was over him?
“When she heard you were coming back into town, she asked me to be her boyfriend. I wasn’t sure, because I don’t think she has a darn thing to prove to you.” He cleared his throat, his fists curling tightly at his sides. He couldn’t look at Tam, because she’d made a squeaking noise when he’d started talking.
“But she thought she did, and…certain things were said and done, and we started dating.”
Hayes kept the frown on his face as he looked from Blaine to Tam and back. “And now? it’s real or fake?”
Blaine shrugged, because he was pretty certain Tam was going to pummel him the moment they were alone, and he’d rather not take his heart out of his chest and give it straight to her to shatter. “We’re still working on the details,” he said.
“I hate you, Blaine Chappell,” Tam said, her voice deadly quiet. “And I hate you, Hayes Powell. Both of you get out of my shop.”
Blaine looked at her, the perfect rage on her face, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
Tears.
His heart tore right in half. “Tam,” he started.
“Get out,” she said, taking a menacing step forward. “Now. Both of you. Go!” She looked wild and ferocious, and Blaine turned to open the door. His heart pounding in terror, he left the shop, Hayes right behind him.
“Don’t call me,” she said. “Either of you. Don’t stop by ever again. We’re done.” She punctuated her words with a loud slamming of the door that actually made Blaine cringe. He ignored Hayes as he walked to his truck.
He had no idea what he was doing. He existed outside his own mind, his own existence. He just knew he didn’t want to be there anymore. He was so tired of thinking about Tam, and what he should say to Tam, and what should happen next between him and Tam.
He normally wouldn’t have left her alone with Hayes, but tonight, he fired up his truck and backed out of the parking lot first.
He normally wouldn’t have left town without letting someone know where he was going, but that someone was Tam, and he couldn’t tell her.
As he put the town of Dreamsville in his rear-view mirror, Blaine had the distinct realization that he’d just lost everything. His girlfriend, his best friend, and his chance for a happy future.
20
Tam lay face-down on her bed and cried. June kept whining, her head very close to Tam’s. Jasper paced up and down the length of her body, licking her feet every so often.
She hated crying almost as much as she hated dealing with her sister. She usually didn’t cry at all, except for a few instances in her life.
The hole in her soul was simply too wide to fill with doing dishes, cutting leather, or online shopping. She couldn’t fill it if she had an unlimited amount of chores, orders, and money, as the agony of it went on and on. It radiated deep down into her heart, and clear up into her mind.
It was endless, and painkillers didn’t touch the hurt cascading through her.
The worst part was she had absolutely no one to call.
You could call Cara, she thought, but she didn’t move. Besides, her sister was busy with her own life and her own boyfriend, and the one person Tam wanted to talk to she’d told never to call her or come by again.
Her tears started anew, and Tam simply let them flow from her. She had no other choice, because this heartbreak was simply the worst she’d ever experienced.
The next morning, she woke in her clothes, her neck aching and her face crusty. It took several seconds for her to realize where she was, and she sat up with a start, her heart beating rapidly.
She fumbled for her phone and checked the time. “I’m late.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed before she realized she owned her own business, and she could go into the shop whenever she wanted. She had no appointments that day and two saddles to finish.
Everything from yesterday rushed at her, and Tam found she couldn’t stand up. She couldn’t stomach the thought of showering or going to the shop. Her breath shook in her chest, and she couldn’t possibly carve and shave with such trembling in her body.
Before she could give it too much thought, she tapped out a couple of texts and sent them. Daniel Harrison and Cody Benson could wait