She shook her head and started to stalk away but heard the sharp curse he tried to keep under his breath.
“You’re leaving? Again?” he ground out.
She felt the weight of tears behind her eyes and wanted to run. She was good at running. Dr. Matthews always told her that. And she had been right. It was time to stop. Seeing Caleb had proven that.
Julie swung around. “I don’t know what else to say.”
“That makes two of us. But I know that there’s a whole lot more we need to say to each other. Don’t you think?”
“Fair enough. But… I’m not ready, Hunter.”
He looked at her is if she were crazy, and she actually did feel that way. She had felt that way for long time. Dr. Matthews had insisted she wasn’t crazy. She was just grieving. Just. As if it was a small thing.
Julie knew her therapist didn’t think her grief was a small thing. She did feel like Julie had spent years trying to marginalize it in order to cope, which was why she was here today. She had to stop doing that if she had any chance of moving on with her life.
“I’m here. Not in Sweet, but close by anyway,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know what I thought this would be like. I knew it was never going to be easy or comfortable for either of us.”
“You could say that.”
She fiddled with her hands as she forced herself to look at the stricken expression on Hunter’s face. “I think it’s time we talk. But I think we should wait until we both have a chance to get used to the fact that we are seeing each other again.”
He shook his head. “We’re not seeing each other, Julie. You left. For a long time, I might add. Just because you show up here—”
“I don’t mean dating. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“This isn’t easy. Can we just leave this initial meeting as is, and say that we will talk in a few days so that each of us can get our bearings and then get some closure?”
“Bearings? I lost my bearings a long time ago when you left. Is that what you really want?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s the only reason you came back?”
She didn’t trust her voice anymore, so she nodded.
He kicked the dirt with his boot in frustration and cast a cold stare in her direction. “I had closure the day I found out that you left when you were pregnant with my child. And never bothered to tell me.”
Her mouth dropped open. Caleb hadn’t told her that Hunter knew.
“Yeah, I know about the baby,” he said. “And I want to know what happened.”
Tears filled her eyes. “There is no baby. Not anymore. I’ll call you in a few days.”
The look in his eyes shattered her heart. Would he have wanted their baby? Had he known all this time she’d been pregnant?
“Why bother? I think you just told me everything I need to know.”
Julie watched Hunter stalk into the barn. He had no idea how wrong he was. But she couldn’t tell him the truth today. Seeing his reaction, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to get through telling him the truth without feeling a piece of her die.
Sweet Montana Secrets: Chapter Two
Julie met Caleb at a small sandwich shop outside of Sweet. She didn’t want to stay anywhere where she’d run the risk of having to answer questions she wasn’t ready to answer.
“So how did it go with Hunter?” he asked.
“About as well as I’d expected.”
Caleb sighed. “I know I pushed you but…he deserved to see you, Julie.”
She gave him a sidelong glance as they sat at the counter waiting for the waitress to serve their food.
“Who are you? If I had told you when I was in high school that I was seeing a rodeo cowboy ten years older than me, you would have skinned me or locked me in my bedroom.”
“That was ten years ago. And don’t let the badge fool you. I may still skin you.”
It was odd. She hadn’t known her brother hand gone into law enforcement when she’d gone searching for him. She’d found his number and his address and kept it in her wallet. Just in case. But that was as far as it went. Seeing him walk into the sandwich shop wearing a police uniform nearly made her laugh, and filled her with pride at the same time.
“How long have you been a police officer?”
“Since I was discharged.”
“Yeah? I never knew that was something you wanted to do.”
“I foolishly thought that maybe it would help me find you.”
Her shoulders sagged. “I found you. Maybe I’m a better detective than you are,” she said, trying to give him a competitive tease.
“I’m not a detective. Maybe someday, but not yet.”
“Oh.”
The waitress served their sandwiches. She had her usual tuna fish on a roll and he had a bison burger and fries. She’d never quite gotten the taste for bison like so many other people in the area.
“So when did you start dating Katie Dobbs?”
“Last winter.”
He smiled in a way Julie had never seen before. All she’d done was mention her friend Katie’s name and Caleb was beaming.
“And you’re in love?” She knew the answer. It didn’t take a genius to read his expression.
“Yes.”
No hesitation. No needing to think about it. He was in love.
“She’s the one, Julie. You don’t know how many times over the last few months I’ve wanted to say that to you, hoping I’d get the chance to say it.”
She nodded and forced a smile past her envy. “I’m glad.”
“I want you to move back home,” Caleb said, ignoring his burger.
“Why?”
“I should think it would be obvious. You’re my sister and I miss you.”
“I’m only an hour or so away. There’s no reason for me to move to Sweet.”
“Come home,” Caleb urged.
“What home? Mom and Dad sold the house and moved away. There is no home in Sweet.”
“There’s my
