“What?” she snaps, rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders. “You have Wes and I have…”
I have a pretty good idea of whose name she’s going to say but I let her tell me. “Liam,” she finishes.
“You and Liam together?”
“No, but sometimes...” She trails off.
My eyebrows arch, and I nod my head, understanding what she means.
“Don’t do that. Don’t judge me,” she whispers. She shakes her head, and I watch as tears threaten to spill from her sad green eyes, and I know that she thinks she has just made a huge mistake.
“I’m not judging you, Sarah. I don’t know the history between y’all, but I’m here if you need anything.” I reach up and squeeze her hand. I’ve seen the way they are around each other, but I’ve also seen Liam fuck one girl one night and a different girl the next.
She swipes the tears away. “Anyway, I just came to get Isabel. I saw Bailey out there, and she said this was where y’all were. The parents are starting to show up, and I’d like to get her cleaned up before she leaves.”
“Is Bailey still out there?” I stand up and wipe pieces of hay off my ass.
“I think so. She was waiting with John.”
I walk through the threshold of the stall when Sarah whispers, “Please don’t tell anybody.”
“Not my story or secret to tell. Just… be careful. Okay?”
She nods. “Thanks.”
I offer her a sympathetic smile as I walk away. When I exit the barn, I see Bailey sitting on the ground next to John’s wheelchair, laughing while they wait for their rides. I start in their direction when Wes stops me. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Did you get my note?”
I nod. “I did. Thank you. I loved the flowers that you put in there.”
“What time should I meet you in the barn? I see Bailey’s getting ready to leave.”
“I don’t think tonight is gonna work. I told your mom yesterday that I’d help pull weeds and cook tonight.”
“Can’t you get out of it?” he asks with an adorable pout.
“No. I’m sorry.”
“Okay. Some other time maybe.” His tone carries an edge that I don’t like as he spins on his heel and walks away.
Are you fucking kidding me? Sarah just snapped at me not even ten minutes ago because she thinks I was judging her, and now, my boyfriend is pissed off because I’m not dumping his mom to hang out in the barn with him. I sigh and look over to see Bailey is getting in her car with what I can only assume is her mom. Great. Now she’s leaving, and I didn’t even tell her bye. I reach up and run my hands down my face before I make my way to help Mrs. Sandy out.
A couple hours later, and still no sign of Wes, so I decide I need some time to myself. Maybe some riding will do me good. I haven’t spent much time with Lucy or Jane anyway. As I push the screen door open and step out onto the porch, the first thing that I notice is the clouds. They hang heavy and low in the sky, peppering it with different shades of grey. The soft rumble of thunder off in the distance, and the cooler breeze moving in, tell me I don’t have too long to ride. With determined steps, I race toward the barn. Once inside, I decide it’s Lucy whom I’m taking out. I grab a saddle pad, saddle, bridle, and reins. I walk over to her stall, and after some coaxing, I finally get everything set up on her. With the reins hanging from the horn of the saddle, I gather them in my hands and lead her out of the stall into the open humid, sticky, summer air outside the barn.
I lift my left leg, hooking my foot through the stirrup as I grab onto the horn of the saddle. In one swift, fluid movement, I pull myself up while I swing my other leg over the saddle. I give Lucy a couple of minutes to adjust to my weight on her back. With no indication that she’s going to flip out, I squeeze my thighs and click my tongue. My body bounces with the movement as she walks forward, and I sigh contentedly. With the reins in one hand, I lean forward to rub her long, thick, muscular neck. “What am I doing?” I ask softly. I know she won’t answer, but that’s what I need right now. I just need to talk without anyone to interrupt me. I need to clear my head from the jumbled thoughts consuming me right now.
My hair flies away from my face as the breeze picks up. The barn grows more and more distant the farther Lucy and I ride into the pasture. How could Wes react like that? It’s a childish move to just storm away the way he did. I told him that I needed to help his mom. Maybe, I could understand if I was blowing him off for something ridiculous like painting my nails, but I wasn’t. Besides, he shouldn’t assume that whenever he calls or leaves a note that I’m going to be there at his beck and call. Then, what was that with Sarah? I would never judge her, no matter what decisions she made about her and Liam. If they want to be a fling, then that’s their business.