Page 38 of Wrangling Hearts
The feel of her lips on mine and the little sounds she made followed me all day long and into my dreams. I was itching to see her again, and it took everything in me not to chase after her when she left me yesterday, but I knew she had other things on her mind. Things far more important than me.
“Just give mesomething,” Anna begged, flopping back on the bed dramatically.
“We kissed.”
My sister shrieked so loud I was surprised the windows didn’t shatter. Saying it out loud kinda made me want to do that giddy girl shriek too. But I settled with a grin because I was damn happy about it, that’s for sure.
She got on her knees, brown eyes wide and sparkling. “And?”
“And that’s it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
“She’s got a lot going on. Charlotte is not doing well…at all.”
She frowned. “That’s sad. She’s a nice lady.”
The memory of Claire collapsing against her truck, sobbing so hard nothing came out, had me looking down at the comforter, swallowing hard. “Yeah,” I cleared my throat, “she is.”
“How was the kiss?”
“Life changing,” I said honestly, not thinking. My mind was on Claire and Charlotte, not the question. I winced. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
Anna’s smile was borderline creepy with how wide it was. All teeth. Full joy. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes and slapped her with a pillow gently, fighting a smile. “Go away.”
She just laughed. “Beau’s in loooooove,” she sang to the ceiling, kicking her feet.
My face felt like it was on fire. “Fuck off. No, I’m not. We just kissed, that’s it.”
“That’s what everyone says before the big fall. Next thing you know, they’re all you can think about. Everything reminds you of them. And your life is basically consumed by what they think and feel. It’s terrible, and magical.” She let out a blissful sigh. “Ugh, I miss Jo.”
My brows furrowed. “Weren’t youjustat your house?”
“Yeah.” She sat up and patted my leg. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it one day.”
She stopped short. “Wait. What does this mean about the Cavendish partnership?”
“She’s not sure if she’s staying in or not. At first, she said she was dropping out, and I think I might’ve talked her into staying, but we weren’t really…” The last thing on my mind yesterday was her staying in that fucking competition. Well, once she kissed me anyway.
“That’s when the smooching started,” she teased.
“Okay, you can fuck off for real now. Goodbye.”
“Byeeeee,” she said, and then sang “Beau’s in love” until I heard the front door close behind her.
I was restless all morning,my mind drifting to Claire. I did everything I could think of to get the anxious energy out: rode Daisy, practiced cutting cattle, did laundry, worked on the Cavendish project, cleaned out the fucking fridge.
It was only a matter of time before I found myself back at the hospital, staring at the last place I had seen my mother. I had avoided it at all costs since then; I didn’t even go when Mount had his hip surgery. The only thing that brought me to this part of town was that my doctor’s office was in the complex?—
And now Claire.
I had a pretty strong feeling she was in there when I didn’t see her walking around Golden Bridle this morning, and I was desperate to see her. To know she was okay. Or as okay as she could be anyway.
Grabbing the wildflowers I picked back home, I let out a deep sigh and got out of the truck. My heart was in my throat as I walked through the automatic doors. My skin crawled at the fluorescent lights. My stomach turned at the antiseptic scent. It was like I was five all over again, just a boy saying goodbye to my mama with a brand-new baby brother I didn’t know what to do with.
But a girl I was starting to really care about was nearing saying bye to hers, and I refused to let her do it alone.
