Page 133 of That Moment
We ride the rest of the loop in silence, the night pressing close. By the time we get back to the barn, the sky’s gone darker, stars crowding the horizon. We move together in silence, unsaddling, brushing down the mares.
When she turns to hang the halter, I step behind her, hands finding her hips. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
She leans back against me for a second, then nods. “Yeah. I just… needed to say it out loud.”
I press a kiss to her shoulder, breathing her in. “Thank you for telling me.”
She turns, arms slipping around my neck. “I can’t stay. I’ve got that meeting in Denver in the morning.”
I nod, even though I hate it. “Text me when you get there, okay?”
“I will.”
I cup her jaw, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. “I love you.”
Her lips part on a shaky breath, her smile growing wide. “I love you too.”
I kiss her for several minutes. When we finally pull apart, she steps back, whispering, “Goodnight, Scotty.”
“Night, sweetheart.”
I stand in the barn doorway as she drives away, her headlights fading into the dark. When it’s quiet again, I look upat the stars. I tell myself it’s fine. That she loves me, that love should be enough. But I know before I even head inside, there’s no way I’ll sleep tonight.
The house is too quiet when I close up the barn. I wash my hands at the kitchen sink until the water runs cold and the soap smell replaces the smell of horses. Doesn’t help. The silence presses in anyway.
I crack a beer and walk out to the back steps. Hudson’s voice won’t leave my head. The picture he keeps in his mind of how Adrienne’s life should look. The kind of man he wants at her side. I keep seeing that picture, and I’m not in it. A thought hits me, mean and petty.
If I’d taken that job at Slade Brewing when he offered all those years ago, would this be easier? If I wore polos and sat in meetings and said synergy like the rest of the guys, would Hudson give me the nod?
I tip the bottle back again, set it down too hard beside me. The glass clinks against the wood. Anger is easier than pain. If he thinks I’m not enough, he can say it to my face. I’ll take that before I’ll take the quiet judgment that makes Adrienne doubt the ground under her feet.
My phone glows on the step. I thumb it awake. On a whim, I scroll to Aiden’s name. He’s the calm one. The one who thinks before he swings.I should leave it. It’s late.I tap call anyway.
He picks up on the second ring, voice low and even, like he was expecting me. “Hey, man.”
“Sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t. Night check on the herd. What’s up?”
I don’t ease into it. I don’t have it in me. “Hudson doesn’t approve.”
A beat. “Of you and Adrienne?”
“Yeah.”
I hear him blow out a breath. Not surprised. “You talk to Adrienne?”
“She told me. Said it wasn’t direct. But I know what it means.” My throat feels tight. I look out at the fence line to keep my voice steady. “Aiden, I love your sister.”
“I know,” he says gently.
“I want to marry her.” The words come out rough and simple. Saying them out loud settles something in me and lights something up at the same time. “Not someday in theory. I mean it. I want a life with her. The house, the kids, the whole mess. I want all of it with her.”
He’s quiet for a second. Then I hear the small smile in his voice. “Good.”
I’m thrown. “Good?”
“Scotty, I’ve been waiting for you two to get here since we were dumb teenagers pretending not to notice how you looked at each other. You’ve both been circling the same fire for years. I always figured you’d stop pretending one day.”
