Page 64 of Barn Burner
Six Years Later
Brayden
With the summer sun heating my skin, I make the walk down from the house to the barn in search of Jesse. He’s been out on a trail ride this morning, but I had to stay back and sort some shit out. Since I hung up my skates from playing professional hockey last month, I haven’t been able to stop. I’m in the middle of selling my house in Calgary, as well as working with lawyers to get a visa to stay here permanently. The Bobcats organization is still helping me out, even if they are upset by my decision. I waited until after we clinched our fourth Stanley Cup victory before announcing that I wouldn’t be renewing my contract and would be retiring completely. A lot of people were surprised by my decision, but those close to me were not.
At thirty years old, I’ve been added to the “list of greats who retired too early,” but deep down, I know it was the right decision. I feel like I’ve gained everything I could have wished for out of my career. I still love hockey, but I don’t love it as much as I love Jesse and this life we’ve built on Huxley Creek Ranch.
Waking up next to him, riding horses, exploring the mountains and surrounding trails, then falling asleep in his arms is now my life’s purpose.
He’s given up so much for me while I continued to play, and now it’s my turn to give back to him.
Even if he is still annoyed I bought his mum those cute fluffy sheep she wanted for the petting farm.
Walking through the open door to the barn, I find Jesse getting Prince saddled up. The horse greets me with a loud exhale, then nudges Jesse’s back with his nose.
Jesse turns, and I’m rewarded with his gorgeous smile.
“Hey. Everything go okay?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Just got to wait for it all to go through now.”
“Hopefully, you won’t have to wait long,” he says, then grabs my shirt and hauls me closer. His lips land on mine, and I loop my arms around his neck and melt against him like butter left out in the sun.
“Are you going out?” I murmur.
“Weare.”
I pull back slightly and raise a brow. “We are?”
“Mhm,” he hums, then tips his chin toward one of the stalls. “She’s ready for you.”
Spinning on my heel, I walk over to Mango, the quarter horse Jesse got me three years ago. She lets out a loud whinny when I step in front of her stable door, and I smooth my hand over her muzzle. “Hey, girl, you ready to go out?”
She whinnies again, and I chuckle. Jesse says he picked her because her personality is similar to mine in the sense that she’s cheeky and is very expressive.
I open the door to her stable and take hold of her reins to lead her outside. Sliding my foot into the stirrup, I pull myself up and settle into the saddle.
“You really look the part now, you know,” Jesse says when he joins me with Prince.
“What do you mean?”
His eyes travel down my body in a slow perusal before returning to my face. “Like a real cowboy.”
My grin is instantaneous.
Jesse took me to get my own hat shortly after he surprised me with Mango, claiming a ball cap wouldn’t protect me from the sun when we’re outside all day. So now I have my own fawn-coloured hat to go with the collection of plaid shirts I’ve stolen from Jesse’s closet.
“Where are we going?” I ask as Jesse leads us toward the foothills.
“It’s a surprise,” he says over his shoulder.
“Jesse,” I whine. “Give me something.”
He shakes his head and grunts, “No.”
“I haven’t even packed lube,” I argue, but he doesn’t answer except for his shoulders shaking with his laughter.
We pass through the trees and across one of the small streams at the base of the mountain. It’s a route we take every so often, and an alternative route to the hilltop where Jesse took me that morning to watch the sunrise. It takes us roughly an hour and a half to reach the plateau, and once we arrive at our usual spot, we both hop down. He pulls out a blanket from one of the saddle bags and lays it down on the ground before returning with containers of cheese, fruits, and crackers.
