leave matters alone, but it was clear from the sunken look about Preston that he was brokenhearted. Keaton recognized that pain all too well. He didn’t know if he could help, but he decided to try.
“You on the outs with Mellie?”
“What if I am?”
Keaton set down the bag of dog food and leaned against the kennel door. This wasn’t the Preston he knew of late. Since spending nearly every free moment with Mellie this summer, his friend had been like a big puppy, happy and carefree.
“Anything I can do?” Keaton asked, opening the kennel door. A terrier mix leapt into his arms.
“Nope. Not a thing.”
They continued to work in silence for several minutes.
“You take Mellie her mail?” Preston asked. The words seemed to be wrenched from him like he hated asking but couldn’t help himself.
“Yeah.”
“She say anything?”
“Not to me.” Now that he thought about it, that wasn’t like Mellie. “Never knew her not to have a complaint about something.”
A hint of a smile came and went from Preston.
“She was shockingly subdued when I stopped by.”
Preston nodded, that coming as no surprise to him. He finished feeding the dogs. Keaton noticed that the cats and other animals had already been fed. His row had several empty stalls, so he was finished at about the same time. Preston stored the food, turned off the lights, and locked the doors.
Keaton walked with him and stopped abruptly, his steps faltering. Standing in the middle of the shelter parking lot was Annie.
It felt like he’d been sucker-punched, and for one wild moment he couldn’t breathe. Generally, he was better prepared and could control his reaction when he saw her, but this time she’d caught him off guard. Right away his eyes locked on to her as if pulled by a magnetic force beyond his control.
She looked as stunned as he felt, but after a second she acknowledged him with a tight nod.
“Preston, do you have a minute?” she asked, dragging her eyes away from Keaton.
His friend stuffed his hands into his back pockets. “What’s on your mind?”
“It’s Mellie.”
Preston’s entire body tensed. “What’s the problem?”
“She loves you.”
He snickered loudly and shook his head in denial. “She loves me so much she kicked me out of her house. Damn near shoved me out the door.”
“You frightened her.”
“Me? Look at me, Annie. Am I a scary guy?”
Annie wasn’t backing down. “You said you loved her.”
Keaton turned to his friend. He’d known that Preston had loved Mellie since he was a skinny high school kid. It’d broken his heart when she ran off all those years ago. When she’d come back to town, Keaton had urged him to make his move, only to be rejected.
Five years.
It’d taken Preston a long time to work up courage enough to let Mellie know how he felt. For a while everything seemed to be working out for him.
“Yeah, well, that was a big mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Annie said gently. “She’s miserable—”
“Listen,” Preston said, cutting Annie off mid-sentence. “I gave it my best shot and learned my lesson. No guy wants to toss his heart in the ring and then have it stomped on, and that’s what Mellie did.”
“I know what you’re saying, but…”
Preston walked over to his truck and opened the door. “And no guy wants to hear that his declaration of love makes someone miserable. As far as I’m concerned it’s over.”
“Preston, please listen.”
“No!” he shouted adamantly. “I had my say, and I’m done making a fool out of myself.”
Both Keaton and Annie gasped. For as long as Keaton had known Preston, he’d never heard his friend raise his voice.
“I’m finished,” Preston insisted. “I’ve pined after that woman for years. Well, no more. It’s over, understand? I don’t want anything more to do with her. Mellie made it plain she doesn’t have feelings for me. Fine. I’ve accepted her decision and am grateful for the honesty. Didn’t really think I had a shot, anyway.”
“Can’t a woman change her mind?” Annie asked, and then, looking to Keaton, added in a low hush, “Or a man?”
Preston remained unconvinced. “You can tell her for me that it’s too late.”
Keaton had no clue Preston could be this stubborn.
“Won’t you at least talk to her?” Annie pleaded.
Preston was sticking to his resolve and refused to budge. “Heard all I want to hear from Mellie.”
“Okay, I understand how you feel. But tell me, what would it take for you to give her another chance?”
“Not happening.” Preston wasn’t bending.
“Come on, be reasonable,” Annie pleaded.
Keaton had