She stayed on the porch, hugging her chest as she watched him drive away. It wasn’t until she was back inside, tidying up the relatively small mess he’d left, that she thought about her morning ritual. Was this his way of suggesting she start coming by again?

He’d told her that they didn’t need her to head over in the morning anymore . . . but he’d also returned and kissed her tonight, so was that a yes or a no? Frowning to herself, she pulled out her phone and texted him.

BECCA: I know you said you don’t check this often but I’m hoping you see this. Let me know if you need me to come by in the morning or if I should sleep in.

She stared down at the phone, wondering if she should end the message with a cute emoji. A kiss? A smiley? A freaking XOXO? In the end, she went with nothing and stewed over it.

There was no answer right away. Of course not. He was probably still driving the back roads all the way back out to the ranch. Even so, she didn’t want to show up and be a pest. They’d had a second date—sort of—and Hank made it clear he was interested, even if it wasn’t about helping out around the ranch. And they were grown men. They’d fed themselves for years, and with calving slowing down, surely they could feed themselves again.

She wouldn’t show up unless invited. Becca knew she could be a bit of a busybody and didn’t want Hank to feel as if she was making a nuisance of herself.

Even so, she checked her phone repeatedly as she washed her makeup off and got into her pajamas. Her room was quiet and lonely, and she thought about the cute puppies out at the ranch. Even if this thing with Hank wasn’t more than a few fun dates, she wanted company of some kind. Maybe it was time to get a puppy so she’d have someone to come home to. With that thought on her mind, she turned on the television for some background noise, picked up her book, and started to read, checking her phone again, just in case.

Her phone chirped with an incoming text after a while. Becca jerked awake—she hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep, book in hand—and looked at the screen.

GREG: Hey, I’m swinging by the house tomorrow. Want to see how you’re doing and I have a few things to pick up. XOXO

Becca groaned and threw her phone to the foot of the bed.

Why was it that the only XOXO that showed up on her phone was from her rotten, no-good ex?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Becca didn’t come by that morning.