Free Bring Me Home by Candi Wall Page B

hours and years Miya had blamed Shawn Dalton.
    She already knew. She’d always known. He was right. She’d used the situation with Susan to escape her fear of being stuck.
    There was no reason to hear it from anyone else. She’d made her choice, and the last thing she wanted was to go to Shawn on someone else’s reassurances. “No, Penelope. I don’t. I believe Shawn, and that’s all I need to know.”
    She wanted nothing more than to leave that minute.
    â€œHere.” Chloe passed her the keys to the car. “I’ll get Penelope to give me a ride, or I’ll take a cab.”
    Penelope looked between them with some confusion, but agreed. “Sure thing. Chloe and I will finish shopping—”
    Miya didn’t hear the rest. She was going home.
    Nervousness. Plain and simple.
    She was nervous as hell. That explained the shakiness in her hands and the rapid beat of her heart. She had to force herself to concentrate on the curves in the dirt road. No simple task with numerous visions of what could happen racing through her head.
    She might very well be overthinking this anyway. Shawn certainly seemed to want her, but he hadn’t said anything about forever. Fair was fair. She hadn’t given him a chance to explain four years ago, and he might not give her the chance to show him she still loved him. She was willing to take that chance.
    The small sign ahead indicated the entrance to the Dalton Ranch and she took a deep breath. This was it. Turning up the long drive, she smiled. She wouldn’t let him out of bed until he gave in. He’d said he planned to convince her to come home. Now it was up to her to make him believe that she would. For him, and for herself. She’d always belonged in Dead End. She’d just had to see it for herself first.
    She pulled the car to a stop in front of his house and pried her fingers from the steering wheel. Shutting the car off, she opened the door and stepped out. The sudden wish that he would come out onto the porch, invite her in with a smile and beg her to stay forever warped through her mind.
    No such luck. Dead silence met her. She’d actually have to walk up there and knock. Good Lord did she ever want to run.
    With a hard swallow to alleviate the lump forming in her throat, she squared her shoulders and marched up the steps. Not a lot had changed on his family’s ranch, though there were some differences. The corral that had always held numerous horses now stood empty. The large barn where she and Shawn had whiled away the hours in the hayloft now sagged at the roof, its weatherworn paint cracked and faded.
    She rapped her knuckles on the metal portion of the screen door and waited. The porch was new, the scent of fresh pine and wood stain filled her nose. There weren’t any curtains in the windows, and the delicious smell of Mama Dalton’s baking was conspicuously absent. Some things had changed. Personal things in the lives of people she’d left behind.
    She cringed when she remembered the way she’d waited for Momma’s emails after she’d mentioned that Joy Dalton had suffered a stroke. Damn it. She was such a bitch. She’d been so caught up in her own issues she hadn’t even asked about his mother… He’d dealt with so many hardships. Losing his father when he was ten… His mother had been his hero, and Miya had been too self-absorbed to ask about her. Another mistake she had to rectify. It explained so much about the ranch. Shawn was obviously taking care of his Momma and the home.
    Knocking again, she peeked into the windows. On a throw rug, near the large fireplace, was Hooch. It amazed her that the old hunting hound was still alive. He must be near fifteen. And as deaf as always since he didn’t even raise his head at her knock. No one moved inside, not a sound to lead her to believe Shawn might be there.
    She glanced back at the drive. She’d parked next