6. Six
Six
Cash
The moment I saw Abi was a punch to the gut. The last time I had seen her was the night of Sylas’ accident. I told her he passed, and then instead of comforting her like a good friend would do, I left. I’ve always regretted that moment, but that night I wasn’t sure how to act. There were so many things I would have done differently—but seeing as Doctor Who was fictional—I had to accept what it was. It had been so long, but the look on Abi’s face when she first saw me and the brief interaction in the kitchen told me all I needed to know.
She was pissed.
And still just as beautiful as I remembered.
So…I smiled. Put on my cocky mask, and I tried to act as normal as possible.
And then she brought up Carolyn.
In my mind, she had to know about my divorce. She would have celebrated when Lachlan told her. Abi and Carolyn never got along. Abi put up with her because she was my wife. Carolyn put up with Abi because…well…she didn’t. Carolyn detested Abi, and she made it known. One drunken night with Carolyn, she told me all about her exes, and I shared secrets about mine—including the small fact that I may have hit on Abi the first time I met her. What was supposed to be a fun, enjoyable night with my wife, revealing things about our past, turned out to be the biggest wedge in our relationship, and slowly she began to pull me away from my friends. According to Carolyn, Abi was trying to take me from her, steal me away and get her completely out of the picture. No matter what I did to show Carolyn I loved her, nothing ever changed her mind. She did everything in her power to keep me away. Once our divorce was finalized, I had one person in my mind that could help me become who I was again. But, at that time, I figured it was too late, and that I had fucked up enough that I wouldn’t be able to make up for it.
Looks like my assumptions were right.
I knew it was going to be hard seeing her again. That it would open wounds I had tried so hard to stitch up and cover. A part of me was hoping it would be like any reunion. One where Abi wanted me here as much as I wanted to be here. I never thought it would be this hard.
But with a deep breath, I knew I had to let it go.
Once she left the kitchen, the silence became deafening. Lachlan took a deep breath, the rustling of his clothes becoming the only sound in the room. Once the front door closed, he let out a puff of air.
I looked over at him as he raised his eyebrows at me. “I can guarantee one of these sandwiches wasn’t for you.”
Pinching my brow I looked at the sandwiches that were laid out on the counter, and then the last few bites of mine that sat in my hand. I had the impulse to throw the rest away.
Kyla took a deep breath and turned to the cowboy attached to her hip. “I’m gonna go find Abi. It’s only noon, and she knows I’m going to pick Stetson up today.” She kissed Rhett’s cheek, giving me a quick nod. “Good to see you again, Mr. Callahan.”
“Please, call me Cash,” I corrected her.
“Good to see you again, Cash. Just…please don’t call me ‘little miss’ again.’” Kyla smiled, giving Rhett another quick kiss before she turned to leave.
I smirked, remembering the one time I used that nickname last year.
“When did you call my wife little miss? ” Rhett asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Protective much?” Lachlan grumbled, stuffing the rest of his sandwich in his mouth.
“At the Days of 47 last year,” I replied.
Lachlan began to haphazardly piece the remaining lunch meat and cheese together, shoving a piece of cheese in his mouth as he worked. Rhett joined in eventually, stealing some lunch meat. I leaned on the counter and watched them, listening as Rhett defended his actions in keeping anyone from calling his wife ‘little miss.’
The front door burst open, and the sound of boots hitting the hardwood followed by the loud chatter of all the ranch hands, came bursting into the house, echoing off the walls. Rhett looked at me, tilting his chin towards the front of the room before taking the few steps out of the kitchen. Lachlan spoke to a few of the ranch hands, telling them whoever could figure out which sandwiches were made by us and actually eat them would get a small bonus on their next check, before following Rhett and I to the entryway, grabbing our coats and stepping back into the chill air.
“Well.” I adjusted the hat on my head, twisting my torso to look back at the main house. “I didn’t recognize any of those workers. What happened to your staff?”
“Nick is still around, but mainly we get seasonal guys,” Lachlan replied, reaching into his pockets to pull out his gloves.
