Not to mention she’d be living at the cottage on Rising Springs Ranch again.
On Mason’s home turf.
* * *
“Yum, this is just as delish as I remembered.” Drea swallowed a big hunk of her Chocolate Explosion cupcake. Unladylike, but Katie Rodgers, her bestie from childhood and owner of the bakery, would expect no less.
Her friend laughed and removed her apron. She put the Katie’s Kupcakes is Klosed sign on the door and joined Drea at the café table.
“You do not disappoint,” Drea said. “And you remembered my favorite.”
“Of course I did. Can’t forget all those times you’d come over and we’d bake up a batch. We were what, ten at the time?”
“Yeah, but ours never came close to these marvels you crank out at four in the morning. Gosh, you always knew what you wanted to do with your life. I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished, Katie. I bet you’ve got all of Boone Springs wrapped around your sugary fingers, with lines out the door in the morning.”
“I have no complaints,” she replied. “Business is good.” She sighed sweetly. “It’s great to have you back in town. I’ve missed you.”
Drea grabbed Katie’s hand and squeezed. “I’ve missed you, too. I couldn’t drive out to Rising Springs without seeing you first.”
“I’m glad you did. Only I wish it wasn’t temporary. I kinda like seeing you in person instead of on Facetime.”
“Well, let’s try to make the most of my stay here. We’re gonna both be busy, but we have to make a pact to see each other a few times a week,” Drea said.
“Pinkie promise?” Katie curled her last digit, and they linked fingers just like they had when they were kids.
“Pinkie promise.”
“Good, then it’s settled.” Katie began to rise. “Would you like a cup of coffee to wash down the cupcake? I could brew up a fresh pot.”
“When did your cupcakes ever need washing down?” She smiled. “No thanks. Any more coffee today and I swear I’ll float away. Let’s just talk.”
Katie smiled and plunked back into her seat. “Okay. So, you’re working on the hospital fund-raiser.”
She nodded.
“With Mason?”
“Yeah, which is the major drawback to my coming home. I have to make the fund-raiser my high priority, so I’m enduring the Boones for as long as it takes.”
“I get that it’s hard for you, Drea. I really do. It was hard on Mason, too, losing Larissa and the baby. From what I hear, he’s only just starting to come out of his grief.”
“It’s a tragedy. But let’s not talk about the Boones. Because if we do, then I’ll have to ask you about Lucas.”
Katie’s eyes rounded. “Lucas? We’re just friends. If that anymore.”
“Uh-huh. So you say.”
“For heaven’s sake, he was engaged to my sister. And he broke Shelly’s heart when he went off and joined the Marines.”
“But I hear he’s back now.” Drea took another bite of cupcake, certain she’d die from an overdose of decadence.
“Don’t remind me. Shelly still hasn’t healed from him running out on her like that. It was such a shock. Luke seemed true blue. After the breakup, Shelly hit some rough patches. Mom’s convinced it’s all Luke’s fault. I mean, it sounded more like something Risk would do. Not Luke.”
River “Risk” Boone, heartthrob and one-time famous rodeo rider, was the player in the Boone family.
“Yeah, well, we can’t forget he’s a Boone. It’s part of his DNA,” Drea said.
Katie’s right brow rose and she shook her head. “So, after all these years you haven’t gotten over it, either?”
“Over what? The fact that the Boones preyed on my father’s grief and then stole Thundering Hills out from under him? Our families had been friends for years, but as soon as my dad hit a rough patch, the Boones swooped in, stole our ranch and we were reduced to living at the cottage on Boone property. They gave Dad a pity job as caretaker. Then there’s Mason and all that he put me through... Oh, never mind. I don’t want to rehash it.” She waved her hand, ending her rant.
Katie gave her a serious knowing look. But Katie didn’t know everything. Drea hadn’t told her best friend what had happened after her debacle with Mason. How she ran into the arms of the first willing man and gave up her virginity. How she’d gotten pregnant and lost her baby. It had been the worst time of her life.
“I guess we need to put the past behind us, Drea. That’s what I keep telling my sister.”
“Yeah, easier said than done sometimes.”
She was through talking about the Boones. She polished off the cupcake and licked the frosting from her fingers, closing her eyes as she relished every last morsel of goodness. “Mmm.”
“So, I hear your dad is struggling a bit. The fall he took last week was pretty bad. When I heard about it, I stopped by his place with a batch of apricot thumbprints and half a dozen cupcakes.”
“Ahh, you’re the best. He loves your thumbprint cookies. Thanks for checking in on him.”
“He’s very excited to have you home.”
“I know.” She couldn’t say too much; her emotions were curled up in a knot about going home to Drew MacDonald. Maybe that’s why she was procrastinating. She’d missed her father, and she loved him. But she was a realist. Her dad would never win a Father of the Year award. Hard fact, but true.
“He’s changed, Drea. He’s trying very hard.”
She sighed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She glanced at her watch. “Which is what I should do just about now. I hate to go, but I’ve really gotta get on the road.”
“Will you text me later?”
“Of course.”
They both stood and then Katie went behind the counter. “Just a sec. I’m not sending you home empty-handed.” She packed up a white box with goodies and sealed it with a pastel pink Katie’s Kupcakes sticker. “Here you go,” she said, handing over the box. “Welcome home.”
“Thanks, friend. My hips will never be the same.”
“Your hips and my thighs. We’re all doomed.”
Drea chuckled and kissed Katie on the cheek. “At least we’ll both go down together.”
After she excited the shop, a sense of real doom flashed through her system.
She couldn’t procrastinate any longer.
It was time to go to the place she’d never considered home.
* * *
Drea parked her car in front of her father’s house just as the autumn sun was setting. Splashes of deep pink and purple painted the sky overhead. She’d forgotten the stunning sunsets in this part of Texas. How many years had it been since she’d seen a horizon so rich and vibrant? These wide-open spaces were tailor-made for such amazing spectacles. Texas was known for doing things large and the sight brought a little peace to her jittery heart.
Lordy be.
She chuckled at the slang that had come back to her after crossing state lines.
But she wasn’t that Texas girl any longer.