Chapter 18 #2
The rest of the night passes in a blur of music, laughter, and the steady rhythm of bartending, but every time the door opens my head turns before I can stop it.
Just in case.
And later, while I’m wiping down the bar after the crowd thins out, my mind drifts somewhere it shouldn’t.
Back to the farm.
To quiet mornings with the animals already stirring before the sun came up, and Cole leaning against the barn doorway watching me argue with Kevin the goat like it was the most entertaining thing he’d seen all week.
For the first time in years my house didn’t feel empty.
Now the silence waiting there tonight feels louder than the rooster ever did.
When I finally pull into the driveway hours later, the farmhouse sits dark and still under the night sky. No porch light. No tall biker leaning against the railing.
Just quiet. I unlock the door and step inside, the familiar sounds of the animals shifting around the house greeting me, but the place still feels different. Bigger. Colder.
And standing there in the middle of my kitchen, staring at the empty space where Cole used to lean against the counter with his arms folded, I finally let myself admit the one thing I’ve been trying not to think about all night. Pushing him away might have been a mistake.
I sigh and push myself off the door, dragging my bag to the kitchen counter before wandering into the living room and dropping onto the couch like my legs have suddenly decided they’re done holding me up for the night.
The cushions sink under my weight, familiar and worn, and I lean back against the armrest, staring up at the ceiling for a moment while the quiet wraps around me.
I don’t even make it ten seconds before I hear the first set of nails clicking across the floor.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, turning my head toward the hallway. “I know.”
Daisy appears first, tail wagging so hard her whole back end wiggles when she spots me. Moose barrels in right behind her like a furry freight train, skidding slightly on the hardwood before correcting his course and launching himself halfway onto the couch beside me.
“Whoa…hey!” I laugh, shoving at his shoulder as he tries to climb fully into my lap. “You weigh more than I do, you giant goof.”
Moose ignores that entirely, dropping his big head onto my thigh like he’s been doing it his entire life. Daisy hops up on the other side of me a second later, curling against my hip while her tail thumps softly against the couch cushion.
A smaller set of paws joins the pile next.
Cricket scrambles up between them, squeezing herself into the narrow strip of space left between my legs like she’s afraid she might miss something important if she stays on the floor.
“Well look at you three,” I murmur, running a hand over Moose’s head while Daisy presses closer against my side. “You’d think I’d been gone for a week instead of a few hours.”
Moose lets out a soft huff and shifts his weight against my leg like he’s settling in for the night. Daisy nudges my arm with her nose until I start scratching behind her ears.
The familiar weight of them around me eases something tight in my chest.
“You guys are terrible at personal space,” I tell them quietly, letting my fingers drift through Daisy’s fur.
Moose lifts his head just enough to look up at me with those big brown eyes that somehow always manage to make him look both extremely concerned and extremely dumb at the same time.
“Oh don’t look at me like that,” I mutter. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Cricket wiggles a little deeper between them, letting out a tiny satisfied sigh when she manages to wedge herself into the warmest spot available.
I lean my head back against the couch and stare toward the dark kitchen for a moment while my hand keeps moving automatically over Daisy’s back.
“You know what’s weird?” I say after a second.
Moose’s ears twitch like he’s listening.
“This couch felt a lot smaller a few days ago.”
Daisy glances up at me when my voice softens.
“Yeah,” I continue, scratching behind her ears again. “You remember him, don’t you?”
Moose’s tail thumps once against the couch cushion.
“Of course you do,” I sigh. “Hard to miss a guy that big stomping around the house.”
The memory sneaks up on me before I can stop it.
Cole sitting at the end of this same couch, one arm resting along the back while Moose leaned against his leg like they’d been friends forever. Daisy curled against his boot. Cricket climbing all over him like he was just another piece of furniture in the house.
He didn’t even complain about it.
Just sat there watching me with that quiet half-amused look on his face like the chaos around him was somehow entertaining.
My fingers still against Daisy’s fur for a second before I realize what I’m doing.
“Yeah,” I murmur quietly. “He’s gone.”
Moose lifts his head again, nudging my hand like he wants me to keep petting him.
“I know,” I tell him softly. “You liked him.”
Moose’s tail thumps once more.
“Traitor.”
Daisy lets out a small whining sound and presses closer to my side.
“Oh don’t start with me,” I mutter, running my hand along her back again. “You were worse than him.”
I sigh and sink deeper into the couch cushions, letting the warmth of the dogs pressed around me soak into my skin while the quiet of the house settles back in.
“You know the worst part?” I say after a moment.
Moose’s ears perk up again.
“He fit here.”
The words come out softer than I meant them to.
“This place,” I continue quietly, glancing around the living room. “The barn. The mornings. All of it.”
I shake my head slightly.
“Stupid, right?”
Daisy nudges my arm again like she disagrees.
“I told him it wasn’t real life,” I mutter, staring toward the dark kitchen. “Told him we were just… what did I say?”
My mouth twists.
“Passing time.”
Cricket shifts slightly between Moose and Daisy, letting out another little sigh.
“Yeah,” I murmur, rubbing Moose’s ears again. “That went over real well.”
The house stays quiet for a moment except for the sound of Moose breathing and Daisy’s tail occasionally thumping against the couch.
“You know what’s really annoying?” I say after a few seconds. “He didn’t even argue.”
Moose blinks up at me.
“Not one word,” I continue. “Just packed his bag and walked out like I made perfect sense.”
I shake my head, letting out a quiet breath.
“Which probably means he knew I was full of it.”
Daisy shifts her weight slightly against me, pressing her nose into my side like she’s trying to burrow closer.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell her softly. “You didn’t hear the whole conversation.”
Moose lets out another soft huff.
I glance down at him.
“Oh you would’ve taken his side too, wouldn’t you?” I mutter.
His tail thumps again.
“Unbelievable.”
I lean my head back against the couch again, staring up at the ceiling while my fingers keep drifting through Daisy’s fur automatically.
“You know he was probably already halfway back to Jackson by now,” I say quietly.
The thought lands heavier than I expect.
“Or maybe he stayed in town to deal with Voss first,” I add after a moment.
The memory of the look on Cole’s face when he saw my bruised lip flashes through my mind again.
Calm.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
I swallow slightly.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Something tells me Voss isn’t having a great night.”
Moose shifts slightly against my leg while Daisy sighs softly beside me.
The quiet stretches out around us again.
“You guys think I screwed that up?” I ask finally.
Three pairs of eyes stare up at me.
“Don’t answer that,” I mutter quickly.
Moose’s tail thumps anyway.
“Traitors,” I sigh again.
But despite the words, my hand keeps moving through their fur while the house settles around us.
And for the first time since Cole walked out my front door earlier that day, I let myself sit there in the quiet and admit something I’ve been trying really hard not to think about.
The house didn’t feel this empty before he showed up.
And now that he’s gone…It feels like something important walked out that door with him.