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She set the phone beside her, but less than two minutes later, it vibrated. Her heart jumped before she could stop it.
The message was from Grady.
Sheriff Charming
Sorry. At a serious car accident. Can’t call right now. Get some dinner and some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning.
A second text appeared a few seconds later.
Glad you made it safely.
She stared at the words until they blurred, then wiped beneath her eyes with the heel of her hand. “Oh, for God’s sake.”
Apparently, she wasn’t done crying.
She typed a reply saying she understood, reminding him to be careful, and promising to talk to him in the morning. Before she could send it, her thumb hovered over the screen.
Three other words sat in her head. Words she wanted to type so badly that her fingers ached from holding them back.
She erased the message and started again.
Be careful out there. Talk to you tomorrow.
She sent it before she could change her mind.
Her food arrived twenty minutes later. She managed half the burger and a handful of fries before giving up, then took a shower and crawled beneath the covers.
The room was dark except for the thin strip of light sneaking around the curtains. The air conditioner hummed beneath the window, and somewhere in the hallway, a door closed. Rolling onto her side, she reached for her phone.
No new messages.
She set it on the nightstand, with the volume up in case he called after all, then pulled the blanket higher. This morning, she’d awakened in Antelope Rock knowing she would see him. Tonight, hundreds of miles separated them, and by tomorrow night, it would be over a thousand.
A tear slipped across the bridge of her nose and disappeared into the pillow. Another followed, then another, until she stopped trying to wipe them away.
She loved him.
That should have been the best thing that had happened to her in a very long time.
Instead, she cried until exhaustion finally pulled her into sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Three Weeks Later...
Amanda stared at the same paragraph on her laptop for the fourth time, then gave up and closed the document.
This was ridiculous.
She sat at her desk in her office, in the house she’d been dying to return to when she’d arrived in Wyoming a little over two months ago. Everything was exactly where she’d left it. Her favorite coffee mug sat beside her laptop. Her calendar was once again filled with meetings, deadlines, appearances, and everything else that normally kept her running from one thing to the next.
Her life was back to normal.
And she hated it.
With a sigh, she leaned back in the chair and stared at the framed photograph sitting on the corner of her desk.
She and Grady stood in front of the waterfall, his arm around her waist and hers around his back. They’d taken the picture during their picnic, before lunch was forgotten and the afternoon became one she doubted she’d ever forget.
