14. Fourteen
Fourteen
Cash
Charming was relaxed, Hook was chowing down on fresh hay, and Nova was enjoying her nightly brushing. I wasn’t concerned when I came into the barn to only a ranch hand mucking out the stalls before the horses came in from the pasture. As much as I wanted to see Abi, it was probably a good thing she wasn’t here. I would have wrapped her in my arms again.
That’s all I could think about.
All. Day. Long.
Abi in my arms.
Me in hers.
It happened so fast. One minute I was flying through the air, focusing on nothing but the dirt in front of me. The next, she was in front of me, asking if I was okay, and I couldn’t help myself. I needed to feel her. Her heart was beating just as fast as mine, but the moment her arms wrapped around my waist, the world slowed. Our breaths matched, and everything made sense.
It wasn’t until Rhett’s loud ‘Whoo-ee’ rang in my ear that we came back to reality. She looked at me, our gazes locked for mere moments before she smiled and said, “You did it,” soft enough only for me to hear. Then, when Lachlan and Rhett appeared at our side, she quietly left the barn.
But that didn’t stop my mind from racing.
I laid in my bed that night, staring at the ceiling, sleep far from happening. Each time I closed my eyes, I felt her arms around me, felt her heartbeat next to my chest, heard her voice in my ear.
You did it…
To try and return my train of thought to normal, I’d avoided the ranch during the day. I could keep myself busy with other tasks, but no matter what I did, Abi found her way into my mind. Even Quinn mentioning her at a physical therapy appointment—just hearing her name—turned my stomach inside out. The jolt of electricity that shouldn’t be there was shooting through my arms and legs. And all from hearing her name?
I shook my head and wrote it off as excitement that we were becoming friends again. She was finally opening up and smiling when I was around. It had taken weeks, but maybe the hug was the breaking point. The reminder that we were and always would be friends, no matter what happened in the past five years.
Yeah…that was it. That was the answer.
Then why couldn’t I get her out of my head?
I never noticed her scent as strong—cinnamon with a hint of maple. I never noticed the dark blue specks in her eyes until I held her close and our gazes locked. I never noticed the way her lips had the most perfect Cupid’s bow. I never noticed the way her breath shook as she inhaled. It caused an entirely new sensation in me.
I wouldn’t have noticed those things before. But now she was right in front of me. Now…I could notice those things. I wanted to notice them. I wanted to discover more.
That more from before…
Hook snorted—pulling me back to reality. He shook his head and then bobbed it up and down, heavy breaths coming from his nostrils.
“You got your attention,” I said to him, turning back to Nova in front of me. “It’s her turn now.”
Hook shook his head again, completely turning away from me just as I began to hear rushed footsteps coming into the barn, followed by heavy, scared breathing.
“Lachlan! Uncle Rhett!!!” The scream echoed around me.
Tossing the brush to the ground, I left Nova’s stall and watched as Stetson ran into the stables, a look of fear on his face. His cheeks were completely flushed as he rushed in. The moment he saw me, he screamed my name, his legs moving faster than before.
“Stet?” I questioned, lowering myself to his level as he barreled into my arms. “What the hell happened?”
His breathing was quick, and between each breath, he spoke. “I fell off Marsh,” Oh shit… “And he took off…” Shiiit… “Uncle Rhett didn’t hear me fall, and it was getting dark, and I didn’t know how far I was and…no one is at the house… where did everyone go?” His body began to shake as he tried to catch his breath. I held him tightly, taking deep breaths to try to calm him. I could feel his heartbeat, rapid thanks to the run and his fear.
“Breathe, bud…” I muttered into his shoulder. “Breathe.”
Moments passed, I’m not sure how long exactly, but soon he calmed. His breaths matched mine—in and out, slow and deep. He sniffed and pulled away, tears streaking down his face.
Standing up, my arms settling onto his shoulders, I looked around the empty barn. Buckle was gone, so was Onyx, but other than the few missing horses, everything seemed normal. There was only the one ranch hand when I got to the ranch, and when I thought about it, I hadn’t even seen Lachlan.
“I’m sure they’re in the house…”
“No,” Stetson mumbled, reaching up to wipe some tears away from his face, “I went and looked, no one was there.”
“Alright, dude.” I reached in my back pocket for my phone. “I’ll call Lachlan, someone is around.” Lachlan’s number was the first in the recent list, tapping his name I brought my phone to my ear.
“Cash?” Lachlan’s voice hit my ear, sounding just as scared as the little kid attached to my legs. “We can’t find Stetson. He went riding with Rhett and—”
“I have him.”
“What?” Lachlan shouted, “Abi!” His voice was faint when he screamed her name.
“He just ran up. How long have you guys been out looking, and why didn’t you call me?”
“An hour or so, maybe longer. I figured you were with Quinn, but…where are you?”
“The stables. Stet just came in. He looks kinda beat up.”
Bending down, I looked at Stetson, really looked at him. His shirt was covered in dirt, his jeans were torn at the knees and his hat’s rim was bent and facing in a direction it should be.
“He said he fell off Marsh.”
“He what!?” I heard Abi’s voice. It was faded, but loud enough to know Lachlan had me on speaker.
“Tell Abi to calm down. He’s okay. He just had a tumble. How many times have we fallen off horses?” I reassured everyone, including myself, as I took in Stetson’s face.
Lachlan let out a small chuckle. “More than I care to admit. Okay, Abi will come back in the truck. Rhett’s on Buckle, and I’m on Onyx, so we will head that way. My folks went out to the lake. Wyatt went out to the grazing field. Kyla’s at Rhett’s place. Wanna bet who will get there first?”
