Chapter 7
seven
. . .
Axel
I’d asked the guys to keep Wren distracted during lunch, as I’d received a call that Wrax would be arriving soon. I’d been excited all day about it, knowing he was coming home.
I loved this horse. He was amazing even when he was young.
He was the horse that my best friend had chased her dreams on.
Not only chased them, achieved them.
Wren was one of the most decorated eventing athletes in the world.
And Wrax had played a big role in that.
I saw the red truck pull all the way up, and I pointed toward the barn as the man made his way over there.
“Axel Chadwick?” the older man asked as he stepped out to meet me on the back side, where Wrax was in the trailer.
“Yes. Nice to meet you, Al. Thanks for bringing him here.”
“He’s a beauty, no doubt about it. I’ve heard he’s fairly famous in the horse world.”
I nodded as he opened the door, and I smiled when I saw him. He looked good. Al walked him out of the trailer, and he came right over to me.
We were old friends, after all.
He remembered. I wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed my cheek to his.
“He’s famous, all right,” I said, holding up a hand in thanks as Al climbed back in his truck. “Welcome home, buddy.”
I ran my hand over his shiny coat as I walked him into the barn, remembering how much he liked that. “Let me go get our girl, all right? I know she’s going to be real happy to see you.”
Our girl.
The words still felt natural, even if she wasn’t my girl anymore.
I was walking back toward the warehouse just as Wren stepped outside.
“Hey,” she said, “I was looking for you.”
“Really? Did you make another lasagna?” I asked, my voice teasing.
“No. I was just going to let you know that all those files are done and the bills are set up on bill pay, so your office is officially running smoothly.”
I nodded. “All that in a couple weeks, huh?”
“I was determined to get things organized,” she said, glancing around. “Where are you coming from?”
“The barn. Come on, I want to show you something.” I walked back toward the barn, and she soon caught up with me.
“I thought I heard someone pull up out here. Did you get the new horse that you asked me to get the stall ready for?” Her hand grazed mine as it swung beside me.
“I did. I think you’re going to love him.”
“Is he young?” she asked when we stepped in the barn and walked down toward the last stall.
“No. But he’s special.” I came to a stop, and Wren glanced inside, and it was as if time came to a stop.
She didn’t speak, but a few shallow gasps escaped her as she yanked the door open.
“What is happening? Wrax?” Her voice broke on a sob as Wrax let out some loud whinnies and she buried her face in his neck. He literally stretched his large head across her back as if wrapping her in a hug.
She was sobbing, and he was making all sorts of noises that sounded like something between a cry and a squeal.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and she stood there crying before turning around to look at me. “How is he here?”
“I found him and brought him home,” I said, just as Wren dropped down to sit, and Wrax didn’t hesitate. He was on the ground as well, his head pressed against her chest, as they both just let all the emotion out.
I stepped away for a few minutes to check on Honey and give them a moment, as the sound of their cries felt personal.
It was impossible to miss the emotion coming from both of them.
Wren wasn’t someone who broke down often, and I knew she’d been holding in a lot.
I stood a few feet from the stall, holding the wall, as if I could feel their pain.
Because it sure as hell felt like I could.
I waited a little longer before things quieted a bit, then walked back toward the stall. I stepped inside and bent down to look at her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Why do you make it so hard to hate you, Axel Chadwick?”
I laughed as I dropped down beside her, my back resting against the wall of the stall. I stroked Wrax along the bridge of his nose.
He blew out a few puffs from his nose to let us know he was happy. His eyes were closed, and he just kept moving his head back and forth across her lap.
These two had an unbreakable bond, and when they were out there riding together, it was pure magic.
“Maybe it’s time we stop hating each other, huh?” I asked.
She looked up, swiping at the tears streaming down her pretty face, and she nodded. “I don’t want to hate you.”
“I don’t want to hate you, either,” I admitted.
She nodded, tucking her lips between her teeth, as if it was too painful to speak. The tears kept falling and she looked up, her dark eyes wet with emotion. “Thank you.”
I smiled and gave her a nod.
And we sat there quietly for a long time. Wrax had fallen asleep on her, and she just kept stroking the side of his face.
When the sound of his snoring started, she laughed. “Do you remember that night when you came home from college, and we camped outside with Wrax and Honey, and they both snored so loud we didn’t get any sleep?”
I chuckled. “I do.”
“Hey, boss, you out here?” Benji called, and I heard the sound of boots walking toward us.
“Yep. We’re down here in the last stall.”
Benji, Jonah, and Coby all leaned over the railing of the door and stared. It wasn’t common to see a horse sprawled out over his owner in a stall, but they’d never been around Wren and Wrax. Their connection was not the norm.
“Hey,” Wren said. “This is Wrax, the guy I’ve been telling you about.”
“Oh hell,” Jonah said. “I thought she was talking about a guy this whole time. I didn’t know Wrax was a horse.”
“Dude. She won the title on this horse. Who the hell did you think she was talking about when she said she missed riding him?” Coby said over a fit of laughter.
