Page 59 of Austin
“So you had to find him?”
“It wasn’t hard. He was at the events center. I walked in and asked him for a ride. He agreed.”
“So what’s going on with the two of you?”
Since she’d lied about losing her job, she had to take care not to push the truth too hard. “We’re friends.” That was true.
“Friends.”
“Yes.”
“If you say so…but that was one helluva lip-lock I witnessed.”
Kristen hadn’t realized that her sister had seen them kissing. After all, the windows were tinted. “Whit…”
“However…” her sister raised her hands as if surrendering “…it isn’t any of my business…unless you want to talk.”
“I don’t.” Not yet anyway. She wanted to keep her thoughts, her feelings, her memories close. At least until she got her rather jumbled emotions sorted out into their neat little boxes again.
“Fine. Even though you promised.”
Kristen frowned at her twin. How could she adequately explain Austin and breaking free and her short sortie into the land of here-and-now with no thought to the future? She couldn’t. “Let’s get back to me disappointing the family.”
Whitney took a sip of her ice tea. “I’m done. However, I’m available if you ever want to talk.”
“Thank you.”
“And the little parlor is free if you want to set it up as your war room while you tackle the job market.”
“I appreciate that.” Her sister knew her well, although, oddly, she didn’t feel that keen about tackling the job market—a side effect of her trip that she hadn’t anticipated.
Whitney lifted her glass and gave a wry smile. “I thought you might.”
*
Austin couldn’t helparound the Forty-Six as much as he wanted with a bad leg and sore shoulder, but he did what he was able to do, most of it on horseback. He rode fence and made rudimentary repairs prior to turning out the cattle, spending the better part of four days covering the property looking for winter damage. He told himself that the time alone on horseback was better than time alone on a beach. He loved the ocean, but understood that Ty was trying to get Shelby to take it easy, which was why he volunteered for fencing duty.
He thought about Kristen a lot. Wondered about her. Kept his distance. That was the agreement.
After the fences were finished, he and his brother moved the cattle while Shelby took Les to a medical appointment. When they got back, Austin had a message on his phone from an old rodeo friend turned educator, asking if he could speak at a small Oregon high school on his way to the Portland event.
“What kind of speaking?” Ty asked after Austin hung up.
“Like giving a speech to the high school kids about pursuing non-traditional careers.”
“Non-traditional.”
“That’s what Teller called it.”
Ty pulled two beers out of the fridge, then turned toward Austin, who’d just set his phone on the kitchen table. “You, who barelyshowed upfor high school, are now going toaddressa high school? As a role model?”
“They don’t know I didn’t show up much.” Austin took the beer his brother handed him and gave a small salute.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“No more ridiculous than Teller McKay settling down and becoming a school guidance counselor.”
“Point taken.”
