Chapter 6
six
. . .
Wren
“I cannot believe she has moved into our childhood home. Caroline texted me, and she said she and Douglas are not happy about it at all,” I said to my brother as I walked toward Booze and Brews. I’d been trying to reach him for a few days, as he was in Kauai on vacation with his fiancée, Farah.
“Yes. I spoke to Dad, and he said with them expecting a child, it was the best option,” Collin said, as if it wasn’t that outrageous.
“The ink isn’t even dry on the divorce papers, and he’s living with another woman,” I hissed.
“Yeah, that didn’t take long, did it? But it’s not like Mom isn’t aware of his affairs at this point. This shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us anymore.”
Collin could be very cold about things. The first time I’d learned of my father’s affairs, I’d been devastated.
The only person I’d confided in was Axel.
It was a very difficult time in my life. My relationship with my father had completely changed after that. The only real connection we’d shared after everything that had happened was eventing. It was all we talked about, and all we really had in common.
And then he sold my horse.
So his respect for the sport was only as deep as my achievements and success.
“Are you not surprised that he’s having another child this late in life?”
“No. Men do it all the time,” Collin said. “We don’t have to worry about any sort of biological clock the way women do. And honestly, Mom filed for divorce, and she’s going to walk away with a shit ton of money. In the end, I think everyone will be happier.”
Like I said, my brother could be very cold.
I blew out a breath while my cowboy boots clanked against the sidewalk as I moved through the charming downtown. “When are you coming home?”
“We head back to the city in a few days, and then I’ll make the drive home to see you. I’ll set up a dinner with Dad so we can see how he’s doing, and I’ll request that he come without Chrissy so it can be just the three of us, all right?”
“Okay,” I said.
“I’m sorry, sis. I know things are weird for you right now, and you aren’t training and you don’t have a horse, and you’re dealing with their divorce on top of that. It’s a lot. Are you doing all right?”
“I’m fine. Have you been able to find anything out about where Wrax is?”
“I’ve got some calls out, but honestly, Wren, I think you should let it go. You won Worlds with him; he’s served his purpose. But he’s old and he’s not going to take you where you want to go. He’s tired. Let him enjoy the pasture. Time to move forward and start looking for a new horse.”
What the actual hell.
I came to a stop a few feet from the bar. “Excuse me? ‘He’s served his purpose’? Are you fucking kidding me, Collin?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Relax. I’m just saying, you achieved something amazing together, and he’s older now. He’s probably happy being out in a field somewhere grazing and enjoying his days and not being pushed physically. That’s all I meant.”
Collin made it look effortless to be an asshole sometimes, but I’d always loved him in spite of it. But the older he got, the more selfish he appeared to be.
Cheating on Emerson Chadwick shortly before their wedding, and with her maid of honor and best friend, Farah, had shown me how low he could go.
And he’d somehow made himself the victim in that whole situation.
“Wrax is a family member to me, Collin. He’s not just a horse that I won competitions with. And he is definitely not out in some field feeling grateful that I sent him away,” I said, trying hard to contain my anger. “Not everyone is disposable.”
“Oh, wow. Now I’m the asshole?”
Yes, I’m fairly certain you’re usually the asshole.
“I’m not going to argue that.” I shrugged, because it was true.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive.” He chuckled, as if this was all a big joke. Meanwhile my life was in the shitter, my parents were getting a divorce, and nothing was a joke to me. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yes, of course. But you know how important Wrax is to me, so please don’t make light of it.
Dad sold him right out from under me, and he won’t tell me where he is.
You said you had people who could look into it and help me find him.
If you don’t, I will do it myself. I’m going to find a way to get him back. ”
A loud sigh came through the phone. “Don’t do anything. I have all my feelers out. I am looking for him, Wren. I’ve got several people working on it. Just give me some time. Let’s talk about it next week when I come there.”
“Sure. Listen, I’m here at Booze and Brews to meet some friends, so I’m going to go inside.”
“Have fun. I’ll see you next week. Love you, sis.”
“Love you.” I ended the call, shaking off the irritation that was still festering in me after his douchebag comment about Wrax.
I pulled the door open, glancing around the space to see Emilia Taylor waving me over.
She was sitting at the edge of a big table with Henley and Lulu, whom I’d just met.
Emilia had come to see me about her rental place, and I’d told her that Axel had offered me a free apartment in exchange for care of his animals.
She was so nice about it, and she’d invited me to her book club.
I was a big reader and happy to join them.
All my years of competition had been so singularly focused, so I’d become a big reader. It was my favorite form of escape from a very stressful reality. But I hadn’t had time for things like book clubs and happy hour with friends.
I’d hung out with the other athletes I trained with.
This was—refreshing.
I glanced over to see Axel sitting at the other end of the big table with his brother and cousins. The hockey game was on, and everyone in town would be watching local superstar Clark Chadwick.
I walked toward the table just as Axel turned, and his gaze locked with mine. I did my best to avoid him most days, but it wasn’t easy, seeing as I hardly left his ranch. He kept busy as well, and aside from a few short conversations, we’d kept to ourselves.
But being around him was challenging.
“Wren Waterstone,” a voice called out before I’d made it over to the group, and I turned to see Josh Black move beside me.
I despised him.
I recognized a shady dude when I saw one.
And Josh Black was just that—shady.
“Hey, Josh. How are you?” I asked. I’d been grateful that he hadn’t been working on the day I’d gone to the grocery store, which his family owned.
It was the stroke of luck that I’d hoped for.
