Page 10 of Never Left You

“I get that, but if it wasn’t him and if it really was a genuine offer, not just to weasel his way back into Kyla’s life, I would have loved to take the money. The issues we’re facing now wouldn’t be as big as they are.”

Rhett shook his head, “Okay, well moving on from that…” His voice was gruff, but yet, no guilt formed in my own stomach. It was the truth, and about time he heard it. “We’re not selling land, so we need to think of other ways to make money.”

“We could board horses,” Wyatt finally said, all of us twisting our heads at the sound of his voice. I guess he didn’t fully check out. “We have what”—he looked at me—“ten empty stalls? People pay a lot of money to house their horses correctly, and we have the room. We could also rent out the arena. Rodeo training. And maybe even the barn for events once it gets fixed up.”

“And you don’t want anything to do with the ranch.” My dad chuckled.

“Oh, hell no.” Wyatt flopped back into his chair. “While you guys were remembering the asshat, I was thinking. We have room in the stables for at most ten horses. The arena isn’t being used as much anymore since Rhett isn’t on the circuit, and the barn sits empty a lot of the time.”

“It needs repairs before we can rent it out for any kind of events,” I added, thinking of the long list of to-dos that currently sat on my desk. Paint the barn. Repair the roof of the barn and stables. Fix the fences on the south pasture. A million pounds of stress began to settle in my stomach just thinking about everything that had to get down before the next winter hit.

“Easy fixes.” Lachlan agreed, not a stitch of stress in his voice, which thankfully reminded me to stop stressing. “Rhett and I can get started on that. Renting out the stable—that sounds easy enough to fill—and using the arena as a training ground…I may have the perfect person who could use the space.” He pushed himself off the windowsill. “I’ll give him a call and let you know.”

Rhett stood and followed Lachlan. “Can you look at the numbers Abi?”

Hunching my shoulders, I peered at my dad for reassurance. I nodded at him. “Yeah. I can research the amount people are charging for boarding horses.”

It just may work. Wyatt was full of surprises after all.

“This is just further proof that you don’t need your mother and me. We trust you three, even if one doesn’t seem to care.” He looked over at Wyatt, who gave our dad his award-winning smile, “Once we get the title and papers drawn up, we can talk about percentage between you two, but again”—his eyes met mine—“I think Abi needs to get the majority.”

I gave him a tight smile, trying to look excited for what the future held for me.

Four

Cash

ThelasttimeIdrove under this gate, Carolyn was in the passenger seat. I wanted to see a friend, to give him a late birthday gift, and she was greatly annoyed that we had to make this stop. I could still see her checking her nails, making sure the bright red was still perfectly polished. I could still hear thetsksshe would sigh loud enough to get to me. And I could still hear her shrill voice ringing in my ears…This detour better not take long. We’re going to be late. I don’t understand why you can’t wait to give it to him in Billings. You know I hate this place…

Seven months later, I got into my accident.

Three months after that, she filed for a divorce.

After Sylas Acosta died, it seemed my entire world imploded on itself, and as much as I tried to move on and keep being who I was, each passing day got harder and harder. Without my best friend, without the one person who would listen to me no matter what I needed to say, I had never felt more alone.

Once I wound up in the hospital, needing surgery and PT to get through the healing process, learning I would never compete again seemed to be the breaking point. But then having my wife, who was supposed to be my rock through everything up and leave because I no longer fit into her dream world…that was the icing on top. Once the divorce was final and I could walk without massive amounts of pain, I started over. I pushed everything aside and began again.

Tugging the long trailer behind me, the three horses inside most likely hating every single turn, I pulled up to the stables. It was as if fate was working in my favor. When Lachlan called offering up the stables for boarding use and the use of their massive indoor arena to rehab Quinn—for a small renters fee—how could I refuse?

The place hadn’t changed much in the years since I last saw it, but I could tell from a distance that the barn needed a paint touch up, and there were a few things on the stables that needed repairs, but that was Lachlan’s to worry about. My one and only concern today was getting these horses comfortable and avoiding Abi Acosta.

It’s not that I didn’t want to see her. If I were being one hundred percent honest with myself, I was dying to see her, to have that connection to my friend. It was knowing she didn’t want to see me that forced me to make this trip as fast as possible.

I popped my rig in park, and flung the door open the moment I saw my friend step out of the stables. Lachlan Hartwell, like theranch, hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw him either. He wore his signature black boots tucked into his Wrangler jeans, a dark flannel shirt sticking out under his winter coat, and his black hat perched on his head. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and since I was used to seeing his face bare, the scruff only added to his stoic demeanor. And yet, once he saw me, a small smile spread upon his lips. I hadn’t seen that man smile in years—and I was the lucky one to get to see him lighten up just a twitch.

During the circuit it was always Lachlan, Sylas, and me behind the chutes. Lachlan rode bareback, Sylas was the bull rider, and I was saddle bronc. The roughies that were always together. Two of us were always there when the other was getting down onto their chosen animal, hyping them up as they settled, and when the nod came, we cheered just as loud. After the eight seconds buzzer went off, we each would jump off the animal and raise our arms, the adrenaline seeping from our pores. We loved the rodeo.

“Fuck, if it isn’ttheCash Callahan,” Lachlan greeted me, reaching his arm out to pull me in for a hug.

“Hey Lach.” I patted his shoulder, pulling away to get a good look at him. “Still brooding I see.”

He shook his head at my joke and stepped past me to my trailer. I knew what Lachlan lived through. I saw the grief that struck his eyes, but he still took my jokes.

“How many horses you got?” He changed the subject, going straight to business.

“Three. Two are Quinn’s, one is mine.”

“Still riding Nova?” he asked as he opened up the back of the trailer, answering his own question once he saw my blue roan mare standing between Quinn’s two geldings. “She’s looking good.”

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