Page 19 of Never Left You

When I tried to calm my brain and clear my thoughts, all I saw was my son jumping into Cash’s arms. I didn’t even tell him Cash was here; I didn’t think he would remember him. I hadn’t talked about Cash to Stetson for five years, but he apparently had a better memory than I realized. So good in fact that he literally jumped into his arms without hesitation for the tightest reunion hug possible. The things it did to my heart…I can’t even acknowledge because it caused an ache strong enough to break me. How did he remember Cash but not his own father? For the past three days, Stetson has begged to spend time with him, and as much as I wanted to ignore it, I wanted to see him smile more. If taking a ride with Cash was what was going to give that to him, then I would gladly watch those two saddle up a horse and take a ride. Even if it tugged at my heart in more ways than one.

Taking a deep breath, I hoisted myself from my desk. I pushed any and all thoughts of Cash out of my mind. I had plenty of things to keep me busy. Clean the stables, rake the indoor arena—simple upkeep that I could start to tackle on my own. Bigger projects would need to wait until spring was fully underway, but hey…we had to start somewhere right?

Alright—here we go. Time to tackle that to-do list.

The stables housed thirty stalls, and only twenty of them were in use. The large, deep brown building opened up to the indoor arena where Rhett would practice tie-down and training sessions would take place. It was by far the largest footprint on the five thousand acres that was Hartwell Hills Ranch. The rolling hills that made up our two pastures—one smaller, one larger—were still wet with a rainstorm we had gotten, making the vibrant colors of spring want to peek out even more. Winter was ending soon, and the lush colors were about to make Hartwell Hills the most beautiful place in Alpine Ridge.

Twelve horses should be in the stables, with the others out on the land with ranchers as they worked. I knew I was capableof getting the twelve that remained out in the pasture, and then the cleaning would begin. I could spend all day in here avoiding a certain cowboy.

Luna was first. Moving her into the pasture was easy as could be since the girl didn’t need a lead. Then came Buckle and Onyx. The thought only barely crossed my mind that my brother and cousins’ horses were still in their stalls before I led them out to the pasture. My parents’ horses, then Stetson’s horse, Wyatt’s chestnut horse Rusty, and then the three that had recently joined our pack.

I spent some time with Hook and Charming, getting them used to my voice before slipping the leads on them and carefully taking them out with the others. Hook had spunk, and Charming was calm and relaxed. Then I approached Nova, Cash’s horse, as she grazed on the fresh hay that was there for her already. She was sweet—just as I remembered—and took to the lead with ease. Cash had let me ride her a few times before. He didn’t even let Carolyn ride her, not that she would anyway. But me, he’d watched me mount her and then walked beside me as I took her around the arena with a baby Stetson in my lap. It was a good memory, and those good memories were always clouded when it came to Cash. Nova followed closely, bumping her nose with my cheek before making her way to the field. I closed the gate, counted all twelve horses and then turned back into the stables.

First task….check.

After grabbing all the tools I’d need to muck and clean each stall, I ran my hand through my hair, pulling the unruly mess into an even unrulier bun on top of my head. As soon as I made it into the first stall and gathered my first shovel full of hay, a loud bang came from over me. Then another. And another.

“What the…” I looked up, half expecting the ceiling to fall through.

Another bang.

Dropping the shovel, I made my way outside, walking out into the sunlight to see the man I had been avoiding standing on top of the roof.

“What the hell are you doing up there?” I asked, loud enough for Cash to hear me.

He stopped and turned, giving me that stupid, cocky-ass smile of his. “I’m fixing some tiles; I noticed a few leaks the other day.”

“So, you just took it upon yourself to climb up there and fix the shingles?” I argued.

He smiled, “Well, I knew there was a lot going on, so I figured I’d help out.”

“I had that planned for spring.”

“Well, now it’s getting done before spring.” He leaned his palms on his knees, that damn smile only growing. “If you’re boarding horses you need to have a leak-free roof. I bet your horses will like it a lot, too.”

Placing my hands on my hips I scoffed. “Where’s Lachlan?”

“Up here.” Cash motioned behind him. “Rhett and Stet, too.”

“Stetson’s up there?” I asked, half worried, half not. It wasn’t the first time my son was on a roof, having been up many times to shovel snow off it, but the thing that didn’t settle well with my stomach was the fact that Cash called StetsonStet.

That was Sylas’s nickname for him.

Cash laughed. “Yeah, little dude jumped on the chance to help. He called to you when you were moving the horses. Did you hear him?”

“No I…”was too busy thinking about riding your horse…“I didn’t.”

“Oh. Well, you were with Nova.”

“Abi.” Lachlan appeared, raising a hand to shield his face from the late afternoon sun. “Can you move the ladder to thewest side? There are more shingles to fix there. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten up here.”

“Yeah well,” I scoffed as I moved to the ladder.

“Thankfully Cash caught those leaks. I’m shocked the snow didn’t cave it in.”

“And my son is up there?” I questioned, the half worry turning to full-blown worry. He could handle himself, yes. Life skill, sure…but him falling through the roof? I didnotneed to end my day by a trip to the ER.

“He’s fine. He’s with Rhett.” Lachlan waved me off, turning to leave, leaving me with Cash once again.

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