8. Bradyn
CHAPTER 8
brADYN
I ’d seriously hoped Sammy would be up and at the barn first thing this morning just like she was yesterday. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened, and I ended up spending the morning cleaning horse stalls while I mentally went over every second of last night.
It really was a great night.
The best I’d had in a while.
Seeing Sammy outside of the ranch meant I got to see a woman who smiled often and laughed at Lani’s jokes. Even a few of mine. Though she’s still guarded, I’d gotten to see more of her personality by the time I’d dropped her off.
And by the time I got home, I’d come to the conclusion that I desperately want to know more about Sammy Lewis. Maybe take her to dinner one day, just the two of us.
I dump the final wheelbarrow and head back into the barn to remove my gloves and take a drink from my bottle of water. Bravo is stretched out just inside the breezeway, his belly up in the air, body in a crescent shape as he snores happily.
Oh, to be a dog.
“Hey, I thought I might find you here.” Elliot steps into the barn. He spent a good portion of yesterday ordering food for the animals. Then, because the delivery trucks were down, he and Riley did a run first thing this morning to pick it up.
“Just trying to kill some time before dinner. How’s it going?”
“Not bad. We got all the bags unloaded. We’re about to head over to the church for service.”
“Service? What time is it?” I check my watch, shocked to see that it’s nearly ten in the morning. “I completely lost track of time. Sorry.” I set my gloves aside and retrieve my phone and water bottle from the shelf near the tack room.
“No worries. Want us to wait for you?”
“Nah, that’s all right. I’ll get cleaned up and sneak in the back.”
“Sounds good. See you there.”
“ Hier, Bravo,” I call out. Bravo jumps up and follows me into the UTV. As we make the drive up to my house, my attention is stolen from the road momentarily as Sammy crests the hill on the back of Midnight. She sits high on the horse’s back, a baseball cap pulled low over her face.
She sits like she was made for the saddle, and seeing it only cements the budding feelings I’m carting around for her. I just wish I knew how long she planned to stay so I’d know exactly what I’m getting myself into.
Eventual heartbreak? Or something more permanent?
“Bradyn Hunt. It’s good to see you back in town,” Pastor Gabriel Ford greets as I leave the pews and head out into the fellowship hall.
“It’s good to be back,” I reply, shaking his offered hand. I’ve met with the pastor on more than one occasion when I’ve been struggling with the weight of a mission, and he’s always there to listen and guide.
He’s a good man, one I’ve known since I was a kid. His daughter, Melody, graduated the same year I did.
“If you need to talk, my door is open.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. How is Grace? Melody? The grandkids?”
“All doing great. Grace went over to Melody and Huey’s place this morning to sit with the baby. He had to work, and Melody’s not been getting a lot of sleep with having a teething baby and a toddler.”
“I’m sure Grace is loving every moment of that.”
He beams at me, his gray eyes shining with joy. “You know she is.”
More people start filing in behind me, so I shake his hand again and say my goodbyes then head out into the mid-morning sun. It’s warmer today, though not by much, and if the weatherman is right, temperatures will be plummeting again tonight. Just in time for the nasty storm headed our way midweek.
I’m just about to open the door to my truck so I can head home and get back to work in the barn when I spot Sammy heading into our town’s small office supply store. Before I know it, I’m abandoning the truck and heading across the street.
I really shouldn’t follow her in here. It’s her private business after all, but the desire to see her again is so strong I’m walking into the store before realizing I have literally no reason to be here.
Sammy is standing in front of an assortment of postcards, studying the collection with the same scrutiny one might expect to use when diffusing a bomb. I start to turn away, but she happens to glance up at the same time and see me lingering near the entrance.
You’re doing this, Hunt. Not like I have a choice now. If I left, it would be weird.
Her gaze darkens when she sees me, and I have to force myself to smile. What is it that she has against me?
“Oh, hey,” I greet.
“Hey.”
“Afternoon, Bradyn,” Jerry Davidson, the owner, greets. “What brings you in here today?”
“Uh, I needed to get some stationary.”
“You got it.” He guides me over to a shelf directly across from the postcards. “Here is what we have. Anything in particular you’re looking for?”
“These are fine.” I grab the closest stack, not even bothering to look at it before I do.
“Sounds good.” He takes the stack then heads to the counter, right as Sammy is also ready to check out. Jerry scans the back of the stationary pack then sets it on the counter. “That’ll be twelve-sixty.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet then pay for the stationery. It’s only then that I lift it and realize I just bought twenty-two pages with kittens in the letterhead.
“Cute stationary,” Sammy comments.
“It’ll do the trick.” I glance down at her postcard momentarily, just long enough to see a beautiful background of bluebonnets. “Need one? You can send a personal note along with the postcard?”
“That’s okay. I’m partial to dogs myself.” She smiles, and I can’t help but return it.
“I can love them both.”
“No judgment here,” she replies.
“That all, Sammy?” Jerry asks as he takes her postcard.
“That’s it. Thanks.”
“Anytime. Hopefully, you can get it out before the storm hits.”
She nods. “Thanks. I hope so, too.”
He takes the money she set in front of him then offers her a few quarters back. “See you next week.”
“See you next week.” She smiles before heading for the door, but I beat her there, holding it open.
“Weekly office supply visits, huh?”
“It’s thrilling, what can I say.” Once we’re on the sidewalk, she looks me up and down. “You’re dressed nice for an afternoon of errands.”
“Church,” I reply, pointing to the chapel across the street.
“Oh, yeah. It is Sunday, isn’t it?”
“It is.” She starts walking, so I join in, noting her truck parked a few spots away. We’re there before I’ve even managed to come up with anything else to say, and as Sammy unlocks her door, I’m kicking myself for going into the store to begin with. “See you later?”
“See you later.” I offer her a wave then watch as she drives off before crossing the street toward my truck.
Much to my dismay, all of my brothers are standing there, waiting for me. Elliot arches a brow. “Needed kitten stationary?”
I unlock my door and toss the pack into my truck.
“I saw Sammy over there, too,” Riley offers.
“Curious, isn’t it?” Tucker adds.
“Can’t a guy buy kitten stationary in peace?”
“Not when that guy is practically shooting hearts from his eyes,” Dylan says. “Though I will say, hearts and kittens do seem to go together.”
“I am not shooting hearts out of my eyes.”
“No?” Riley leans back against my truck. “That’s certainly what it looked like to me. What about you, Tucker?”
“Looks to me like our big brother has a crush on Sammy.”
Heat creeps up the back of my neck. “She’s just interesting is all.”
“Hey, we think it’s great,” Elliot says.
“You do?”
“Yeah. Sammy is great, and you’re you, so why wouldn’t we be happy?”
“I just get a ‘you’re you’?” I snort. “Flattering.”
He shrugs. “I speak the truth. Want to grab some lunch before heading back to the ranch? I’m starving, and Mom is heading over to Mrs. Kinsley’s house.”
“Sure, I could eat.”
“Great.” He pushes off my truck and starts back across the street toward the café. I fall into step with my brothers, my thoughts still on Sammy. She’d said last night at dinner that she left college to travel. Based on her tone, I assumed she either lost contact with her family or didn’t have anyone left.
Yet, the postcard says something else, doesn’t it? And if she sends one weekly, that’s having regular communication, yet she doesn’t own a cell phone, and there aren’t landlines in any of the cabins. Maybe postcards are her only way of getting in touch with family? Or maybe she’s estranged?
I can’t imagine anyone ever turning their backs on her, but people have done stranger things. Still, it’s one more mystery surrounding a woman who has captivated me from the moment I laid eyes on her.