Page 83 of The Pieces We've Lost

I kissed her shoulder and got up to call Reid. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Colt. How are you?” he asked me like he assumed something was wrong. Reid and I never usually talked on the phone unless it was something urgent.

“Everything’s good. I’ll be headed to the doctor in a few days and hopefully he’ll clear me for the rodeo.”

“That’s great. We’ve really missed you out here on the road. Mikey’s been driving us crazy.” He laughed.

I was itching to ask him what kind of trouble Mikey had gotten himself into and how many girls he had brought back to his trailer. Maybe one day someone would tie that man down, but it didn’t seem like it would be any day soon.

We caught each other up on what had been happening the past few weeks. I admitted to him about the nightmares coming back—how they had stopped once I met Ellison and started again when Sophie came back. He didn’t say much, but that was the way he was. He was a listener, and a good one at that, but when he knew it was important, he would provide his input.

Before we hung up, I stopped him.

“What’s up, man?” he asked.

“I think I love her, Reid. No, I know I love her. And it’s both terrifying and exhilarating.” I choked out the words.

“I’m happy for you, Colt. I know I’ve said it before but I do think you two are good for each other. You needed to find each other,” he replied before we said our goodbyes and hung up.

He would be home in four days and the rodeo was in six. I was ready for him to come back, to see my best friend in person.

I was dying to tell Ellison how I felt, but every time I came close to telling her, something always got in the way.

The first time we were sitting on the couch, watching amovie, and she was stuffing her face with popcorn that we had made on the stove. She looked so comfortable—happy to be with me.

“Hey, baby?” I had said right as she put a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“Mm-yes?” she mumbled, her mouth full of the kernels.

I laughed because her cheeks looked like a chipmunk after they had stuffed their mouths full of chestnuts.

“Hey! Stop laughing at me!” She elbowed me in the ribs.

“That was rude,” I joked, reaching for her and tickling her until she squealed with laughter. And then, well, we got so caught up doing other things that I didn’t get the chance to tell her I loved her in a different setting than the bedroom.

The next time was a couple of days later when we were riding. Whenever we felt like we needed to get out of the house, we saddled up the horses and took them out, even if it was only for thirty minutes. I had learned riding for leisure, without the pressure of competition, was one thing that helped me clear my head of any dark, intrusive thoughts. It was what I loved after all, it made sense that it was a healthy coping mechanism for me.

We were at the top of a hill, the view of the countryside laid out before us. The land appeared to shimmer with the setting sun, dazzling with flecks of light.

It felt like the right time to tell her. “Ellison, I?—”

“Race you to the bottom!” she cried out, already taking off, her hair blowing in the wind behind her.

My competitive side came out, and Bullet and I took off after her as she laughed the whole way down the hill.

Then it was the day Reid and the boys were set tocome home. They weren’t supposed to get to the house for a few hours, so I had plans to tell her how I felt. I was anxious to tell her, my hands a little shaky and my mind locked on her.

My final doctor’s appointment was tomorrow and it would be the deciding factor of whether or not I would get to compete with Reid, but I wasn’t even thinking about that. It was only Ellison. She was the sun in my galaxy and right now everything revolved around her.

“Are you nervous?” she asked me, placing her hand on top of my knee as my leg bounced.

Yes, but not for the reason you think.

“For tomorrow? Or the rodeo?” I asked, drawing this out, even though all I wanted to do was scream at the top of my lungs that I loved her.

“Yeah, both,” she replied, drawing circles with her thumb.

“A little bit. Um, but, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you,” I murmured.

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