Page 22 of Falling Back to You

“Community college or—”

“Yeah, I could take online classes to start.”

“Are you aiming to get a degree?”

“Maybe finish up my associate’s. But now that I’m running the shop full time, I was thinking some business classes could be useful.”

“I think that’s great. You always got good marks in school. And Maple and I would be in the stands at your graduation cheering you on.”

“It’s just something I’m thinking about. I’m not sure if I can do it.”

“Well, that’s silly, because anything you put your mind to, you accomplish. I think getting shit done is your magic power.”

“What about you? Do you have a bucket list?”

“Yeah, to build my dream home.” I wanted a large house Maple could grow up in, not the tiny home we were quickly outgrowing. Time was running out—there were only about eleven more Christmases before she went off to college.

“What’s stopping you from doing that?”

“Shit, what’s stopping you from jumping out of a plane?”

“The lack of a plane. Your turn.”

“I’m just waiting for a few more things to fall into place.”

“Like?”

Like winning back my girl. I didn’t wanna build a life without her. So my dreams were on pause until I could share them with her. “I think you should start checking things off your bucket list.”

“I work twelve-hour days. There isn’t time for side quests.”

“We make time for the things that are important to us. So, you have to ask yourself, what do you want?”

“Right now, I want another slice of pizza.” She leaned forward, snagging a second serving.

Dial gave me pieces of herself in flashes. She was dissatisfied with where life had taken her and questioned what lay ahead. I could relate. After getting with Dial, I’d switched my life to autopilot, figuring as long as we were together, everything would be all right.

Now that we were apart, happiness came in waves. Dancing with Maple in the living room or when one of my horses performed a trick for the first time. But all the other moments were filled with a pining so rooted that it made my heart ache. I hated being stuck like this, but it was Dial or nothing.

And in the afterglow of sex, while eating pizza and drinking lukewarm beer, a wave of happiness overtook me.

5

Dial

Standing next to the window in the viewing room, I watched as Maple made rounds on her horse. She was growing more confident with each lesson and was hinting at an interest in competing, which gave me pause. Because competing professionally required dedication, and sometimes when hobbies became jobs, they were no longer fun.

If she was serious about horse riding, she was in good hands at Palmer Ranch—the facility was top notch, and Ozzie would make sure Maple was assigned to the best instructors they had.

Taking a seat in the viewing room, which allowed me to keep a close eye, I got comfortable. Maple’s lesson had just started, so I could spend the time returning emails. Scanning through my phone, I was shocked to find I had over thirty unread messages. Before leaving the office, I’d made a point to clear out my inbox, but like clockwork, the emails just kept racking up.

Reese had sent me a funny meme about clingy ex-boyfriends that caused me to chuckle. When I returned home from my date, I’d given her a play-by-play of what happened, and Reese had thoughts. I didn’t mention Ozzie and I having sex because I didn’t think it was relevant. She said if I was really done with Ozzie’s shit then I needed to stop sending mixed messages. Ozzie kept hanging around because he thought there was a chance, and my not setting boundaries was the crux of the problem.

She wasn’t telling me shit I didn’t know. Ozzie only did what I allowed him to do. If I’d made a bigger scene at the restaurant, he would have left with his tail between his legs. I’d just kinda hoped that Shelton would step up and intervene. Which was silly, because if Shelton had confronted Oz, he’d have gotten knocked out. Ozzie didn’t go looking for fights, and I didn’t think that was his intention last night. His goal was to intimidate Shelton and make him think twice before asking me out again.

Shelton

Good morning. I just wanted to check in on you.