was serious. Not when she looked so very distraught. “Amy, love, we need to—”
“No,” she said again, louder. “No. Just . . . no, okay, Caleb? Please believe me when I say no. I think you’re amazing but I can’t do this right now. Any of this.” She shook her head frantically and then fumbled back toward her car.
He wanted to chase after her, but she was acting erratic. The last thing he wanted was for her to peel out of the gravel parking lot so fast she lost control. He was forced to watch her back her car up and head back out, leaving him behind.
Caleb didn’t understand what had just happened.
She’d broken up with him. Obviously. That part stung. It stung his pride and it made his chest ache, because he wanted her desperately. Every moment that he spent with her just reinforced how much he loved her, how she’d always been the right one for him. He’d known it the moment he saw her.
He’d thought she was falling for him, too. She’d never seemed unhappy on their dates. She’d been delighted with every letter he’d given her, confessing his feelings one piece at a time. She’d smiled and laughed when he woke her up in bed.
They’d made love last night staring into each other’s eyes and she told him she’d come so hard she’d seen stars. He’d kissed her and gone down on her again just to make sure she saw those stars twice.
For it to all change now, this afternoon, hours after he’d been at her side?
Something had happened.
Bewildered, he watched her car head down the road and disappear. He wanted to text her . . . but she was driving. Hell, he wanted to get into his damn truck and follow behind her. Just show up at her house and demand answers. Grab her and kiss her until she relented and decided they’d be together again.
He didn’t understand what had just happened . . . at all.
Caleb watched the long driveway for a while, just in case she turned around and declared that she’d changed her mind. He hoped she’d show up and tell him what was bothering her, so he could help her figure it out. But the road remained empty, and his chest ached with a strange hollowness.
Maybe she’d meant it after all.
He wandered back toward the main house, feeling that hollowness spreading through his body. With Amy, he’d found joy in the smallest of things. He liked everything about spending time with her, but now days—weeks, months, years—without her stretched in front of him like slow torture. If it really was over between them . . . what did he have to look forward to? Why was he even here in Painted Barrel? Just to be near her? Even if she didn’t want him around?
He’d do it. On the off chance she needed him, he’d always be there for her. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want him. He’d always, always want her. Amy was it for him.
When he went inside, Uncle Ennis was sitting at the dining room table across from Jack, doing crossword puzzles and drinking coffee. “Thought I saw your girl’s car pull up,” his elderly uncle commented.
“You okay?” Jack asked Caleb, frowning at him. “You look . . . strange.”
Caleb ran a hand down his face. “I think Amy just broke up with me.”
“You think?” Jack echoed.
Caleb shrugged, unable to find the words. When they continued to stare at him, he let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. She just came here, all frantic. Said it wasn’t me but we couldn’t be together.”
“It might be you,” Jack said. “She might just be saying that.”
Caleb thumped down into an empty chair, drained. He couldn’t process it. No Amy? Never again? It didn’t seem possible. “I don’t understand.”
His uncle peered at him over his bifocals. “What exactly did she say, again?”
Caleb had to think about it. “She was crying. Said I was perfect . . . and then said she couldn’t do a relationship right now.”
“Ah.” Uncle Ennis gave him a knowing look. “It’s not you, then.” He tapped his pencil on the crossword puzzle. “What’s a three-letter word for ‘to obfuscate’?”
“I don’t even know what obfuscate means,” Jack replied.
“It means . . . well . . . it means when you . . . obfuscate something. You know. You hide it or something.” His uncle paused. “I think.”
Caleb resisted the urge to snatch the crossword puzzle from his