“If that’s all you’re looking for, check out this face right here.” He pointed at himself.

I burst out laughing, and so did he.

Carefully I worked my way down the embankment to Kale’s truck. While the driver’s door had a dent, it opened easily. Papers were strewn across the bench seat, and I pushed them away to climb behind the wheel. I needed to get in to put the vehicle in neutral so it would roll when the winch pulled it onto the flatbed. I grabbed the gearshift and got it into the right gear, but the papers caught my eye. I collected them all into a pile to stick back into the briefcase that had obviously opened in the crash. The top paper looked like a legal document—Kale Bradford was a lawyer—but it was Huck Manning’s name that caught my attention.

I had to take a guess, since they were best friends, that Kale was Huck’s legal counsel. I shouldn’t have snooped at something that was probably confidential, but when it had Huck’s name on it, I didn’t give a shit.

I skimmed it quickly, then started over, this time reading it slower. It was a letter from some lawyer in Helena for his client, an Amanda Oglethorpe of Helena. He stated that while Huck wasn’t Claire Manning’s biological father, he was currently the legal guardian of her. Amanda Oglethorpe was intending to take Huck to court for her maternal rights to be reinstated.

My heart skipped a beat, then another. My palms began to sweat. I glanced out the cracked windshield and didn’t see the acres of growing alfalfa or the mountains in the distance. All I saw was Huck Manning, five years ago, coming back to The Bend with a baby. His baby.

The baby that proved he’d moved on and hadn’t wanted me.

Huck Manning wasn’t Claire’s father. He hadn’t dumped me and gone on to make a baby with a woman faster than someone changed their underwear.

He’d made one with me, but—

“Everything okay?” Graham asked, making me jump. I set the paper beside me.

I’d been so lost in my thoughts I hadn’t heard him approach.

Hastily I picked up the small pile and grabbed the open briefcase off the floor of the passenger side. “Yeah, these were all over and in my way.” I shoved them in, except for the one letter about Huck, and snapped the lid down. Reaching across the steering wheel, I handed the briefcase to Graham through the open door. “Here. I’m sure Kale’s going to want this.”

He took it from me. “I’ll see that he gets it. Thanks.”

With the truck ready to be loaded, I hopped out and folded the letter, shoving it into the back pocket of my jeans. We walked to the tow truck together. As I readied the winch cable, all I could think about was what I’d just learned.

Huck and I had dated after graduation and spent the summer together, practically inseparable. God, it had been intense, and I’d fallen in love with him in a matter of days. Maybe on our first date. I’d given him my virginity the week before I was to leave for college.