Chapter 2
2
Brett
Rich: Sofia is back in town. Meet me at the pub
I had been punched in the stomach.Memories of her flooded my mind, and a knot formed in my chest. Was the day finally here? The girl I left behind, the one I never quite managed to forget. She haunted my dreams, her voice echoing in my head, her laughter ringing in my ears. After all these years…
I wanted to see her, to talk to her, to find out if she still thought about me too. But I was afraid. Afraid of what she might say, afraid of what I might feel. Would she even want to see me?
The last time I saw her was the day I left for college on my baseball scholarship. I promised her I would come back for her, but life got in the way and I never did. I always regretted it, always wondered what could have been if I chose her instead. This was my chance to make things right.
Rich was the only person that could give me advice in this situation. My longest running friend and the only one left that was present for Sofia and I’s previous relationship. If anyone could understand my need to make things right, it was him. He had been my best friend for two decades and the only person that kept me updated on Sofia after I left. He knew how deep my love ran for that woman.
I arrived at the pub and spotted Rich sitting at a table near the back. He looked up and waved me over. As I got closer, he was holding a beer in his hand, his fingers tapping nervously against the bottle.
“Hey man, I knew you’d need some company after that news.”
“Yeah, no shit. So...Sofia's back huh?”
When her mother passed, it only made sense she would return to Lawson Ridge. News travels fast in small towns. I wish better circumstances had brought her back.
“Yeah I saw her at the grocery store with her son this afternoon. She looks good. Her mom left the ranch to her… so I’m assuming she’s back to wrangle it.”
When we were kids, Sofia dreamed about running the ranch, but then she moved away and honestly no one knew if she would ever return.
“I need your help,” I blurted out before I could chicken out. “I want to talk to Sofia and tell her how sorry I am for leaving her all those years ago. And how much she still means to me.”
Rich studied me carefully before letting out a sigh. “Are you sure about this? She might not want to hear it.”
“I have to try. I can't go through life wondering 'what if'. She deserves an explanation and an apology from me.”
Rich nodded, considering my words. “Alright, but you need to be prepared for the possibility that she might not want to see you. A lot can change in twelve years.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. “I know. But I have to try.”
Rich took a long swig of his beer before speaking again. “She's staying at her mom's old place on the ranch.”
My heart raced at the thought of seeing Sofia so soon. “Yeah, I work tomorrow so I’ll definitely run into her. Am I crazy to shoot my shot?”
Rich laughed. “You’ve been in love with that girl since you were little. Honestly, I don’t think you will open yourself up to anyone else until you know for sure Sofia is not interested.”
What would I say to her? How would she react?
Pondering this day for years, I dreamt of many different outcomes, but hopefully it worked in my favor. Since coming back to Lawson Ridge, and working at the ranch with her mother, I hadn’t dated a single person. I guess I always figured she’d eventually come back. And now she’s here.
I chugged my beer and slammed it down on the table. How the hell was I going to get any sleep tonight? I stood up and said goodbye to Rich and headed back home to toss and turn all night.
The next morning, I woke up early, too anxious to sleep. I paced around my apartment, rehearsing what I wanted to say to Sofia. By the time I had to leave to be at work I was a bundle of nerves. The drive to the ranch was both impossibly long and far too short. As I pulled up to the familiar white farmhouse, my palms began to sweat.
You ready for this?
I climbed out of the truck and made my way up the porch steps. My hand shook as I raised it to knock on the door. This was it . The moment I had been waiting for, dreaming of, for twelve long years.
The door swung open, but it was a little boy. “Hey there, is Sofia here?”
He looks at me with a smile. “She’s out on the ranch working already.”
I looked out over the ranch. “Okay. I’ll find her, then. Thanks, bud.”
She got an early start, which didn’t surprise me. When we were younger, she lived for doing ranch chores. Instead of going out on a search, I had a long list of things that needed to be done today anyway. I’d see her eventually. I noticed her a couple of times. Just as beautiful as I remembered, maybe even more so. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and she wore a simple t-shirt and jeans.
That was one of the things I loved about her. She didn’t dress fancy or wear a pound of makeup. She always wore jeans and a t-shirt with no makeup and still looked stunning.
Instead of approaching her first, I figured maybe I should let her do it. On her own terms.