As I go downstairs the next morning, I can smell coffee brewing. It's welcoming after all the wine last night. Luckily, the power came back on late last night, and I cooked up a bunch of grilled cheese sandwiches so we could all absorb the excess alcohol and fare better in the morning.

I peek into the living room where Oliver had passed out on the couch last night, but he's not there. The blankets I gave him are folded nicely and sitting on the couch.

I head over to the kitchen, where I see a half pot of coffee, and help myself to a mug. The door to the back porch is slightly ajar, so I slip out it. I find Brandi sipping coffee quietly from the porch couch.

"Morning," I say as I plop down next to her. "Oliver leave already?"

"Yeah, he was already up and going when I woke up," she says with a yawn. "Said he'd call you later."

"Okay," I nod as I sip on my coffee.

"You know if y'all get back together, you're going to have the same problem you did before," she says and then gives a pointed look at the trailer out in the field.

"No one is talking about getting back together," I say with a roll of the eyes.

"Mhm," she mumbles as she sips her coffee. "That's why y'all disappeared for so long. I'm surprised Hunter didn't pull his hair out."

"We ducked into the barn to get out of the storm, and then we talked some. I told him how bad it broke me when he left."

"Seriously?" Her eyes widen.

"I know, right? I guess all the wine pushed my pride aside."

"What'd he say?" She asks. "I'm sorry, but I don't think there's any excuse. A year or two, sure, but at some point, he should've, I don't know, followed you on Instagram or something."

"I know, and I'm not gonna just forgive him for that. I can't, but I did see how bad he felt, and that helps." I bite my lip as his teary face comes to mind. "He told me he wants to reconcile our friendship now."

"Do you?"

"Of course I do. We were best friends from the time we were born. It's like a hole in my life without him. I just know it's going to be hard. There's still a lot of crap to sort through. I'm hoping for the best, but there are some things he and I will never agree on."

"Yeah, there are," she agrees. "I get it, but maybe with the time passed, y'all can talk about all that stuff now. You already got into some of it, it sounds like."

"Yeah, maybe," I say thoughtfully. "The thing is, he said he always wanted to reconcile our friendship someday, but he was scared to face me. He said I inspired the bookstore he's making."

"That sounds like the Olly I know," Brandi says with a wistful look. "I think you could find your way back to friends, Kinz. But.. I don't know if that'll ever be enough for him."

"Just because he sounds like our old Olly doesn't mean he is," I say slowly. "After everything... there's no path back for us as a couple, and I doubt he'd want one."

"I don't know about that, Kinz," she says and then laughs. "Shit, I feel like we just circled back twenty years."

"You do?"I let out a dry laugh.

"You must be reeling, like Olly showing up here ain't enough. To find out he basically blocked you and Hunter from happening too." she lets out a low whistle.

"Yeah, that's a mind fuck," I confess.

"Your brain already doing the what-if dance?" she asks.

"A little, but I don't know, even if Hunter had asked me to the homecoming dance. By the time summer came 'round, he'd have been over me. I would've been crushed by him either way, I guess. Maybe the never was, was a better hurt."

"What are you on about? He wouldn't have been over you by summer," she laughs.

"Well, he was over whatever crush he had by then," I shrug. "Remember my crushing despair after Hunter rejected me that summer?"

"Ohhhh," she draws out the word. "So, they didn't tell you about their conversation that summer then."

"What?" I'm getting whiplash now. How many secret conversations have there been?

"Wait, are you talking about whenever Olly- Oliver told Hunter he was going to tell me he loved me?"

"You don't have to correct yourself when he's not here," she laughs harder. "Hold that thought. I need more coffee."

"We both should be saying Oliver, so we get used to saying it right when he's around and bring out the pot. I need some, too."

As she heads in, I finish the rest of my coffee, which is getting cold. My eyes fall to Hunter's trailer, and my mind returns to that summer and the horrified look in his eyes that day he rejected me.

Brandi comes back out and refills my cup, then hers, setting the pot on the patio table before she sits back down.

"So you know Olly–"

"Oliver," I correct her.

"Correct me again, and I'll hit you," she teases, and we giggle.

"Joking, but seriously, I can't freaking help it. Anyway," she drawls pointedly, and I shut up to listen. "You know that Oliver told Hunter he was going to tell you he was in love with you when he got home from his dad's that summer, right?"

"Right, it's what led to –"

"You being a backstabbing ho," she says teasingly, and I make a face at her.

"What you don't know," Brandi continues. "Was the timing of that phone call was a little suspect."

"What do you mean?" I ask for clarification as I take a small sip from my now piping-hot coffee.

"Remember that day I asked you if you had any feelings for Olly, and you said you didn't?"

"Yeah, you were digging for yourself," I accuse.

