabloids had their fun until the next big story came around. Winona had done a lot for his career, recording one of his first songs, and carrying it into the top ten nationwide.
And one night, drunk off his ass, he’d married her in Las Vegas.
Mima threw her hands up. “What in tarnation is this mess? Jackson is divorced. Didn’t expect any marriage that took place in a drive-through would last, but maybe I’m old-fashioned. Y’all got some explain’ to do. Go on.”
“We’re divorced. I have the paperwork.” He stared Winona down.
The happiest day in his life was when the lawyer had said a no-contest divorce would take a couple of months, tops. He was actually married to her less time than it took to divorce her.
“No, I’m sorry,” Winona said. “It’s a…joke between two old friends.”
“Well, then, it’s not very funny, is it?” Mima said. “Now that we’ve got that straightened out, I’m Jackson’s grandmother, Lillian Carver. Pleased to meet you. Over there is Eve Iglesias and she lives here. Jackson’s ex-fiancée. Nothing funny about it, either. I don’t know where you’re from, young lady, but here in Stone Ridge we don’t make jokes about marriage.”
“I’m from Okla—” Winona began.
“I think you had better stop talking,” Jackson said.
He led Winona out to the front porch, making sure to keep enough distance between them so as not to even accidentally touch her. He’d made such great progress with Eve, and now this. He spotted two suitcases by the front door, not a great sign.
He moved them to the side and sat on the top step of the staircase, bending his head. “Want to tell me what in the hell is going on?”
Winona sat next to him. “I’ve been calling you and leaving messages ever since I heard. Jackson, you can’t do this. Eve destroyed you and I’ll never forgive her for what she did to you. I saw how she ripped your heart out. I picked up the pieces. I took care of you.”
“It isn’t any of your business whether Eve and I are back together or not.”
She went palms up. “Listen, honey. I was afraid this would happen. I heard about the family wedding from one of your band members. You’re thinking of getting back together with Eve, aren’t you? After what she did to you? That would be a mistake!”
Jackson shook his head. “Good thing it’s not up to you.”
“If I’m not too late, and I hope that I’m not, I want you to think carefully about this. I saw what she did to you, how broken you were.”
“This is still none of your business.”
He and Winona had been better drinking buddies than lovers. But he’d once made the mistake of confiding in her. To get a woman’s perspective, he’d told himself. He wasn’t looking for sympathy, but simply to understand. When had Eve fallen out of love with him and how had he missed it? Winona had rallied to his defense, telling him Eve obviously didn’t love him enough in the first place if she’d let him go. He’d appreciated the support, while telling himself he hadn’t really expected to hear the honest truth from a woman he was sleeping with on and off.
Then came the ill-fated short marriage and Jackson’s guilt over wanting to immediately divorce her and move on.
“We haven’t so much as talked in months. Where is this coming from? We’ve both moved on and had other relationships since then.”
“But I’ve never been with anyone quite like you.”
Jackson wished he could say the same, but the woman inside his family home was the only woman he’d ever loved. Even though he’d disappointed her in ways he wasn’t sure he could ever make up to her.
This wasn’t helping. “I love Eve. I’m sorry, but I don’t love you. I can’t help how I feel.”
“Can we talk? There’s just so many things I want to say to you. In private.” She threw a glance over her shoulder at the house. “I have regrets. So many. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”
The old song and dance she’d been doing since she turned thirty-five. Winona had been a beautiful woman a few years ago, but all the hard drinking and touring had caught up to her. There were dark circles under her eyes. She was too thin. Even so, she didn’t look anywhere near forty.
Jackson raked a hand through his hair. “We’ll talk, sure. We’re old friends. But not …now.”
“I got it. She’s here. We need some privacy.”
“No. That’s not it. I don’t keep secrets from Eve.” Jackson stood. “I’m going to take you to Kerrville, where they have a full-service hotel you can stay in. Until you can get your travel arrangements in order to leave.”
“I thought I might stay here in the family home.”
“I’ll get some truck keys,” Jackson said, without further explanation.
The screen door opened and slammed shut and Eve stomped out. Ignoring both of them, she passed him on the steps headed to the horse stables.
“Oh, wow. She’s pissed,” Winona said.
Jackson scowled. “And thanks so much for your contribution to that.”
“Let me go talk to her.” She stood and smoothed the skirt of her dress.
“No. If I were you, I’d stay clear of Eve. Stay here.”
Jackson went inside, grabbed a set of truck keys, and called out to Mima, “Tell Eve I’ll be right back.”
He heaved all of Winona’s luggage in the bed of the truck, and when she still stood nearby simply observing his efforts, he opened the passenger side door and unceremoniously waved her inside.
With a huff, she climbed in, adjusted her seat belt, and he shut the door.
