“Where ar—” the call dropped.
I’d call her back on my way home. I had work to do. When I pulled onto the lane that led up to the meeting place, I saw a black Expedition pulling an Airstream trailer and a red pick-up truck pulling a large black enclosed trailer with silver lettering scrawled artistically down the side of it: Throttled Energy.
Had some energy drink manufacturer bought the property?
I parked my car behind the Airstream and took a look at myself in the rearview mirror. My hair was a tangled mess from driving with the windows down and I had a few tear streaks where apparently a few tears had leaked without my knowledge during my stroll down memory lane. I smoothed it out the best I could before securing it in a loose bun at the nape of my neck with a random elastic band I found in my cup holder. Then, I wiped away the tear stains and slicked on a coat of lip gloss.
I grabbed the folder of papers that needed a signature and got out of my car. I didn’t see anyone around, but the back of the trailer was open.
“Hello,” I called out. The familiar roar of dirt bike motors could be heard off in the distance. Just what this town needed—some Reid Travers wannabe moving in. I would have bet money that whoever it was knew that Reid had learned to ride on this property and thought they could recreate magic. Ugh. And judging from the company name on the trailers, they were probably going to charge admission.
“Hi,” a voice answered from inside the trailer. “I’ll be right out.”
“Great. I’m Nora from Hillcrest Realty. I have the contracts for the land deed.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” the man said as he stepped to the back of the trailer with an expression of pure surprise widening his features. “Nora Bennett. Long time, no see.”
I took in his full frame. He didn’t look like the boy that had moved away with his family all those years ago. Hoyt Travers was all grown up, and quite well I might add, but I still recognized his smile. It was just as sweet as ever. The Travers boys had been blessed with very generous genes.
“Hoyt? Wow. How are you?” I smiled back at him. He wrapped his arms around me unexpectedly and I giggled like a schoolgirl—something I couldn’t remember doing in years. Hoyt and I had started Kindergarten together way back when. He was actually the first Travers to give me the time of day. He had been the one who invited me over to his house to go swimming the summer before high school. The same summer that his brother finally noticed I was alive.
“You look good, Hoyt. But you’re squeezing me to death.”
“My bad,” he replied quickly squeezing me one more time before releasing me. “You look pretty damn good yourself. And I’m doing all right.”
“RTR Incorporated?” I inquired, gesturing to the lettering. “That’s you?”
“Kind of.” He shrugged. “Reid Travers Racing.”
“Of course.” I should have figured the second I heard the dirt bikes. “You buying the land?”
“We are.” His use of we should have been an indicator of what I was avoiding asking. There was no way he drove both of these vehicles to Illinois by himself, but I really doubted that Reid would have come back now. Or ever. He’d gone seven solid years without so much as glancing back. Why would he start now? “Reid is going to shit a brick when he sees you,” Reid whistled lowly.
“So he’s here then?” I had not been prepared for an impromptu reunion with my ex. So much for my internal reasoning that he wouldn’t be there. His brother I could handle, but seeing Reid again had a lump forming in my throat that was threatening to cut off my air supply. “I mean... I doubt it,” I choked out taking a deep breath.