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Noah’s Journey(22)

By:C.A. Harms


Her reaction made something inside me ache. I didn’t want to keep Austin from her. Even with all the shit she was pulling, the thought never crossed my mind. She was his mother and he loved her, so taking him from her would only punish my son, which I would never do.

“Around eight tonight, can I have him call you to say good night?” I asked, looking directly at Stacey. My stomach tightened at the glossy look in her eyes. She nodded as she stepped forward and reached out for Austin’s hand.

When she spoke, the vibration of her lower lip was like a punch in the stomach. “I’ll miss you, handsome,” she whispered as she lifted up on her tiptoes before placing a soft kiss to his cheek. “You be a good boy, okay?”

As she went to step back, I don’t know what possessed me, but I placed my hand on her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. She pressed her face against my neck, and her body shook lightly.

“I’ve never gone a night without him.” Her tears soaked my shirt as she took a moment to attempt to calm her sadness. When she stepped back and put on a happy face, I got a small glimpse of the girl I used to know. “You have fun with your daddy. And tomorrow when you get back, we will make the biggest batch of chocolate chip cookies we’ve ever made. Then we’ll watch your favorite movie while we eat them until we feel like we might pop.” She tickled his stomach, and he giggled as he wiggled in my arms.

All my anger and disgust at her earlier actions faded away. Stacey was scared of the very same things I was. The thought of losing Austin had us both doing and saying things that weren’t fair to each other.





Chapter Thirteen





Alena



I had shown up at the ranch with Amber expecting to see Noah, but he was nowhere to be found. Apparently he ran into some issues while picking up Austin. No one actually knew when he would grace us with his presence, but it didn’t stop the family from moving on.

I was pulled off toward the barn by Jackson and placed on the safest horse. Jackson described Stella, an older thoroughbred mare, as calm and less likely to spook than other horses. With my lack of experience when it came to riding, I needed as much help as I could get.

On the third attempt, I was finally able to mount the horse. I sat frozen stiff atop this gorgeous brown horse, afraid to move from fear of falling to the ground and gripping her so hard with my thighs, I felt a little sorry for her.

“Alena, honey, you have to nudge her along,” Bailey said from my left. I moved very slowly as I looked in her direction. There she sat, Miss City Girl, the high-heel queen herself, looking completely comfortable on Diamond, the beautiful black-and-white thoroughbred Jackson had bought her. I had never imagined Bailey being a country girl, but after she and Jackson became an item, she adjusted remarkably to the ranch lifestyle. I admired her calmness.

“Just nudge her side lightly with your heel. Like this,” she directed as she tapped the side of her horse with her boot, and Diamond stepped forward. “And when you want her to stop, you pull back on the reins.”

“How did I let you all convince me to do this?” I could hear the shakiness in my voice.

Olivia laughed, and I looked back over my shoulder at her. This movement caused Stella to step to the side, and I instantly fell forward, wrapping my arms around her neck. I closed my eyes tightly, bracing for the fall I was sure was coming.

“What the hell are you doing, Alena? You don’t have to hug Stella for her to be gentle,” Jackson said as he too joined the pick-on-Alena party. “She’s as gentle as they come, darlin’.”

I peeked through squinted eyelids and slowly began to rise to a sitting position. “Forgive me for being just a little freaked out. I am straddling an animal that could buck me off in two seconds flat. I’m a little uneasy here.” I took in a few short breaths, carefully slid my hands along the horse’s neck, and took the reins in my fists.

“You got it,” Ryan said, and his tone was much more reassuring. Jackson was a practical joker, a big kid at heart, and at times that was fun. But right now, I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t do something to make this moment even tenser. Ryan, on the other hand, was a calming, rational man who tried to make everything just a little easier to handle anytime a tense situation would surface. “Just relax. If there’s any horse on this ranch you can trust, it’s Stella.”

I nodded and took in one last calming breath before I lifted my boot just enough to lightly tap Stella’s side. And as Ryan said, she treated me right. She slowly took a step forward, and I may have squealed before biting my lip to refrain from spooking her, but she remained calm.