Chapter 167

Hope could feel tears filling her eyes, and she knew what her mama would say—she didn't love Doc Howard. But that would beg the question of who did she love, and something told her right now was not the time to confess how she was truly feeling about the man standing in front of her, the one tearing her heart out and tossing it out the window. He'd leave—she knew he was strong enough to do that. How, she didn't quite understand, but then, he'd been through enough in his life that he had to have built many layers of protection around his own heart, and for the moment, she was slightly jealous of that armor, even if she didn't envy him the way it'd been formed.

"Don't cry over me, Hope. I ain't worth it."

She nodded and used her free hand to swipe away at the solitary tear that fell down her cheek. He was wrong—he was worth it. But she would find a way to keep her tears in check until she was in the solace of her own home, the one he'd built for her.

"When do you think you'll go?"