Rolling down the hill, the truck’s wheels kicking up dirt, he had a mind to tell Winona never to look him up again. Lose his number. Forget his face. But in the music business, contacts were important. You couldn’t burn bridges. Winona still had a large following in Nashville. She hadn’t had a hit for a couple of years, but he figured she’d just taken some time off and was probably in the studio working on something new. She was a regular presenter at the CMA Awards shows and knew a lot of Nashville royalty. But he still wasn’t going to bow to her whims. He never had and wasn’t about to start now.
“Don’t you have a hotel in town?” she asked.
“We used to have one in town, but it closed down. Kerrville’s about a forty-minute drive.”
“Wow, y’all really are in the boondocks.” When he didn’t chuckle along with her, she said, “Sorry. I don’t like small towns.”
“You might like Stone Ridge.”
“Yeah, I saw some signs coming into town. Is that some kind of a joke?”
“Nope.”
“Why do women eat free at Papi’s?”
“Because we don’t have many of them.”
“Get out of here! What happened to the women?”
He shrugged. “There seems to be a shortage.”
“Hmm,” Winona said, and he could almost hear her wheels spinning.
They rode in blessed silence for a few minutes. Of course, Winona wouldn’t let that last. “Can we talk soon?”
“The wedding’s over now so I have a little more time.”
“My manager and I’ve got a lot of stuff in the pipeline. Shows, even working on a possible Netflix special. A movie made from one of my songs! But I mainly wanted to discuss an important venture where I need the best partner I can find. Come by the hotel tomorrow night, and I’ll get us room service. We can catch up on old times.”
“I’ll meet you in the hotel restaurant. Not going up to your room.”
“Can’t resist me, huh?”
“I can.” He said this through gritted teeth.
Even though Mima was not fond of the woman that he’d married and divorced within less than six months, she had raised Jackson better than to drop off any woman at a curb. So, dutifully, he walked her inside and waited until she was able to get a room. Winona immediately got recognized by some of the staff, who fawned over her, asked for her autograph, took selfies, and managed to somehow find her a vacancy on the penthouse floor.
He sat on the lobby’s sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, Stetson tipped, until Winona waved him over. “Yeah?”
The hotel clerk grinned. “It is you. Y’all were so cute together. Wish you’d never been divorced. You make such a cute couple!”
“That’s what I keep tellin’ him,” Winona said, handing over her black Amex card. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll give me another chance.”
“Oh, how sweet,” the clerk said, hand on her heart.
That wouldn’t happen in a million years, even if there was no Eve Iglesias. But there was, and he didn’t want or need anyone else. The concierge gathered Winona’s luggage and she turned expectantly to Jackson.
“This is where we say goodbye.”
“You mean good night,” Winona said, giving a little wave. “See you tomorrow, sweetheart!”
Jackson scowled, grunted, and then got the hell out of Dodge.
* * *
Deep, even breaths.
Eve had watched as Jackson piled Winona’s luggage in the truck’s bed and they’d both left in a hurry. Why was he in such a hurry to get rid of her? Did she have news for him, like she was pregnant with their child? Eve drew in a sharp breath. Everything in her life could be upended again, just when she and Jackson had started something. She’d have to step aside, this time for an innocent child.
Eve went for a long ride with Thimble and tried to cool her temper but that didn’t work this time. Ever since her meltdown, her anger wasn’t staying below the surface. She couldn’t tamp it down and ignore it. Her therapist had told her that righteous anger was a good thing. The problem became when a person wasn’t angry at a person or situation, but instead was simply an angry person to begin with. That’s where she’d been years ago and refused to become that woman again.
However, she told herself, thinking even her therapist would agree, she was angry at Winona James. This might be just fine. Who showed up out of the blue the way she had, without an invitation?
Hopping off and holding Thimble’s reins, she led her back into the stables and unsaddled her. She bent to pick up the bucket containing the brushes and hoof pick. Right now, she craved routine. Comfort. Watching that beautiful woman jump into Jackson’s arms took her back in time to a dark place. After seeing the photo of Winona and Jackson, she’d sat in the parking lot of the Piggy Wiggly and made the biggest knee-jerk mistake of her life. She’d called Matt even though every instinct told her not to.
Her heart and mind knew it wasn’t her fault. Nothing Matt had done could be excused by her own behavior. But she should have never called him in the first place as a reaction to seeing that photo of Jackson and Winona in the supermarket tabloid. Another rash decision made in the heat of the moment that had changed the trajectory of her life. But she’d been lonely and in such pain from losing Jackson. She had to be kinder to herself. Forgiving. This was what the therapist had told her.
That was then, this is now.
