Page 146 of Give Me Love

He watches me, his dark eyes unyielding. He rests his elbows on the counter. “You know everything about my past now,” he says.

I swallow and avert my eyes.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” I ask.

“Don’t close up.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. I know because I’ve done it my whole life.”

I look back at him as he reaches over and grabs my hand. “Talk to me. Tell me the bad stuff.”

I sigh. “Bryce, I don’t want to bring all that mess up. We’re supposed to be having a good time.” I let go of his hand. “Come on. Show me around this place. Where do they train the horses? Where did you spend all your time as a kid? Ooh, show me your bedroom!” I say, walking over to the couch so I can get my shoes.

“Okay, change the subject if you want, but you will have to talk to me eventually.”

I slide my shoes on and look over at him. He’s in jogging pants and a clean white T-shirt. “I will. Just not today, okay?”

“Okay.” He leans down and picks up a pair of Nikes. “Let’s go then. I’ll show you around.”

We spend the rest of the afternoon exploring every inch of the ranch. I meet all of the horses and am introduced to the cowboys who help run this place. We play fetch with Doc and Holliday and hang around Jace and the rest of the family before Emily starts cooking again. I see Bryce looking at me. I know he wants to know my past, just as I wanted to know his. I will tell him everything. I just didn’t want to put a dark cloud on this day, and honestly, I don’t want to see that look people give you when you tell them you had a shitty childhood.

Pity sucks. I’d rather him never know than look at me as though I’m broken.

I shoot Claire a text and let her know how amazing this place is. I send her photos of the dogs and horses and all of the flowers.

The whole house smells delicious by five o’clock, and Bryce hands me a beer after he walks out of the screen door, joining me as I rock in one of the many sturdy rocking chairs on the porch.

“I couldn’t imagine growing up here. How awesome it must have been,” I say to him as I take a sip of my drink.

He exhales. “Yeah. Much better than what I came from, that’s for sure. Too bad I didn’t appreciate it.”

I look over at him in question.

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t the easiest teen to deal with.”

I nod. “Well, most teens aren’t.”

“Were you?” he asks.

“I don’t recall going through a wild phase.”

“So, you didn’t do anything reckless growing up?”

I chuckle. “I was too hell-bent on getting out to do anything reckless. I worked, I saved money, and I counted the days until I turned eighteen.”

He nods. “Must have been a pretty shitty place if you didn’t even have time to be a kid.”

“I grew up quickly, Bryce. I had to.”

A car pulls up, and the dogs jump up from the porch, barking like crazy.

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” he replies. I study him for a moment before looking out toward the car.

“There they are,” Bryce says.

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