I looked around the ranch, finally taking it all in for the first time since I arrived. I noticed the dinks and dings in the stables, but now I saw the fences that needed to be fixed, the paint chipping on the main house and barn, and the beat up water troughs. I get it was the tail end of winter, but these were things that needed to be kept up on. Lachlan knew that. His life was this ranch, so why did it look like it was falling apart? Is this why they were renting out the stables and arena? Money to fix the place back up?
“Well, there’s Ryan too.” Rhett’s voice carried through the air. “He’s been here a few years.”
I shoved my hands in my coat pockets, barely listening to them talk. I could easily pick up some paint to repair the chips around the barn and mend the fences. These were things I could do while Quinn was in PT. Hell, I planned to stick around here anyway. May as well make myself useful.
Turning, I stopped when I spotted Abi.
She was moving fast. Kyla kept up next to her as she made her way to the gray Chevy, both women being followed by a small brown-and-white cow. Abi plopped her hat on her head and turned, walking backwards giving Kyla a smile. That smile, I remembered. I knew it still had to be there. I smirked just watching her, seeing her still happy underneath the anger she was sporting moments ago. Kyla raised her arms as Abi got into the truck and started the engine. She shook her head as her truck left the drive.
“I guess Kyla isn’t getting Stetson today.” Rhett shrugged.
“Does your wife normally pick up Abi’s son?” I asked, taking my gaze from the scene back to Rhett and Lachlan.
I didn’t realize I had stopped to watch the women, completely ignoring the men I was following. My attention went from the ranch hands, to the ranch, to the blonde leaving in a matter of minutes.
“Normally.” Rhett added, “She’s been tutoring him this year. Abi needs the help.”
“With Stet or…”
“I wouldn’t call him Stet.” Lachlan pointed out, making his way back to the stables.
Pinching my brow, I jogged to meet up with him. I always— always —called him Stet. Sylas started it, the small nickname becoming what I knew the kid as. He wasn’t Stetson, he was Stet.
“Why? I always called him Stet. He liked it.”
Lachlan choked out a laugh. “He does, she doesn’t.”
“You know,” I started as I opened up my truck door a few hours later, Lachlan close behind me, “I plan on being here every day. I can help with something around the ranch.”
He shook his head, “Nah. I can’t afford to pay you, too.”
“Think of it as a thank you.” I took my hat off, tossing it on the front seat. “I need this place as much as you do.”
“For eight to ten weeks,” he reminded me, a snarky tone fluttering through the air between us.
“So, for the time I’m around, let me help out. Your barn is looking as rusty as you.” I chuckled.
Furrowing his brow, Lachlan turned to look at his stables. “I just haven’t been able to keep up on the aesthetics of things. Wyatt mentioned events…I should probably fix it up a bit.”
“A bit.” I took one last look around. “Just a bit.”
Raising a single eyebrow, Lachlan tilted his head to the side. “The roof needs patching,” he began. “A couple of fences, a paint refresh, and a few things in the main house Aunt Lottie has been on about. Seeing as she and Uncle Leo want out—”
“Out?” I stopped him.
With a single node, he continued. “He’s officially retiring.”
“There’s a lot more happening here than I thought, huh?” I couldn’t imagine anyone besides Leo and Charlotte Hartwell running Hartwell Hills alongside Lachlan. “What’s going to happen to the ranch?”
“I own half, that won’t change, but the other half will be split between Rhett, Abi, and Wyatt.”
I barked out a laugh. “Wyatt?”
“He’ll get a small percentage, but the majority will probably go to Abi since she and I run the show anyway and Rhett is still on the circuit.”
Last I knew, Abi wanted to travel. She wanted to see the world with Sylas and his rodeos, so what changed to make it so she was getting the majority of the ranch? I bit my cheek, keeping that question to myself. “Does she want it?” I asked, keeping the travel thoughts to myself.
“It makes sense, and she deserves it. After Sylas died, she poured herself into the ranch. She knows it like the back of her hand, just like I do. She does more than make sandwiches, you know.”
I didn’t doubt that at all, but it didn’t fit with the Abi I knew. Then again, that was years ago.
