Another Cold State Line

Hayley had looked amazing and seeing her after all these years had been amazing, crazy, and wonderful. There was so much else I wanted to talk to her about. I wished we could have talked forever about everything. She made me feel safe. I liked to think I still made her feel safe.

But like all things, I had to go back to reality. Hayley never really gave an explanation for why she left me five years ago. All she said was that she needed time for her. I understood, I really did, but there was this petty part of me that also realized I had taken a bullet for her. And the hard part was that I still loved her.

"Matt, where are you?" Zach's voice came over my phone. "We're prepping from tour and you're MIA. Why does that always happen?"

I laughed a little. It felt like a genuine laugh for the first time in a long time. "I'm up at the cabin. I needed to clear my head for a bit, and I just thought I would be able to write. Something else happened though, V."

"And what was that?" Something heavy dropped in the background. "COME ON CHRIST! Don't drop shit! Sorry, Matt. What happened?"

"I... I saw Hayley. We went on a date." It felt real for me to say it aloud. That woman had made me a better man, and for that, I would always be thankful.

"Hayley? As in... five years ago, Hayley?" The other line went silent for a while. Then I heard the two other important voices in my life.

"Matt, are you shitting me?" Brian sounded like the combination of a happy puppy and a curious cat. That was the weirdest metaphor I could think of. There was really no way to describe how my best friend sounded. "Did you really see the woman that stole your heart?"

"I'm with Gates on this one," the little gnome said, "Are you sure it was really Hayley?"

I nodded, even though they couldn't see me. "Yes. We ran into each other at the grocery store, and it was like she hadn't aged a day. I asked her out for dinner. It was incredible to see her again. My world felt right for the first time in the longest time."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Z asked. He was always the one to go for love. He was the most romantic of us all.

"I'm not sure yet, but I do want to keep in touch with her. It was like fate intervened."
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Packing up my bags, I knew I needed to see Hayley one last time before I left. If I left without seeing her, I knew I would regret it. With my bags in the car, I headed to the ranches. I may be a city boy, but I knew this area pretty well.

"Excuse me," I said to a man on a horse. "I'm looking for Hayley Lewis's ranch. Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah, just head right down this road. How do you know Lewis, city slicker?" The man had an accent, distinctly from the south.

"We're old friends. And you?"

"I'm her ranch manager." He tipped his hat and me and continued on his work path.

When I found my way to the ranch, I parked my car and hopped out. If Fate really wanted us to be together, Hayley would be here. It took everything in me to knock on her door, but I was happy when I finally did. The door swung open and there stood my brown-haired beauty.

"Matt! What are you doing here?"

"I was about to head back to Huntington Beach so we could start our tour. But I was hoping we could exchange info so we could talk while I'm away."

She smiled brightly. "Yes, that sounds great."

Notes

Short update but hey! It's an update!