Page 90 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Damien grimaced as he sat back up. “Sorry.”
Gabe shrugged.
“Wait.” Damien twisted to face Hadley. “If Mom knows you didn’t steal the goats, that we gave them to you, why are you here?”
“Well, she doesn’t know I know she knows.”
“That made zero sense,” Gabe said.
“Sure it did. My gramps has this weird fear I’m going to turn out just like my dear old mom. So, he asked your mom for help duping me into some good hard work for a week.”
A new voice entered the room. “Then why are you still here?”
She tipped her head back to find Spencer staring at her with an indecipherable expression. Brushing dust off her hands, she stood. How could she explain her inability to walk away from this place? That it filled her with happiness in a way few things did?
She didn’t mind the hard work when she spent the day around horses and goats with vast fields stretching into the distance. Everything in Gulf City was so… developed. House upon house with social life revolving around two things: The ice rink and the beach. Places with lots of people and little space to think.
Spencer didn’t look at his brother as he spoke again. “Can I steal Hadley? You and Gabe can finish painting.”
“Yeah, bro. Go ahead. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Spencer held out a hand, and she took it, letting him pull her from the room. They stopped at Harbinger’s stall.
“What are we doing?”
He unlatched the door and slid it open. “I promised Harbi a bath since it’s warm today.”
“You promised him?” One brow arched. “Talking to horses now?”
“You’re rubbing off on me.”
She only shook her head as he clicked his tongue, leading Harbinger out of his stall. With any other horse there would have been need of a lead rope to guide it, but Harbinger followed.
Out in the pen, Spencer already had a hose stretched out from the barn along with rags and sponges.
“I’ve never washed a horse.” Before this week, she’d never even been near a horse.
“Have you washed a dog?”
“No. Mom wasn’t big on pets.”
Spencer gave her a sad look. “Well, it’s not like washing a dog anyway. I was just making a joke, a dumb one.”
She stretched up on her toes, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one could see them, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
“Don’t think that gets you out of answering my question.”
“What question?” She widened her eyes, feigning innocence.
“I have spent the last week feeling guilty about you taking the blame for the goats. And all this time, you’ve been here because you wanted to be.”
“Well, not at first. I didn’t find out about my grandpa’s deal until my birthday. And by then…” She gestured to their surroundings. “I couldn’t leave.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his face unreadable.
Was he thinking about how he’d left it all behind once? Or how he planned to do it again? Hadley didn’t understand what made a person give up something they so obviously loved.
She stepped closer to him and brushed a hand down the front of his shirt. “I meant it when I said I’m listening. Are you okay?”