“It was Wyatt’s idea about bringing in horses to stable, but Abi took on the project. She put together the numbers and made it happen. Sure you’re our first client, but we’ll get more because of her. She’s always been good at the financial side of things.”
“Does Hartwell Hills need money?” I asked, finally letting the thought out of my brain.
He shrugged his shoulders. “We’re not drowning, we’re not going to go bankrupt, but it’s been tight. According to Abi, we’re barely making even.”
“Hence the renting the arena and stabling horses. More work for Abi?”
“Nah, Rhett will take on the horses. He agreed to it, and we do have enough hands for the extra jobs. Once winter ends, things will pick up.”
The crunch of gravel pulled both of us away from the conversation, as Abi’s gray truck pulled up to the main house. She stopped and reached for her woven straw hat on the dashboard, a small set of hands in the front seat next to her doing the exact same motion. A slight smile grew on my lips. Stetson.
My heart jumped a little. The last time I saw Stetson, he was barely three years old. He would gladly jump in my arms and settle down on my hip or shoulders as Sylas rode the bull. He loved watching his dad just as much as he loved hanging out with me. We had tons of camp outs on the ranch. Millions of riding lessons. Thousands of laughs as the little guy was learning the ropes.
I ached to see him even knowing he wouldn’t remember me one bit. It had been too long, and he was too young. The memory died the moment I remembered I walked out of their lives, ultimately his.
The door to the truck opened, and the kid jumped out. Cowboy boots, Wrangler jeans, a blue plaid shirt and a white hat on top of his head. He was taller now, probably to my torso, and his gait was that of a cowboy already. A smile tugged on my lips. He was a little Sylas.
“He looks just like his dad,” I mumbled.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Lachlan turn to look at me. “He’s a good kid.”
“Uncle Lachlan!” Stetson cried from the truck. “Mommy told me I could ride!”
“If you muck out Marsh’s stall—” Lachlan began, but Stetson’s attention was elsewhere. Right on me.
“Hey.” Stetson stopped right in front of us. “Who are you?” His eyes met mine as his hands hit his hips, standing as tall as he could.
“Stetson!” Abi called from the truck.
I mimicked the boy’s stance and looked down at him. He was tall for a seven year old, his brown hair sticking out from beneath this cowboy hat, his dark eyes narrowing, studying me. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
“I know you.” He finally said. “I think.”
I smiled. “You do.”
“Where have you been?” he asked, his voice steady as he took one more step.
“At rodeos.” I answered, not sure how to give him the real answer.
I was afraid to come back, I couldn’t come back.
He nodded and took my answer, and then his face changed. His tight lips opened to a wide smile and the rocket that was burning inside of him lit up. He jumped and if I wasn’t ready, he would have fallen. Instead, he landed in my arms, his sweet laugh leaving his lungs. He held onto me tightly, his hat falling to the ground as he latched on for me to lift him off the ground.
“I missed you, Uncle Cash.”
Uncle Cash…
Damnit.
The kid remembered me.
“I missed you too, buddy.” I lowered him back to the ground. “I hear you have a stall to muck.”
He scrunched his nose. “Wanna ride with me?”
I patted his shoulder, glancing up at Abi. She stood by the truck with her arms crossed, a vacant expression under the rim of her hat.
I smiled down at Stetson. “Sure bud, if it’s ok with your mom?”
“Mama please?” Stetson rushed back to Abi, pulling her arms from her body as he pleaded.
Abi's vacant expression faltered when she looked from her son to me, a hesitation there. But, to my surprise she straightened her shoulders and kneeled down to look Stetson in the eyes.
“Just be back for dinner, okay. You have homework, too.”
“Yes!” Stetson jumped in the air, spinning around as if he were on ice. “Let’s go, Uncle Cash!” He dashed into the barn at full speed, leaving Lachlan and I behind.
“Thanks Abs.” I nodded to her. With tight lips, she gave me one single nod of approval.
“Looks like I’m not leaving just yet,” I said over my shoulder at Lachlan with a smile.