"Well, yeah, I wanted to know for me, but I was asking for Olly. He and I were each other's like break-up coaches that summer. I know it wasn't a breakup with you, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I gotcha," I confirm.

"But he started changing his mind and saying he needed to at least try and go for it with you before he moved on, but he was scared. He wanted me to ask you about him and see if there was any hope."

"What did you tell him?" I ask with a frown. I still feel really bad knowing poor younger Olly was hurting so much when he was around me.

"I was blunt. I told him you didn't see anybody that way, but Hunter and I warned him that you were ready to talk to Hunter about it. I told him so he could prepare himself for it," Brandi explains. "But that's not what he did."

"What do you mean?"

"So this phone call Olly and I had was the afternoon before you talked to Hunter. Olly then called Hunter later that night, and they had their conversation. Hunter rejected you the next day. You can do the math from here, Kinz."

"What are you... so you think Hunter... rejected me because Olly told him he was in love with me?"

"Talk to Hunter."

As if on cue, his trailer door opens, and Hunter steps out. My mind is spinning so fast that I can't catch up with it. His hair is wet, and he runs a hand through it before seeing us and waving. He's got his truck keys and thermos in the other hand. I hear his truck roar to life as he heads towards us.

"I'm running late, so I got to fill up and run," Hunter says, holding up his thermos as he steps onto the porch.

"Bring it over," I say as I stand and pick up the pot. He tips his thermos towards me, and I fill it for him.

"I got up early to check all the trees. All good, except one of the older Macintoshes lost a branch. Luckily, it wasn't flowering. I'll clean it up later this week."

"Thanks, Hunter," I offer. "I probably shoulda' done that."

"I got it, Kinz. I told your dad I'd keep an eye on the orchard this week."

"Dinner later?" He asks as he's capping his thermos.

"Yeah, sure." I agree easily. "What are you in the mood for? I'll cook."

"No, you will not. I'm taking you out, Darlin. Text me what you're in the mood for, and I'll make a reservation."

"You don't have to do all that.."

"Bye, ladies!" he ignores me and flashes me a cheeky grin before jumping off the deck.

Brandi glances over at me after he disappears around the corner. "We going up to your closet to figure out what you're wearing tonight, or are we going shopping?"

"I literally sat on this porch going over a mountain of debt yesterday, and I don't have a job."

"But you also don't have anything you want to wear, do you?" she correctly guesses. "I got you, girl. You're single now, you need some new clothes. I got the day off. So let's get ready, and we'll head out of town for the day, go to the mall for old-time's sake."

"Brandi, I can't let you do all that. I know how hard it is with Billy's kids."

"Is it hard? Yes. But I'm not broke, Kinz. Stephanie does get a little help from the state, and James's crew has been great for the bar. Those guys are so generous. Funny, they say southern men are gentlemen, but the old cowboys in the bar usually give me pennies compared to what these city guys are leaving."

"Wow, that's great... I uh was really harsh on James," I say sheepishly.

"I did try telling you they seemed good for the town."

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna need to apologize to him," I agree.

"And I'm going to need to stop fantasizing about him," Brandi says with a sad sigh.

"Says who?" I say as I stand up. "You can call James Daddy, and Olly can call you Mommy."

"Kinsey!" She jumps up as I laugh and dart into the house.

*** 

I'm relieved I let Brandi take me shopping; my closet looks much happier and more my style. It's yet another step back to myself. She then insisted we get our hair done. I only cut a few inches and added some layers, but it feels great. I walked out of the mall with a bounce in a step.

I let Brandi pick out my outfit for tonight, too, or I'd have spent hours overthinking it. I'm wearing an off-white cowgirl-style prairie dress, with a fitted bodice with buttons, and a short skirt that flares out a little. I pair it with my cowboy boots, leaving my newly chopped locks loose and slightly wavy.

I sneakily texted Hunter earlier that I was in the mood for steak, knowing that's what he'd prefer. If he's paying, we'll go where he wants. I assume he'll take me to the steakhouse right outside of town.

My mind's been running all day. I know he will talk to me tonight, and I have an inkling what about it, but I still don't know what to do with it or him.

My feelings are a whirlpool of a mess now that Oliver is here. I want to reconcile that friendship badly, and I can't imagine that'll go well if I'm exploring something with Hunter at the same time.

That is only the tip of it, though. The idea of Hunter leaving my life like Oliver scares the shit out of me. No matter what Hunter says, Oliver has shown me that promises can be broken, and not only that. I also learned that shifting a friendship into a relationship irrevocably changes that friendship. The dynamic Hunter and I have is something very special to me. Am I willing to change it?

"Jesus, Kinz, he hasn't even said anything yet, and you're already doing this," I mutter out loud.

I need to get my brain to settle down before I lose my shit. Maybe I should take a shot. Is it weird to do that before a date? Wait, is this a date? No, of course, it isn't. Is it?

