Chapter Twenty-Nine

Boone

"Move!" I muttered and gripped the steering wheel like it might suddenly give me the power to teleport. The old Buick in front of me seemed to be in no rush whatsoever, oblivious to the line of cars piling up behind us. I leaned on the horn, but the driver either didn't hear or didn't care, and I swear to God they slowed down even more.

"Come on," I growled and glanced at the clock on the dashboard. I was late. Really late.

Today had been the day from hell. I was supposed to leave Colorado last night, but that didn't happen. Trevor and the folks over at Pbr had thrown task after task at me—meetings, interviews, photo ops. Everything. By the time I'd finally put my foot down and told them I had to get back to Magnolia Grove, it was too late. I ended up crashing at some hotel near the airport, but even that didn't go smoothly. Viv, Trevor's secretary, booked me a return flight this morning, but it had been delayed twice. I was ready to hop on a bull and ride back home if it would have been faster.

I could've laughed at the irony. I'd spent the better part of my life traveling, never tied to one place for too long. But now? Now, I had somewhere I wanted to be. Needed to be. And I was stuck in traffic behind some geezer who was probably driving for the hell of it.

The pie auction had already started, and I was still a solid ten minutes away—if this car ever moved.

I finally saw an opening in the oncoming lane and swerved around the slowpoke and my foot slammed the pedal to the floor as I shot down the highway toward Magnolia Grove. There was no way I was going to miss this. Not after everything.

I'd been able to keep in touch with Nash over the last few days. Sent him a few texts here and there, but it wasn't the same as being there with him. We had a lot of time to make up for, and I wasn't going to let him down tonight.

But Dolly? That was a whole different kind of "miss." I'd tried to call her, tried to find a moment where we could connect, but something always seemed to get in the way. Either she was busy with the store, or I was stuck in some meeting I couldn't get out of. It felt like we were hovering in limbo, neither of us saying the things that needed to be said. At least not yet.

She'd lied to me for fourteen years, but damn it, I understood why she did it. I wasn't saying it didn't hurt, but I got it. Now, I needed to tell her where I stood and what I wanted. And I didn't want her to think I'd left again, not like before.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter as I approached the town's outskirts, Magnolia Grove coming into view through the trees. The streets were quieter than I expected, probably because half the town was at the auction already.

I pressed the gas pedal down harder. My phone buzzed on the passenger seat, and I glanced over. Nash had sent me a message.

You almost here, Dad?

He hadn't called me Dad out loud, but he had started texting it this weekend.

I didn't want to get too excited about it, but it made me damn happy.

It wasn't just about the pies, though I knew Dolly had probably spent hours baking them. It was about showing up, being there, and proving to her and Nash that I wasn't the guy who'd left all those years ago.

And I needed them both to know it.

I pulled into a spot near the back of the lot, barely managing to wedge my truck between two SUVs.

This was it.