Dakota Frances placed her cell phone against her ear as she exited from her air-conditioned sedan into the ninety-degree Texas heat. “Dakota, it’s Jill.” Shit. She should have checked the caller ID before answering. Her ex-friend’s voice brought back painful memories of betrayal. “What the fuck do you want?” It couldn’t be Steve since Jill already had him. She’d been screwing him for the past eleven months. “Dakota.” The woman sniffed. “I’m sorry. Can we please talk?” Dakota swiped the moisture off her lashes. She’d promised herself not to shed another tear over this situation, to put it behind her and move on. She thought she had. It’d been three months since she had finally taken the wool off her eyes and confirmed that her best friend was having an affair with her fiancé. The gossip and sympathy in the small New England town had been overwhelming. The smartest decision she’d made in her twenty-eight years had been moving to Deerfield, Texas, with its wide-open pastures, warm and sultry nights, and friendly people.