Yes, but she’s here. Why? Eve wasn’t ready to fight for anyone but herself. She’d carved a precious life in Stone Ridge, straight out of smoke and ashes. And she would cling to that reality because it was all she had. Now, she could support herself with the solid and respectable living she made as a veterinarian. Jackson was no longer her entire world.
“Sometimes I’m afraid I’m going to lose myself in him again,” she spoke softly to Thimble as she brushed her body with the bristle brush. “That’s how it’s always been with us. Because when we’re together it’s addicting. He’s larger than life and he takes my breath. Bet you wish you had my problems, right? And maybe I wish someone would brush my mane every day.”
“Baby, if you want me to brush your hair every day just ask.”
Eve jumped at the sexy baritone sound of Jackson’s voice in her good ear. She hadn’t even heard the truck pull up. Then he did something even sexier. He picked up a brush and started on Thimble’s other side.
“I know you have a hundred questions dancing around in your head right now so let me hear it.”
“Your ex-wife is very beautiful.” She started with the question that had been simmering on a low flame. “Did you invite her here?”
“Why would I? She just showed up. That’s what she does.”
“No one shows up like that unless they think someone will be happy to see them.”
“Did I look happy?”
“You looked…shocked.”
“Exactly, because Winona has a way of showing up unannounced and making trouble.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have married her if you felt that way.”
“When I married her, Eve, I was at the lowest point of my life. Still drinkin’ too much. Still hurting. Winona is ten years older than me and I was just a country bumpkin to her.”
“You said you hadn’t talked to her in months.”
“I haven’t.”
“How can she just show up like that, with no encouragement?” Eve brushed Thimble harder. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
“I won’t ever lie to you. I told Winona we have no secrets between us anymore. Lies are a big deal, especially since we just forgave each other for a lot of crap. If you lie to me, you’re going to piss me off.”
“I’m not the one who’s lyin’!” She shot back.
“Neither am I!”
“Where did you take her? She can stay here, if you’d like.”
“Why would you want her to stay?”
“I don’t, but if you do, that’s fine with me.”
He snorted. “Yeah. Okay, Eve.”
Well, shit, he didn’t sound like her believed her!
Since Jackson was helping with the brushing, Eve went for the hoof pick. “We didn’t make any promises to each other this time. Maybe that’s for the best.”
“I’m going to stay home longer,” Jackson said, meeting her eyes from across Thimble.
Her heart seemed to literally jump in her chest, which pissed her off to no end because this was not good. “H-how much longer?”
“I don’t know. Indefinitely. Been writing more songs here, maybe because I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in years.”
She had noticed the stiffness in his shoulders was gone. “Well, okay. It’s fine with me if you do stay longer.”
“Eve, cut the crap.” He dropped the brush and moved beside her.
“What?” She dropped Thimble’s leg. “I’m trying to make this easier for you.”
He pulled her to him. “I’m trying to fight for you, for us, but you need to let me.”
The tingle that radiated through her body when he said those words was exactly the wrong thing to feel. It shouldn’t matter, but her body wasn’t listening.
“Why is she here, Jackson? What was so important?”
His brow furrowed. “She seems to think I’m making a mistake falling in love with you all over again.”
“Did she tell you that? She doesn’t even know me!”
“She’s heard about you. You’re all I talked about for a while. And I’m sorry to say, no one who heard my end of the story took your side. But there are always two sides, aren’t there?”
She remembered how hard life had been for her during that time, but she’d had Sadie, and her mother, and a handful of true friends who understood. Then she’d had the benefit of starting over in a new town where no one had to know or hear about her sad love story. The jilted groom. The runaway bride. But the people closest to her had heard all about Jackson. Her roommate, and Bobby.
She threaded her hands around his neck and rose on tiptoes. “Where did you take her? The airport?”
“I took her to Kerrville. She asked to meet with me tomorrow.”
“Where?” Her stomach dropped. “In her hotel room?”
“I said I’d meet in the hotel restaurant. I’m sure she wants to talk about some kind of musical partnership. I feel like I owe it to her to listen, because I do feel bad for her. She did help my career once, maybe I could help her now somehow. Not sure how, but it’s hard to watch someone so talented waste away with boozing. I came too close to that myself.”
Eve swallowed hard at the guilt by association. It wasn’t her fault he’d chosen to drink but she still felt responsible. “Guess I’m bein’ selfish. You’re right. If you can help her, you ought to. She did seem kind of desperate.”
“Jumping into my arms and calling me her husband when we were married for three months five years ago? Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Well, I know what it’s like to feel desperate.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Not like that, you don’t. You’ve always had a lot of self-respect. I can’t tell you how rare that is in show business.”
Eve took a deep breath and buried her face in Jackson’s warm neck. She’d told herself she would trust.
And he hadn’t done anything to make her doubt him.