Unfinished Business

Prologue

Darlington, South Carolina was the kind of town people never left.

And that's not always a bad thing. Some people would prefer to take over their parents' farm when they're old enough or live in a place where literally everyone knows everyone, but small towns were never my vibe. At least I thought until I got to know the people there.

I moved to Darlington right before my senior year started. My dad got a new job to study the agriculture farms out there and even kicking and screaming, I was forced to live out my last year of high school in the middle of nowhere. A place where a rumor will travel around the town in seconds. A place where it got so hot that just stepping outside would make you sweat profusely.

I thought Darlington would bring me nothing but misery, but then I met Wyatt, and suddenly the tiny, southern town made me look at it a different way. We fell in love my senior year and all of those hopes and dreams I had of returning to the city didn't seem so prominent. Before I knew it, playing with pigs and riding horses was becoming something I thoroughly enjoyed, and I started to imagine what it would be like to spend the rest of my life there with Wyatt.

But how could I let my life turn into a Hallmark movie? I was falling into the cliche ending where a city girl gives up her life when she meets the cowboy of her dreams, so I got scared. I didn't want to give up everything I worked so hard for. I wanted to go to college in the city. I wanted to own a boutique in Soho and share my incredible designs with people who would buy them, and the townspeople of Darlington didn't scream take my credit card for that leather mini skirt!

So I did something that was unforgivable. I did something to make sure I got out. I thought hurting Wyatt and leaving him behind would be the best option for me, but then I got back to the city, I finished college, and I realized life was more than just a job. I realized life as a twenty-six-year-old was a lot harder than people say. Just two years out of college and I already lost all of my savings. The pandemic came, and then I got fired, only two hundred dollars to my name when Loretta, a woman who owned the one good restaurant in Darlington, called me for a favor I owed her.

I hadn't spoken to Wyatt or anyone for that matter since I moved away eight years ago, so it was a shock, to say the least. The Starlighter, the place everyone in Darlington went to eat, was in trouble. Loretta's grandfather built that place from the ground up, so to the people there, it was legendary. There was a hurricane that hit a few weeks ago, and she said the restaurant got hit pretty hard. She was trying to rebuild it, but even as the world was recovering from the pandemic, staffing and keeping anyone staffed was hard enough.

I knew how hard it must've been to own a business during the pandemic, especially since I had just lost my own job, but going back to Darlington meant going back to where I destroyed the one person who meant everything to me, and since word traveled fast, and Wyatt was loved by every townsperson there, I know my return wouldn't be welcomed.

"You know what happened," I told her. "I can't go back there, Loretta. Besides, I just lost my job. I don't have money to make a living there." Not the whole truth. My dad would have lent me money if I were destitute, but I would have sold my own body before asking him for any.

"You owe me," she reminded, "and I told ya' favors aren't taken lightly here. I can give ya' a room at my place with food included to help get ya' back on yer' feet, but I need all the help I can get, Macey."

There were two things I took away from my time in Darlington: never ignore anyone you pass on the street or you'll be labeled as that stuck-up city chick for the remainder of your stay, and never cross Loretta Turner. I never paid attention to the rumors that circulated, because most of them never had any facts to back them up, but a lot of people said Loretta's husband didn't die of natural causes. It was speculated that she poisoned him to get his life insurance money in order to put upgrades in on the restaurant, but I didn't want to believe someone could stoop that low. I always tried to see the best in everyone, and maybe that's why we formed such a close friendship during my time there. Regardless, I wasn't going to test those rumors by not following through with the favor I promised I owed her all those years ago. Just in case.

"Is he still there?" I asked, but even I knew the answer to that. He was destined to take over his parent's farm. He loved country life. There wasn't a place he'd rather be than Darlington.

"Just come home, Mace. We miss ya'."

By we, I knew she just meant her. I saw the way Wyatt looked at me that night. I heard the hate that came out of his mouth.  There was no way in hell he'd ever want to see me again, and I didn't blame him for it one bit. He deserved so much better than me, and that was why I went all those years without reaching out.

I let out a sigh, wondering what the hell I was thinking as I replied, "Just give me a few days to pack and I'll be there."

A/N:

NEW STORY ALERT.

I'm not updating this one quite yet since I have about a billion stories going on right now, but sometimes I like to write ideas down so I don't forget them. I'm really excited about this one and doing a true and genuine enemies-to-lovers for the first time!

What do you guys think of the prologue? I want to make sure this is something people would like to read before I start really writing it.

If you think it's good and want to read it, PLEASE give it a vote and a comment :) I'd really appreciate it!

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