"Fuck it, I'm taking a shot."

I'm about to pour the whiskey when I hear the roar of Hunter's truck coming. I look out the window and see him pulling into the field and parking near his trailer.  I have time then while he gets ready, but I still put the whiskey away. Better I keep a clear head even if it is running a million miles a minute.

**

In the twenty minutes I stand pacing and waiting for Hunter, I nearly change my mind on the shot at least five times. I'm wearing out the living room carpet when I hear his truck rolling up.

"Will you stop? It's just Hunter. We have had dinner a million times," I whisper to myself before walking to the door.

I open it just as he steps onto the porch, and my mouth goes dry.

His long dark hair is still damp but combed back nicely; he's wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and, with it, a flannel that's fitted on him and tucked in, showing off his belt buckle, the one I had custom-made for his thirtieth. It's a white gold square buckle with an H engraved, and four blue stones, that remind me of his eyes, are etched into each corner. 

It's so rare for Hunter to put effort into his look. And he doesn't need to anyway, but when he does...

Well, shit, now I wish I had taken that shot.

"Fucking gorgeous," he says as his gaze burns into me, turning my cheeks a nice shade of scarlet. He takes my hand and kisses it, and it's cute and makes me giggle, easing my stupid nerves.

"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Wilde," I shoot back with a flirty wink. "Love the buckle."

"My favorite for some reason," he says with a chuckle and then takes my hand. "Let's go wine and dine you, Darlin."

I find myself grinning, all my earlier worries momentarily shelved as we walk to the truck.

*** 

"Where are we going? You passed Carl's Steakhouse," I comment as Hunter whizzes down the road.

"We're not going to Carl's," he replies as he takes a left towards...

"Bella Sera?" I say excitedly as I see the familiar little brick building ahead.

"Mhm." He is smirking now as he pulls into the parking lot.

"But I told you steak."

"Because that's what you thought I wanted," He drawls. "Nice try, Little Darlin."

"Oh yeah? What if you were wrong, and I did want steak?"

"Because given a choice, you always pick pasta," he says as he parks. "But if you want me to turn around and go to Carl's..."

"Don't you dare, you're right," I admit; I should've known I couldn't trick him. No one knows me better than Hunter.

We head inside, and I love the smell of garlic bread filling the cozy restaurant with it's dark red carpet and brick walls. It's dimly lit and only seats about ten tables and a bar, but that adds to the cozy feel of it. The tables are spaced well apart, and a big fireplace makes the room nice and toasty.

We are seated close to the fireplace, and I'm sure Hunter asked for that, knowing I tend to run cold. Hunter pulls out my chair for me, and I sit as the server comes by to greet us and take our drink order.

Hunter orders an IPA, as always, and I get a martini. I did a good job not having a shot earlier, but I need something stiff now. We lucked out because they have a porterhouse special tonight, so Hunter will get to have his steak anyway.

Meanwhile, I am struggling, my brows furrowed as I try to choose.

"Kinz, why are you mad at the menu?" Hunter asks.

"Because they have chicken parmesan and chicken carbonara, and I can't pick," I whine.

"Get both."

"I can't eat two entrees!"

"So eat half of each and take the other half home for lunch tomorrow. I'll do the same because I want that steak special, but lasagna sounds good, too."

"They're gonna think we're nuts."

"Oh well," he shrugs. "Should we get a bunch of apps too? Let's stuff ourselves like we used to do on the road."

"This isn't an Applebees, Hunter," I remind him. "These aren't go crazy prices."

"They are tonight," he says. "So stop looking at the prices and pick out some apps you want. Hell, get a third entree even."

"Hunter!"

"I'm serious, Darlin. You know why I wanted to take you out?"

Well, uh, yeah, and it's why I'm drinking a martini...

His eyes fill with a realization, "Oh, you thought I was gonna... no wonder you're so nervous."

"So, you don't want to have that talk you mentioned the other night?" I question curiously.

"I do believe me, I do. And am I feeling some type of pressure now that Oliver is here? Hell yes. Speaking of that, I want to talk to you tonight about some stuff from the past." He says, and I nod because I have questions about that. "But, I meant what I said that night about you being fresh out of your marriage and how I ain't trying to rush you."

"Thank you for that," I say with a sigh; I'm relieved and maybe just slightly disappointed, but mostly relieved. I'm not ready for that talk, although the reasons have little to do with Julian.

"Tonight was about taking you out and showing you a good time because I know your good-for-nothing ex-husband never did that. I want to see you smile after that rough meeting with him yesterday. That's all, Darlin. I don't have any other motivations than that right now."

"Somehow, you always know exactly what I need," I sigh, and he squeezes my hand.

"You two ready to order?" The server asks as she comes back.

"Oh yeah! Get ready for this one," Hunter says with a big grin.