Page 126 of Never Left You

“School.” He shrugged a shoulder. “It makes you feel strong, full of energy. And I have a lot of energy Un—” He looked at me, stopping himself from saying ‘uncle’ I cocked a grin. “Cash.”

“Ha, that you do. I’ll teach you what I know, maybe get you trained to do junior rodeo once you get in high school, but”—I grinned, reaching up to rub his hair—“We’ll have to convince your mom.”

Stetson tightened his lips. “She doesn’t like the idea of me riding in a rodeo. Not after what happened to Daddy.”

“Can you blame her?” I raised an eyebrow as he handed me another egg.

“No, but I wish she’d let me. Like when you ride, she’s always smiling. With me, she’s scared.”

“She just worried about you, but”—he handed me another egg, so I had seven eggs in my arms—“you should have seen her at the rodeos. She loved it, and she wants you to travel with us.”

“Us?” he questioned, his hand midair with an egg ready to be dropped.

“Us. Before your dad passed, you were supposed to travel with him, remember?”

He pinched his brow, and twisted his lips. “A little? I remember some things.”

I huffed. “You were young. That’s ok. But you were going to travel to rodeos with him during the summer. She wants to do that again, with me…and you. The entire summer going from rodeo to rodeo. Watching Quinn and seeing Wyatt make an ass of himself. She’s even talked about getting me back on the boards—”

His eyes widened, so did his smile.

“Don’t get too excited. I’m not there yet. We’ll get you signed up for mutton busting at all these rodeos we go to. You’ll start to train if you really want to, and before you know it, you’ll be riding bareback just like your Uncle Lachlan.”

He smiled. “Maybe saddle bronc won’t be too bad.”

I shook my head, looking down at the now ten eggs cradled in my arms. “Whatcha’ say? Do you want to travel with us?”

“More than anything. We can leave tomorrow. I know Uncle Wyatt has some rodeos lined up. We can go with him!”

“Pretty sure you have school tomorrow.”

He walked past me, leaving the coop, not a single egg in his hand.

“Eh, it’s ok. I can skip a day or two.”

I laughed, shaking my head as I followed, carrying the eggs with care as we made our way back to the house.

I threw my last bag into the back of the truck. Nova was in her trailer and ready to move. She was content as could be, but her eyes looked towards the stables. Abi shut the trailer door, locking it before handing me the key. We had just finished breakfast, saying a quick hello to Leo and Lottie, and avoiding any tasks that Lachlan may give me by saying I needed to start the trip back home. Abi grasped my hand and pulled me to the stables where she kissed me for the last private moment between us.

“You should just keep her here,” she suggested. “She and Luna love each other and well, why cart her around when you’re coming back?”

“I don’t know when I will be back. I’m taking her so we can ride.” I placed my hands on Abi’s shoulders, squeezing gently before she stepped into me.

“I don’t like that you don’t know when you’ll be back.”

“A couple of weeks tops. I gotta get everything packed up and…shit…Stet asked if he could come along.”

“He has school, so as much as he would like to start all of our adventures…”

I kissed her, the pure thought of our future together making my heart beat faster. Our adventures called louder than I wanted to admit. If I could leave my place in Bozeman the way it was, I’d never go back.

“Couple weeks tops.” I repeated, listening to her sigh. “You have to talk to Rhett and your dad.”

She slumped into me. “I wish you could stay for that talk.”

“When’s it happening?”

She turned to look at Rhett’s house in the distance. “As soon as I can’t see your truck anymore.” She leaned into me, her arms wrapping around my waist. Our gazes met before she pressed her lips to mine, breathing in so deep as she kissed me. “I love you, Cash,” she whispered against me; almost so low I couldn’t hear it.

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