him, either, remember?
“Will, hello,” she gasped. As a real-estate agent for one of the most prestigious agencies in West Hollywood, she was known for her lightning-quick response in any situation. But with the way her throat closed off now, the only lightning she could hope for was a bolt to strike and put her out of her misery.
Will blinked twice, straightened to his full six foot three inches and let the awkward moment stretch. Endlessly.
Haley swallowed again. Will Sutton was still the best-looking man she’d ever seen.
He was also the first man she’d ever left at the altar. The first man to break her heart. And the last.
“Well, what do you know?” he drawled finally. “Haley Bell Thornton has come home at last.”
His patronizing tone stung and riled her at the same time. “It’s a free country,” she snapped. She had a thing about condescension.
The laugh that escaped his perfect lips was about as disdainful and condescending as it could get. “If it were that free, I’d think you’d come see Applegate every once in a while.”
She bristled against words that cut to the quick. She had neglected her grandpa. “I hardly think what I do is any of your business.” Tension sparked between them sharper than the cutting wind.
“On that count you’d be right, Haley.” His eyes narrowed.
“Look. Are you going to move that thing?” She lifted her chin for good measure while her traitorous heart did a lunge-and-dive maneuver against her ribs. Without warning, her eyes betrayed her and dropped to his hand. But the hand, along with the telltale ring finger, was buried in the pocket of his coat. Astounded at herself, she immediately looked away, hoping he hadn’t seen.
No such luck.
“I’m not married, Haley. Never have been.”
Again her tongue failed her. What was she supposed to say to that?
“You, on the other hand,” he drawled, cocking his head to the side to get a better look at her. “You look as though you’ve been playing dress-up again.” His condemning gaze took in her dress then met her eyes straight on. “What is this, the fourth time?”
“Third,” she gritted from between flattened lips. Had she actually liked this man at one time?
He pulled his hands from his pockets, holding them up in a “no foul” gesture. “Don’t look at me. I moved back here three months ago, and the rumor mill started churning out Haley Bell reports without me so much as opening my mouth.”
Ohhhh!
“You,” he continued, despite her warning glare, “have really done yourself proud.”
That did it! What did he know? Who did he think he was? “Look, I’d just love to sit here and reminisce, but it is cold and I’m tired and I need to get to my grandpa Applegate’s.”
“Well, let me put a fire under the boys, then. We certainly wouldn’t want you to be the one left standing out in the cold.”
Before she could say anything, he spun on his boot heel and strode back to the truck. He spoke to the guys, who immediately looked her way as he left them and stalked around to the far side of the trailer. Through its bars she could see another truck, and to her dismay Will climbed into it and drove off toward town—leaving her trapped with nothing to do but sit and wait!
Haley fumed as she watched him disappear into the distance.
Payback was the pits.
Chapter Two
A few miles down the road, Will yanked his truck to a stop and stared out across the expanse of ranch land on the edge of town.
Haley Bell Thornton was back.
And he had to pretend it didn’t matter to him. Had to act as if he’d never loved her. As if watching her walk out of that church, leaving him standing alone at the altar ten years ago, hadn’t torn his heart out.
Will had always been a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of man. Pretending didn’t work for him, which accounted for his behavior just now. He’d let his guard down—what guard? He’d been so shocked when he’d realized Haley was sitting right there in front of him that he’d had no guard. Just pure reaction. And he’d reacted badly.
He was not normally a rude man. His faith in God’s plan for his life had been rocked to its very core after Haley had left him, but he’d learned to accept it and not blame God for it.
Haley was here, and he would simply deal with it. He wouldn’t allow himself to act like a child again. He’d make certain that the next encounter with Haley would be different. It had to be if he was going to come out of this with his self-esteem—not to mention his heart—intact. After all, Will was only a man.
Not that he would have to see her again while she was here. With Christmas coming he had plenty to do to keep busy. He had enough work lined up to keep him burning the midnight oil for the next six weeks, designing the custom gates and steel signs he was known for. Business was brisk. It never failed to strike him how blessed he was to be making a living doing something he loved. The demand for a custom Sutton gate was high. His western views decorated ranch entryways all over the world, a source of pure satisfaction for Will.
Through hard work and endless hours, he’d built a name for himself. All he had to do now was bury himself in his work the way he’d been doing for years and make it through the week. Only a week. Haley had proven she hated Mule Hollow, Texas. There was no way she would last here longer than one week.
If she lasted that long.
As far as he could tell, she’d achieved exactly what she longed for when she’d chosen Beverly Hills over him. Applegate had mentioned that she’d just sold her first multimillion-dollar mansion to a big Hollywood star. The commissions off sales of that magnitude would be hard for a person like Haley to stay away from. And a California real-estate agent couldn’t make sales from four states away.
Will didn’t know what brought Haley home, but there was no way he’d let his guard down while she was here. No way he’d take a chance at being left standing in the dust of her departure this go-round.
There was only so much a heart could take. His designs might be made of steel, but his heart was not.
Trudging up the steps to her grandpa’s—who had gone by plain, ol’ Applegate for as long as she could remember—Haley tripped on the hem of her dress. Yanking it up to her knees, she stomped to the door and twisted the doorknob as if it were Will Sutton’s neck. At this time of morning, Applegate would be in town playing checkers with his buddy Stanley. Rain or shine they passed the mornings away with daily checker games at Sam’s Diner. Poor Sam; Haley could only imagine what he had to put up with from those two constantly being underfoot.
Haley walked into her grandpa’s home, a little perturbed at him for not locking his door. He never locked his doors, didn’t think there was a need for such a thing in Mule Hollow. That was something she was going to have to speak to him about. Things changed. The world was not the place it used to be.
