“I’m fine. Really. Just tired.”
“Do you always cry when you’re tired?” he asked.
“How do you know that I’ve been crying?”
“I didn’t know until you just confirmed it. What’s going on, baby girl?”
“Nothing, Dad. Nothing that you need to worry about. I’m just . . . emotional.”
Either her father was content with her answer or he really didn’t know how to respond to that. Whatever it was, he changed the subject. “How are things with you?”
“Good,” she said, thinking about work. “Kylie has taken on a huge new project here in town and she’s working through the logistics of getting it finished in the next few months. We’re gonna be busy.”
“That’s good to hear. Still liking your job?”
God, she didn’t know how to answer that. Just a short while ago she’d been packing her things, fully intending to leave town and never look back. Granted, there was one major flaw in her plan. Her car was DOA and she hadn’t heard from Kylie to find out whether Gage could actually fix it or not.
Instead of sharing all of that with her father, she said, “Of course. What’s not to like? I spend most of my day alone in an office with the only thing to keep me company being the sound of the phone every now and again. I’m catching up on some serious reading, that’s for sure.”
“Jess . . .”
“I’m kidding, Daddy. It’s good. I’m serious.”
“How’s Brendon?”
Oh, God. She did not want to answer that question. Her father believed that she was dating Brendon Walker. It didn’t have anything to do with Jessie telling him as much, either. It was an assumption so many people had made over the months. Of course, it didn’t help that no one bothered to set anyone straight about that.
“He’s fine,” she said evasively, wanting to change the subject. “How are you? How’s Melissa?”
“We’re staying busy.”
Jessie got the sense that her father wanted to tell her something, but he was stalling. Usually when she asked about her father’s girlfriend, he wasn’t quite so tight-lipped.
“Is something wrong?”
“Depends on what you consider wrong.”
“Daddy,” Jessie said, sitting up straight in the chair. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, actually. Melissa and I have finally made a big decision.”
Jessie held her breath, waiting for her father’s news.
“We’ve decided to move to Coyote Ridge.”
“Are you serious?” she exclaimed, shocked.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea?”
“Of course I do,” she said suddenly.
“We figure now that both of you girls have decided to call Coyote Ridge home, we have no reason to stay up here. We want to be closer to you both. And since I’m gone so often, it’ll bring Melissa closer to family.”
Her father was an airline pilot, so he was gone a lot. And yes, Jessie could totally see how Melissa would be tired of being alone. It would be nice to be able to see her father from time to time. And she wouldn’t have to plan her trips around his schedule. Not to mention, her little piece-of-shit car wasn’t going to make the trek to Dallas much more, if at all.
“When?”
“We’ve put in an offer on a house. I had Kylie pull some information and she went to check it out. Travis and Gage weighed in. If the offer is accepted, we’ll come down to check it out within the seven days we have to back out.”
“Wow, that’s . . . great.”
“Is it?” he asked, his tone concerned.
“It really is, Dad. I’m very happy to hear that. It’ll be great to see you both more often.”
Their conversation continued for several more minutes, but before long, her father ended the call, just as he always did. Jessie was hesitant to let him off the phone, fearful that she’d end up in another ball of tears and snot once she had no one to talk to, but she didn’t want to tell him that.
After she hung up the phone, she glanced around the room. That was the moment she realized she had just lost her only reason for leaving town. Which meant . . .
It meant that she was going to have to figure out what she really wanted.
And how to get Braydon back.
chapter TWENTY-FIVE
“Are you really feeling better?” Cheyenne asked him for what seemed like the hundredth time.
It felt as though Cheyenne had been grilling him endlessly, but that was only because Brendon was feeling the repercussions of the concussion mixed with a significant amount of guilt. On top of that, his normally sunny disposition had taken a one-way trip to the Bahamas and he didn’t see it coming back anytime in the near future.