“Hey, that sentence can be taken lots of different ways,” Jonah said, holding his hands up.
Wren laughed, and Benji shook his head and smiled.
“Ignore him. We’re happy for you, Wren. Glad you got your boy back,” Benji said. “Selling him off was not right.”
“Were you all in on this?” she asked, gaping at them. “Is that why you were grilling me about my office décor?”
Laughter filled the space around us, and I couldn’t help but join in.
Because for the first time in a very long time, things felt right again.
“Yeah, Axel told us that Wrax was coming today, and we were all excited for you.” Coby winked at her.
“Thanks, guys. Wait till you see him up and running. He’s quite the sight.” She shrugged just as her horse abruptly shifted and moved to his feet, and we all stood.
“Looking forward to it.” Benji smiled as they said their goodbyes for the day and headed out.
“How’d you find him, anyway?” she asked as she ran her hand down his back.
“Bridger put some feelers out, and it wasn’t that difficult. He’s a special horse.”
“How much did you pay for him? Obviously, I’ll get you the money as soon as I can get full access to my account.”
“You don’t need to pay me anything, Wren. I got a good deal.” I smirked. “The guy owed Bridger a favor.”
I didn’t want her to know what I’d paid because Wren was one of the proudest people I’d ever known, and she wouldn’t be okay with me doing this for her.
I also didn’t feel the need to tell her that her brother was the asshole who’d sold Wrax.
It would devastate her, especially since she believed he was out there trying to find him.
And right now, Wren needed a break. And this was one that I could give her.
“You’re telling me that he just gave you a horse? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Hey, how about you just enjoy having your boy back right now, huh? It’s still light out for a little longer. Why don’t you take him out for a ride?” I knew she needed to get up on that horse. Wren came alive when she was riding. She always had.
“That’s a great idea.” She bit her bottom lip as she glanced up at me. “Why don’t you and Honey come with us?”
I nodded, trying not to smile too much. I’d missed riding with her.
Hell, I’d missed everything about her.
Even if I was pissed about the way she’d left, the way she’d walked out of my life—it didn’t mean I didn’t miss the hell out of her.
“All right. We can do that.”
I turned to walk down a few stalls to get Honey.
And just like that, we were moving down the field toward the trees and the river.
I glanced over to see Wren’s long braid hanging over one shoulder beneath her helmet, her lips turned up in the corners and contentment in those dark eyes.
We galloped through the acres of grass side by side, just like we’d done thousands of times before.
She pointed at the tree.
Our tree.
We pulled back on the reins at the same time before we both slid off our horses and tied them to the tree where we’d spent most of our teenage years.
She dropped to the ground and sat so her back was leaning against the tree. This was the most open she’d been with me, and vice versa.
“I meant it when I said I don’t want to hate you anymore,” she said as she turned to look at me.
The sun was a mix of oranges and pinks, and a light breeze bustled around us. Spring in Rosewood River was my favorite. Not too hot, but warm enough to get into the river if you wanted to.
“And I meant it when I said it, too.”
“Hating you is hard, Axel.” She blinked up at me a few times, and I noticed she looked exhausted.
“Not talking to you has been difficult for me. Really difficult,” I admitted.
Her eyes cinched together as if she was confused by the statement.
“I had to do it for self-preservation.” She shrugged.
What the fuck does that mean?
“I’m not sure why you needed to block me from not only your phone but your life for self-preservation.”
She blew out a breath. “The truth is, we shouldn’t have crossed the line that night. That was mistake number one.”
Wow. Was that what this was about? She’d regretted our night together.
Fuck me.
It was all I’d thought about after she left. And then I’d forced myself to move on, though I still thought about it almost every fucking day.
Even though she forced my hand, and I had to let her go.
“I didn’t expect you to say that,” I admitted. “It wasn’t something I took lightly.”
She sighed loudly as if my statement irritated her.
Glass fucking houses.
Her saying that our one night together was a mistake irritated me as well.
“Listen, I shouldn’t have let it go this long.
I should have moved on and reached out, because I’d be lying if I said I haven’t missed you every day.
” She held her hands up to stop me when I started to speak.
“But I needed that time, Axel. And at the moment, my life is a bit of a shitshow. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’d like to fix our friendship while I’m home.
You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I miss that. I miss you.”
Her voice trembled the slightest bit, and my chest squeezed in response.
I wasn’t going to push her for answers. Not tonight.
And she’d made it clear that she regretted what we’d done.
I’d never even considered that was the reason she’d left.
I’d clearly misread everything.
Her biggest regret was a night that I couldn’t get out of my mind, even two years later.
“I missed you, too,” I said. Her hand grazed along the back of mine as we sat side by side beneath the tree.
“So, we’re friends again?” she asked.
“Yeah, Horse Girl. We’re friends again.”
“Just like that?”
“In a heartbeat.”
It was obvious that we were both still hesitant with one another, but this was a good start. It was progress.
And I’d take it.