Page 56 of Unbroken

“So, what are you doing out here? Oh, and how’s school? Have you settled into your house okay? Need anything?” Zoe laughed at my barrage of questions and I realized that I hadn’t given her a chance to answer any of them before jumping into asking the next question. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little hyped up.”

“To answer your questions: I came to pick up the external drive I left in Josh’s office with the drone videos on it. School is great. I just finished one semester and have a break before the next one starts. And I’m loving our little house. It’s not as grand as the ranch house, but it’s just ours, which makes it special. Know what I mean?”

Zoe looked at me with a big grin. “Now, is there anythingyouwant to talk about? How’s it going with Eli?” she asked me and I felt mycheeks heat up with a blush. “Oh. I see.” She gave me a knowing smile. “So, uh, things not so fake after all?” She said it quietly and I looked around to make sure no one could hear us. Not that I was embarrassed to have slept with Eli, but any sort of gossip directed his way made him uncomfortable and I was determined not to add any fuel to the fire, if I could prevent it.

I gave her a slight shake of my head. “Things have progressed to … uh … less fake,” I said quietly and her smile grew.

“That’s a good thing, right? I mean, seeing the two of you together, I can tell that you make a great pair. Even Josh commented on that and he’s about as clueless as a guy can be about relationships,” she said.

I had to agree. It took my brother almost losing Zoe forever before he got his head on straight and figured out what was most important to him. Prior to then, it’d been rough. He had been functioning in a constant state of stress trying to keep the ranch afloat, and his personal life had been basically nonexistent. What was worse, he’d felt as if all his effort to keep things going hadn’t been enough. The ranch had really been struggling, with no clear way forward. If it hadn’t been for Zoe figuring out how popular the trail rides once were and talking Josh into restarting them, we could have lost our family’s legacy. That, in and of itself, would have been reason enough for me to love her—but what really sealed it was how happy she made my brother. They really were perfect together.

Was that what people thought when they looked at Eli and me? It hardly seemed possible. Yeah, we were good together in some ways, but there were plenty of problems and complications, too.

“I don’t know what to do about it,” I confessed to Zoe. “I mean, we never talked about what might happen if our relationship progressed and now that it has …” I shrugged. “Do we talk about it or just roll with it?” I didn’t know. Eli had never been a big talker when we were in high school, and eight years later, that was still the case. Ididknowthat he was uncomfortable with turning anything into a big deal. I worried that if I showed too much excitement or pushed him too fast, he might end things before we had a chance to see where it went.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Josh called out as he approached us. “Did you get what you needed?”

“I did,” Zoe told him. “How much longer do you think you’ll be? I’m hungry and I wasn’t sure if I should eat something here or wait until we get home.”

Josh scrolled through his tablet where Zoe had set him up with, loaded with productivity apps to help with the ranch duties. “I was thinking another hour or two … but there’s nothing on the list that can’t wait until tomorrow. I’ll go shut down. In the meantime, why don’t you call the Bite and Brew and order us some dinner? That way, neither of us has to cook.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” I asked and they both laughed. Josh hadn’t done a complete one-eighty, but he was making every effort not to put the ranch before his relationship with Zoe. He definitely seemed to be succeeding and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

I watched them walk away. Zoe had looped her arm through his and he had his head bent down while she said something to him. When they reached the barn door, he threw his head back and laughed, making me shake my head. I still didn’t understand how my brother managed to be in the only stable and long-term relationship out of all of us. Watching him chase after Zoe as she jogged toward her Jeep, which was parked next to my Nissan, I realized that while I was happy for him, I was also a little jealous.

A part of me wanted what he had and I wondered if I could ever have it with Eli.

THIRTY-SEVEN

ELI

“Hey, can I talk to you about one more thing?” I asked Josh as we finished our morning debrief.

We were in Josh’s office in the house and I kept glancing over my shoulder, worried that Fiona was going to walk by and overhear us. I knew I was being a jerkandselfish for not having told Fiona about this sooner but we’d been getting along so well. Exceedingly well, and I wasn’t ready to lose that yet. Still, I knew the truth would come out eventually. When it did, I would deserve every name she’d call me because the longer I waited, the harder it would be—for both of us.

“Sure, what’s up?” Josh asked as a flicker of concern passed over his face. “Everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah. It is. Everything’s great, actually.”

I closed the door and leaned against it with my arms crossed, feeling shockingly nervous for the conversation to come. Josh frowned at me.

“First, I want to tell you how much I love this place. Lost Valley Ranch has become a home to me. You and Shannon are incrediblebosses. You make me feel valued and appreciated. And surprise of all surprises, working with Fiona has been kind of … fun.”

“I’m glad to hear all that,” Josh said slowly. He leaned back against his desk. “And yet I hear a ‘but’ coming, and I’m not sure I want to hear it.”

I managed a half grin at Josh’s ability to read the room. “But … my life outside the ranch has been a real challenge for the past few years. You have to know that.”

Josh nodded. “Yeah, you had a rough go of it. Your divorce felt like front page news for way too long. But that can’t still be going on, can it? Surely the gossips have moved on to something or someone else by now.”

“Yes, well, it still seems to crop up like some sort of bad rerun,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s been frustrating feeling like everyone is judging me for letting Charlotte mess around behind my back. It’s almost as if they think I allowed it to happen or there’s something wrong with me that drove her into the arms of another man.” Truth be told, I’d had similar thoughts on some of my darker nights. “Don’t get me wrong—plenty of folks have also been kind, but there’s only so much pity a man can take. Patrick has picked up on it too, and that’s not a good thing. A five-year-old shouldn’t be worried about his father.”

I thought about my son’s other worry and clenched my fists.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Eli.”

I cleared my throat. “That’s why I’ve decided that it’s time for us to leave Poplar Springs. I found a job in Half Moon, and I’m heading there at the end of the season. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s the right one for us.”

Josh was quiet for a few seconds as he processed the news. “Wow, okay. This is unexpected. Congratulations to you, friend. I’ll miss you, but I understand.”

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