Page 52 of Unbroken

I nodded. “I did. I think it’s going to take a while before things shift between them. But there’s hope, right? People change.” Obviously not everyone did and given that Samuel kept his head in the sand with his own family problems, I wasn’t holding out hope, but that didn’t mean Eli couldn’t.

Eli chuckled. “I sure hope so.”

He glanced up at me, then looked away quickly.

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” I probed. Patrick was fully engrossed in his coloring, so it felt safe to push Eli a little. “You don’t seem like you.”

He shifted in his chair. “Yep, just got a lot going on, and the stuff with him didn’t help.” He jerked his head toward where his father was seated, pretending to ignore us all while he kept glancing our way.

I wanted to ask ifwewere okay since everything felt so strange between us, but the waitress reappeared with our meals.

We ate in silence until Eli’s phone started dancing around the middle of the table.

“Daddy, your phone,” Patrick said with a full mouth. “But you can’t be on it at dinner. That’s what you told me.”

“You’re right, bud.” He reached out to silence the alert and paused to look at the screen. “Okay, now hold on a second.”

I watched him smile and wondered what was up.

“What is it, Daddy?” Patrick asked.

“Nothing,” Eli replied, still smiling. “Your daddy just got some good news, that’s all.”

Patrick went back to eating and I mouthed “What?” at Eli.

“Half Moon,” he replied. “It’s time for next steps, if you know what I mean.”

The job. He’d must have gotten to the interview stage, which meant the job was as good as his. I knew exactly what happened when people met him for the first time: women swooned and men wanted to be his best friend. There was something about his calm aura and good looks that made everyone like him, and once they heard about his ranching experience and his success kicking off the trail program firsthand, he’d be a shoo-in anywhere he applied.

Eli was practically glowing as he shoveled cheesy cauliflower into his mouth. He was clearly excited about the opportunity, ready to move on and start over. And given how his father had gone out of his way to be an ass—in public—tonight, I could understand his desire to see Poplar Springs from his rearview mirror.

So where did that leave us?

I needed to prepare myself for the inevitable and protect my heart. I wasn’t ready to cut things off, but I certainly wasn’t going to investtoo much of myself into a relationship that clearly had an expiration date. Seeing how happy he was to be leaving was enough to convince me that no matter how good being with Eli was, and how right it felt to be a part of his world with Patrick, it was only temporary.

He was leaving without me.

THIRTY-FOUR

ELI

“Eli, it’s been an absolute pleasure to meet you. We have narrowed the number of candidates down and I don’t mind sharing that as far as I’m concerned, you’re at the top of the list,” the owner of Easy Eights Ranch told me.

“Thanks, Mr. Braverman. I really appreciate you saying that,” I told him as I pumped his hand.

“Doug, please. My father was Mr. Braverman.”

I smiled at him. “Doug.”

“We’ll be in touch soon,” Doug said and I headed for my truck. Half Moon was a good five-hour drive each way, so we’d agreed to meet in Collinswood, which was about the halfway point. Mr. Braverman—Doug—was there attending a livestock auction and a part of the interview had consisted of me giving my opinion on some of the stock headed for the auction block, including some excellent warmbloods that would work well for trail rides. I’d also mentioned Shannon’s breeding program—he’d sounded interested.

On the drive back to Poplar Springs, I called my mom.

“Well? How’d it go?” she demanded without even saying hello first.

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I feel like it went well. He said they’d be in touch soon.”

“Of course he did. They’d be fools not to hire you. Not that I want you two to move so far away. Are you on your way back?”

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