Page 33 of Barn Burner
“Yeah, Jesse. I can breathe now.”
I’ve just returned from a trail ride to find Cooper fixing up Brayden’s car. I shouldn’t be so surprised by the sight, considering the part arrived two days ago, but it’s the dose of reality I’ve been hiding from.
Our time is running out.
The energy between us has changed since that night we spent in the barn last week. It’s like we’ve buried our heads in the sand, waltzed through our days in delusion. He’s told me about his family and how he grew up on the outskirts of North London. We shared stories from our childhood. The broken bones, my first horse. I told him about when I brought Prince home and the time I considered going into bull riding until my mom pleaded with me with tear-filled eyes not to.
We’ve gotten closer. Intertwined our souls on a level that feels so natural, it terrifies me. So seeing Cooper working on Brayden’s Mercedes is like having a bucket of ice-cold water being thrown over me.
“Hey, son,” my dad says as he leads his horse, Mabel, into the barn.
Raising my head from where I’m brushing Dakota down, I furrow my brows. “Somethin’ wrong?”
My dad is usually working out in the fields with Rhett. It’s very rare he comes in, aside from when it’s time for lunch, so seeing him here has the hair bristling on the back of my neck.
“Yeah, all good,” he replies, looping Mabel’s reins around one of the stable posts. “Just been chattin’ to Brayden. That boy asks a lot of questions.”
I snort under my breath, and the noise has my dad’s eyes widening a fraction.
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“He’s curious ’bout everything. How things work. He has a lot of interest in this place.”
He lets the words linger in the air between us, and I know he can tell from the look in my eyes that I don’t need to say anything to let him know that he’s right. Brayden has shown a keen interest in Huxley Creek Ranch since he arrived here.
“Hey, son, did I ever tell you the story about how me and your mom met?” he asks, turning his back to me to adjust something on Mabel’s saddle before giving her neck a stroke.
“No, I don’t think you have.”
“It was the summer your mom turned eighteen. She came out here with some friends to celebrate. They wanted the full country experience, you know how it goes. She lived in the city and was about to head off to Vancouver for university, but it didn’t stop me from fallin’ head over heels in love with her. I told my old man that she was the one I was gonna marry.”
I smile at the mention of my late grandpa. “What did he say about that?”
“He just looked at me and said that if she was the one, then she’d find her way back when the time is right. That I couldn’t clip her wings and ask her to change her course for me, so I needed to let her go. And to remember that magnetic forces will always return to one another, no matter how far apart.”
I swallow roughly and lower my head, avoiding my father’s gaze. I haven’t openly spoken about my feelings for Brayden, but my family isn’t oblivious. It’s clear as day Brayden and I aredrawn together, and he’s never shied away from the fact that his presence here is only temporary.
The sound of my dad’s boots clipping against the floor grows louder as he comes closer. He steps up beside me, and his hand lands on my shoulder, warm and reassuring.
“What I’m tryna say, son, is that if Brayden is that for you, you gotta let him go and hope he’ll come back. I get the impression he’s got some unfinished business, but I can see him here with you. He’s got that somethin’ about him that I didn’t see in the others, but I’m guessin’ he’s gotta sort some things out.”
I hate the vulnerability in my voice when I ask, “But what if he doesn’t?”
My dad’s mouth lifts up in a half smile. “Then it wasn’t right,” he says, then sighs. “You gotta remember that he didn’t come out here expecting to fall in love, so you can’t expect him to leave his life just like that.” He snaps his fingers. “Patience isn’t always easy, but it’s one of those powerful things that if you allow it to lead you, you can only be rewarded.”
Digging my teeth into my bottom lip, I nod in understanding. This was completely unexpected, and in a matter of weeks, my life has shifted on its axis. I can only imagine that Brayden is feeling something similar.
“Do you think you can do that?” he asks when I haven’t spoken.
I look at him again. “Do what?”
“Be patient with him. Keep that hope in what you have alive while he’s gone.”
My answer comes out quickly, because there’s nothing to think about. In my mind, in my heart, there’s only one answer.
“Yeah. I’d do it for him, for however long it takes.”
14
