Page 106 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Spencer
“This is stupid,” Spencer grumbled as he lowered himself to the ground inside the goat house. “Goats can’t make anything better.”
But they had for her. Hadley visited the goats every day she worked on the ranch, sometimes multiple times.
He wanted to go to her, to tell her he’d been wrong. But his mom was right. The hospital was not the right place. She had bigger things on her mind.
His phone lit up the night as another text from Roman came in. After Roman called the house three days before, Spencer stole the number from the caller ID and texted him. Since then, Roman kept him up to date on all things Hadley.
Just like he’d expected, she dealt with everything like the superstar she was. No high school student should be tasked with caring for an adult. Once school started tomorrow, they’d have home health aides helping.
But today, in a few short hours, Jack Gibson would be going home.
Spencer focused on the text.
Roman:She’s sleeping right now, has barely left the hospital room except for showers. The nurses even bring her all her meals.
He hated her going through this alone.
Spencer:I want to be there.
Roman:I keep telling you it’s not a good idea. Just give her space for one more day until she’s home.
A furry head bumped the phone from his hand, and he cursed as it hit the dirt. His irritation stopped as he looked into Stammer’s eyes.
“Do you miss her, buddy?” He reached out to pet the goat. “Yeah, me too.”
Over the last few days, things with his family were back to normal. To the point they’d even invited him to move back into the main house. He declined, wanting the small independence of the bunkhouse.
He’d watched as Damien ignored his parents warning about dating Gabe, and as his parents let him.
Then there was Hadley. Spencer finally decided to stop running from Gulf City, that he could move on from the past. And yet… she didn’t know.
He hated that she didn’t know.
Would she even care?
Neither of them fought. They let their tenuous relationship go as if it didn’t mean anything at all. But they’d each held a part of themselves back from the other, preserving it, keeping themselves from getting crushed when they ended.
Now, they didn’t have to end.
But they might still get crushed. He’d known it from the beginning, Hadley Gibson would have the power to shatter him.
Only, he’d done it first, yet he wasn’t any less shattered.
The warmth of a few days ago had disappeared, and Spencer hugged his jacket tighter to keep the chill from seeping into his bones.
He met Stammer’s eyes. “Goats aren’t pets.”
One corner of his mouth lifted as he remembered the words Hadley forced him to say during their water fight. Talking to animals wasn’t new. He’d always had deep conversations with Harbinger, but this…
A kid crawled into his lap, curling up, and Spencer couldn’t help but dig his fingers into the warm hair. Stammer lowered himself against Spencer’s side, and the tension seeped out of his body.
“Are you really snuggling goats right now?” Damien gave him a crooked smile from the doorway, backlit in the lights coming from the main house.
“Not. A. Word.”
Damien shrugged and sat across from Spencer. Four goats descended on him. He laughed as he tried to give them each attention.
