Page 132 of That Moment
My throat goes tight. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. You’ve got all night.”
“Good.”
At the edge of the yard, she turns to Priscilla, and for a beat, we just sit there facing each other in the hush. Her hair moves in the light breeze. There’s a line between her brows that wasn’t there this afternoon.
“Adrienne,” I say, because I can’t help it. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”
Her mouth trembles, almost a smile. “That’s what my mom says.”
“Smart woman.”
“She is.” She nudges Priscilla forward, then looks back at me over her shoulder, eyes shining a little more than the moonlight can explain. “Come on, cowboy. Ride with me.”
I click my tongue, Rosa steps out, and the barn falls behind us. The creek’s a silver ribbon ahead, the girls already picking up the pace when they see it.
I keep close enough that our knees brush now and then. I don’t reach for her hand. Not yet. I give her space, hoping that she’ll say the thing that’s sitting heavy in her chest. And if it’s what I think it is, if it’s that I’m not the man her dad wants, then I’ll have to decide how I’m going to handle it.
We ride side by side, the soft jingle of tack the only sound between us. I give her time. Every few feet, her lips part like she’s about to say something, then she closes them again. I can almost see the words forming, dying, starting again.
Finally, she exhales. “My dad doesn’t approve.”
Just like that, the night tilts. I keep my eyes ahead, watching Rosa’s ears flick forward. “Of what?”
Her voice is small but steady. “Us. Me choosing us.”
The single word lands heavily.Us.My grip on the reins tightens. “Did he say that?”
She nods once, then shakes her head, frustrated. “Not directly. But he doesn’t have to. You know my dad, he talks in half-sentences and expectations.”
I know Hudson Slade. I’ve worked beside him, fixed his trucks, and eaten at his table more times than I can count. He’s always been polite, even kind. But yeah, I know what’s between the lines when a man like that looks at a guy like me sniffing around his daughter.
“And what exactly did heexpectyou to do?” I ask, voice rougher than I mean it to be.
Adrienne sighs, adjusting her grip on the reins. “He thinks I’m… distracted. That I’m losing focus. That this”—she gestures between us—“isn’t serious. That I'm throwing away this amazing opportunity in L.A. because I’m settling here. At least, that’s what I gather from him.”
I hear what she doesn’t say:He doesn’t think you’re enough.
The words crawl under my skin, burn low in my chest. It’s always been an insecurity on my part, being best friends with the sons of billionaires. I didn’t fall in line like the rest of the guys in this town, didn’t get a job at Slade Brewery, even when I was handed one by Hudson himself. It wasn’t that I wasn’t appreciative of the offer; it’s just that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I liked cars, loved them. I’ve known that since I was young, and I wanted to follow that passion, so I did. I guess I thought a man like Hudson Slade would admire that in a man…I guess not.
I stare out across the creek, the moon glinting off the water like shards of glass. “So it’s about me.”
She turns her head sharply. “No. It’s about him. His ideas of who I should be with, how my life should look. My brothers do the same thing, only louder. It’s like they see me as the little sister, even though I came out first.”
“Yeah, but they don’t have the final say.”
Her laugh is humorless. “Tell that to them.” She shifts in her saddle, exhaling hard. She keeps talking, voice softer now. “He asked me tonight if I’d really turned down L.A., " Axel told him.”
My jaw flexes. “Of course he did.”
She nods, eyes flicking toward me. “He asked me why. And I told him the truth, that it wasn’t what I wanted.”
“That’s good,” I say, even though my pulse is drumming.
She hesitates. “My mom says it’s because I’m his little girl and he’s worried. I get that, I do but I’m alsonota little girlanymore. I’m a grown woman, and I’ve earned the right to go after what I want. I have done everything that was expected of me and more, and now I get to choose.”
“Hey,” I reach my hand out and grab hers, “It’s gonna be okay. Your mom is right, he’s just struggling with change, that's all. I’m sure he sees his little girl settling down with a man of your caliber.”
“Is that what we’re doing?” She smiles, “settling down?” She has that cute, flirty glint in her eye.
