Page 84 of Riding the Line
My chest falls, muscles finally surrendering, knowingshe’s safe, even if I’m not the one to provide her with refuge this time. My next breath might be my easiest yet.
Wyatt lets out a drained laugh, his leg now bobbing, heel of his foot tapping against the wooden boards below. ‘Look, I know we don’t always do thistalkingthing very well – not about our feelings, anyway. Toxic masculinity or whatever Rory calls it. We should probably work on it – Wolfman and Sawyer too.’ He waves the idea off with a snort. Then he turns to me properly – any hints of ire vanished from his stony expression, just a need to understand remaining. It keeps the last sparks of hope in me burning. ‘So let me start by apologising for how I acted yesterday – I’m sorry. I’m not gonna pretend I’m not still angry at you for letting her on your bike – I’d be mad at anyone for that.’
I shrug. ‘I deserve that – and for what it’s worth, I’m angry with myself too.’
‘Still … I probably could have handled my reaction better, and I am sorry about that. I was overwhelmed, what with the panic of herandyou being hurt, and then suddenly discovering you two were sleeping together which some people already knew about, but not me, your best friend? None of it made sense to me.’ He chews on his lip, gaze floating off into the distance for a moment before returning to me on a sigh. ‘So, I’m here to understand, and I need you to talk to me, properly. To tell me what’s happening.’
‘I can do that.’ If it wasn’t for Cherry, for how she’s teased me open one small part of my life at a time, I’m not sure I’d have the gall. The strength to let him in. But like she said, the more I share, the closer I can get to people. I’m so afraid of losing the ones I love, but if I never let them in, how can I expect them to stay?
Wyatt regards me for a beat, then asks, ‘How long has this been going on?’
I let out a long breath, running a hand over my head. ‘It’s been like this since she started working at the bar.’
Wyatt’s eyes flash. ‘You’ve been dating foryears?’
‘No!’ I hold my hand up, Wyatt’s chest immediately deflating with a relieved laugh. ‘No, I’ve liked –lovedher, maybe – for years. We’ve only been seeing each other this summer. I meant it when I said it started just as friends, I promise. I didn’t expect this to ever happen.’ A laugh teeters out of me as I shake my head. ‘I honestly tried to not let this happen.’
‘But you always wanted more?’ he asks.
I concede, nodding.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘She’s your little sister. It felt wrong. I …Fuck. You’re right, we really do need to get better at talking to each other, because it’s hard to explain.’
‘That’s why we should start now,’ Wyatt says, his stare unyielding.
My mouth begins to dry, the truth trying to crawl away, but I force the confession out, knowing I owe it to him. To myself. To Cherry. ‘I’m terrified of losingyou, Wyatt. You’re the only one who knows how much I struggled losing my mom, and my grandfather, even if I still never really told you how much. You’ve always been there for me, and even though I’ve never cared for someone like I do for Cherry, I didn’t want to risk losing you. I loveyoutoo, Wyatt. I don’t have a lot of family left, and you’re not just my best friend, you’re my brother. I didn’t want to ruin that and lose anyone else.’
Wyatt glances to the floor for a second, swallowing, before facing me again. He presses his lips together, then admits, ‘I – I love you too, Duke. You’re my brother too, and you always will be. It’s gonna need a lot more to take you from me, you got that?’ He nudges my leg with his, and my heart feels so fucking full, even from the smallest action.
‘And I won’t pretend I haven’t noticed that Cherry seems a lot happier in herself this summer. More confident, definitely. She really put me in my place in that hospital room, and as much as it shocked me, I’m not gonna pretend I wasn’t a bit proud of her. I know we as a family don’t exactly give her a lot of room to be free – like you said. But …’ He lets out a long sigh, slumping back in his seat. ‘Well, I’m glad she has you to make her feel stronger. Someone who cares for her but doesn’t clip her wings.’
‘We’re always happier when we’re flying free, not caged,’ I tease, remembering Wyatt’s favourite phrase – the one that helped him through all his own difficult decisions and was the inspiration behind the eagle tattoo he got with me once.
‘Hey, don’t use my tattoo against me,’ Wyatt chuckles, the first smile finally spreading out on his face. ‘We just gotta promise that we’ll talk to each other more, okay? Can’t have my best man keeping secrets from me now, can I?’
Best man.My grin is irrepressible.
‘Promise.’
Wyatt stands, holding out a hand to help me up – but also a silent confirmation that we’re okay. I haven’t lost him. He asks, ‘You’re gonna look after her, right?’
My throat tightens as I slap my hand against his andlet him take some of my weight to pull me up. ‘Of course. I’ll do anything for her. It’s … crazy how badly I want to make her happy.’
He snorts. ‘Yeah, love will do that to you. One minute I’m living my quiet life on my ranch and the next thing I know I’m planning to convert a barn into a wedding venue for this British wellness influencer I met last year because all I care about is making her smile.’
‘You’re down bad, you know that?’
‘And proud.’ He grins lazily. ‘So, do you want a ride to my parents’ house so you can see her?’
‘I’m assuming the lack of a black eye on either of you guys means you’ve worked everything out?’ Rory jokes when Wyatt and I filter into Cherry’s bedroom once we arrive at the Hensleys’ house. She’s sitting on the bed, snuggled up to Cherry, a laptop resting on her legs.
But I don’t get a second to respond because right then, when my eyes land on Cherry properly, exhaustion shadowing under her eyes, everything in the room disappears as my senses tunnel in on only her. My beacon of light in the storm. Cherry straightens up in bed, eyes flicking over me, over the sling that my arm is wrapped up in. Guilt strikes me knowing she’s concerned about me whenshe’sthe one who’s only just been moved from a hospital bed.
Still, after her assessment clearly determines I’m okay, she returns those beautiful deep brown eyes to my face, gaze entwining with mine as mirth soaks up her expression, the brightest of grins springing free. And myworld finally feels like it can start spinning again, now I’m back with her.
‘Yeah, we’re good,’ Wyatt says, giving me a pat on my uninjured shoulder. Then, he dips his head and clears his throat, bringing his gaze back up to find Cherry. ‘Look, I won’t lie – this is gonna take some time for me to get used to. You two being together and all that. But you’re also two of my favourite people in the world, and hell, I guess in a way that’s kinda cool – two of my favourite people, always together.’