“I’m better now.” He waggled his brows, and I kept my expression completely void of emotion because I knew he was looking for a reaction. “Congrats on being the only world champion from Rosewood River.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. Take care.” I held up my hand and started to turn away when he spoke again.
“It sucks about your parents. I heard your dad moved his mistress into your home.” He smirked.
“Thanks for bringing that up.” I glared at him. “I’m sure it’s coming from a place of concern.”
“Of course it is. I hear you haven’t been riding since your accident. I suppose you’ll be just fine as long as you keep flashing us that pretty little smile of yours.”
My God. His game was weak, and I had no patience for it.
“Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep that in mind.” I crossed my arms over my chest, anxious to find a way to end this conversation.
“You always did have a mouth on you.” He smirked again. “Too bad you can’t seem to find a better way to put it to good use.”
Oh. No. He. Didn’t.
“Let me give you a little tip, Josh. Do you remember when I kicked you in the balls a few years ago because you smacked me on the ass multiple times when you were drunk?”
He nodded slowly, a devious grin on his face, which told me he thought I was kidding around with him. “Well, I’ve got steel-toe boots on, and I would have no problem kicking you so hard that you don’t recover this time.”
“Is there a problem here?” I was startled by Axel’s deep voice when he stepped up beside me.
“Ah… I thought you two had a falling out. You’re still coming to her rescue, huh?” Josh shook his head with disgust.
“I don’t need anyone to rescue me, jackass. Move along,” I said, daring Josh to challenge me. I wasn’t kidding about these boots. I could drop him in the blink of an eye if I wanted to.
Josh held his hands up with a laugh and walked away. I turned to look at Axel. “I had it handled.”
“I know you did. I just wanted you to know I was there if you needed me,” he said, his wavy brown hair falling over his forehead in the sexiest way. Why did he have to be so damn good-looking?
“I can take care of myself.” I cleared my throat and tipped my chin up. “But thank you.”
His lips turned up in the corners. “Yep. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here? We could have walked over together.”
“Well, first off, I didn’t know you were coming. Second, we don’t need to walk together. Plus, I talked to my brother on my walk here.” I blew out a breath at the memory of that call. “I’m going to go say hi to the girls. Have a good night.”
“You too,” he said before returning to his side of the table.
“Hey.” I took the open seat next to Emilia. “What’s the score?”
“It’s still zero-zero.” Lulu waved at Jazzy, who owned the bar. I stood up and hugged her when she walked over. I’d known her my whole life, and I was happy to see her. We made small talk for a few minutes, and then she left to get me a beer.
I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I enjoyed an occasional cold brew.
“Did you start the book last night?” Henley asked as the guys cheered loudly when Clark skated down the ice, maneuvering the puck toward the goal, but he was slammed into the glass before he could take his shot.
“I did. I’ve never read Hannah Chase, but I’m loving this book,” I said, smiling up at Jazzy when she set the beer down in front of me.
“Isn’t Blaze the hottest hero you’ve ever read?” Lulu asked. “I mean, he’s such a badass football player.”
“Yes. I’m loving it. And Monique is fierce and strong—my favorite kind of heroine,” I said, taking a sip of my beer and glancing up to see Axel’s eyes on me. I quickly turned away.
“Same,” they both said in unison.
The entire bar was on their feet shouting now, and I looked up just in time to see Clark make his way down the ice once again, and this time he scored.
The bar went crazy, which made me laugh. It felt good to laugh and have a good time.
It had been a while.
Life had been so serious the last few years. There was an intensity that came with competing at the elite level in eventing, and though I thrived most of the time, I also found it easy to get lost in everything.
I hadn’t been living for a while.
Throughout the game, the girls periodically dragged me onto the dance floor for some line dancing. I hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. I’d always loved line dancing, and I found my rhythm immediately.
After we’d all had a few beers and the Lions won the game, we said our goodbyes. Axel and I walked out at the same time.
I was a few strides ahead of him as we walked in silence, until I heard him chuckling from behind me.
I whipped around. “Something funny?”
“Yeah. Something’s funny, Wren.” He stepped up beside me, a cocky grin on his face.
“What’s so funny?” I grumped.
“Well, if you must know, you’ve got a piece of toilet paper stuck to your boot.”
I rolled my eyes before bending down and snatching the white paper from my boot and balling it up to throw in the trash can a few feet up the road. “It’s a napkin, not toilet paper.”
“Still funny,” he said, his words slurring the slightest bit. He’d clearly had more to drink than I had, and we started walking again.
“It’s not that funny.” I tried to appear unfazed, though I was fighting back laughter on the inside.
We walked in silence again for a few beats, and then he spoke. “How was your call with your brother?”
“I know you hate him, so why even ask?”
“Because I know that your family is going through a lot right now, and I want to make sure someone’s there for you.” His words were genuine, and they hit me right in the center of my chest. I didn’t respond at first.
“Collin is coming next week to visit. He’s trying to help me find out where Wrax is.” My brother might not understand why I wanted to get Wrax back, but I knew he was doing everything he could to help me find him.
Axel didn’t respond, and we walked up his long driveway toward his house, pausing at the steps leading to the apartment above his garage.
“You hate him so much that you can’t just say how nice it is that he’s helping me?” I asked, my gaze locking with his.
“I guess not, Wren.”
I rolled my eyes and stormed up the stairs, then stepped inside my apartment and slammed the door.
And I hated the fact that it took everything I had in me to walk away from Axel, when all I wanted was to ask him to wrap his arms around me.
Because I missed my best friend.
And keeping that to myself was getting more difficult with each passing day.