“Abi. One hundred percent.” I pulled Stetson into my side, giving him a comforting hug. “You got a first aid kit here? I’ll start patching him up.”
“In the tack shed.”
“On it. See you soon.”
We hung up, and before dashing to the shed, I looked down at Stetson. “You good?”
“I’m never getting on a horse again.” He mumbled, tears now slowly rolling down his cheeks.
“I doubt that. I thought you wanted to be a bareback rider like Lachlan?” I squeezed his shoulder, offering some reassurance.
“Not after falling off Marsh.” He shook his head, his knuckles raising to wipe a tear away.
“Marsh is a big horse, Stet.” I ran my fingers down his shoulders to grasp his hand. “But never say never. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up before your mom gets here.”
“Marsh ran off.” Stetson sniffed. “He knows the way home, right?”
“He’ll be fine. If he doesn’t show up tonight, I’ll go out tomorrow and look for him. It’s a big ranch but not that big.” I led him to the tackle closet, hoisting him up on the worktable before digging for the first aid kit. “He’ll come home, I promise.”
Stetson nodded. “At least I didn’t break any bones.”
Tilting my head, I gave him a grin, “Yeah, that’s a good thing. You’ll be back on that horse before you know it.”
He shook his head. “Nope.” He shook his head faster, then watched as I pulled out the hydrogen peroxide. “Well,” he finally sighed. “Maybe.”
“You love that horse.” I placed the gauze on his knee, getting a hiss from him as the sting hit just right. “How did you fall?”
“Something spooked him, and he bucked.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, Uncle Rhett and I were racing home,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Ah ha, there is more to the story.” I chuckled, raising my chin to look at him, giving him a smile. I had done some stupid shit in my day, too. I’d given my parents a run for their money. Stetson was just having fun with his uncle.
“Well…don’t tell mom. She won’t like it, and I’ll get grounded.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Secret is safe with me, little man.”
Stetson nodded then added in a whisper. “I fell off, and Uncle Rhett didn’t see. Marsh took off one direction and Uncle Rhett the other. My leg hurt…”
“So, you….” I urged him on.
“I went the wrong way.”
“The wrong way?” I raised a single eyebrow, staring at the boy in front of me.
“I tried to follow Marsh…and then it started getting dark…and then I realized how far away from home I was. I ran…but when I got there, no one was there.”
“And you didn’t see anyone looking for you?”
He hissed again once I added a bit more pressure to the scrape on his knee. “Am I in trouble?”
“No.” I said faster than I could even think. “You came here, and that’s the smart thing to do. But we may want to invest in a phone for you, or maybe one of those watches.”
Just then I heard the crunch of tires approaching the stable. The headlights brightened up the dark entryway, and Abi’s blonde hair came into focus seconds later. She bolted from the car, leaving the door wide open and the engine running.
“Stetson!” she screamed, rushing towards the tackle shed. “Oh my God, Stetson. What happened!?” She pulled him into her arms, her entire body shaking as she tightly closed her eyes.
“He fell off Marsh,” I answered for him, seeing as he was buried in her hair.
She shot me a look. At first it was full of anger, heat behind her eyes, but then after a few moments they softened. Her lips quivered as she held her son close. She blinked a few times before a single tear fell. Then, taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes tight and pulled her son at arm’s length.
“Good thinking coming here,” she said, her voice becoming more solid, her back and arms less shaky. Even though tears were forming, they refused to fall. All except that one, single tear.
I had the urge to wipe it away, to take them both in my arms. Abi was scared, an idiot could tell that, but for Stetson, she was pulling herself together. She didn’t need to be strong. She could break here, with me and Stet. She could break, and I would be there to catch her.
“I went home…”
“We were all out on the land.” Abi's voice shook slightly. “I made everyone go out to look for you. The house was dark…”
“But I saw the light in the stable.” Stetson looked at me. “Cash was here.”
Abi’s gaze hit mine for a flash, less than a second. “He was.” She sniffed and turned back to her son. “Come on bud, let’s get you home and in a bath and in bed.”
“What about Marsh?”
“We’ll go out tomorrow and look for him.” She helped her son off the table, and gripping his hand tight, led him out of the barn.
“Night, Stet,” I said, no longer wanting to be ignored.
Stetson turned and waved to me. “Thanks Uncle Cash.”
I waved back, standing frozen in place as Abi left the barn. If it wasn’t for the moment our eyes met, I would have thought I was invisible.
Marching into the stable the next morning, I was determined to find that white horse for Stetson. I was on a mission. I would saddle up Nova and not come back until I had that stupid horse in tow. I just didn’t expect my mission to be halted by a beautiful blonde, already saddling up a horse.
“Morning,” I said to Abi as I approached Nova.
She didn’t say anything. She just kept preparing her Palomino horse, aptly named Twinkie.
“Are you going out to look for Marshmallow?” I asked, opening up Nova’s stall.
She twisted her lips and nodded.
“Me too.”
She hummed.
“We could ride together? Maybe find him faster?” I suggested.
“I’m not stopping you,” she grumbled.
Furrowing my brow, I looked over at her. “Are you mad at me?”
“No, why would I be mad at you?”
“Because you’re acting like you want to throw a brush at me.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and took one step closer to her.
Abi let out a long, loud sigh before she tilted her head and met my gaze. “I’m not mad, I’m just…” Shaking her head, her breath shook.
Her mind must still be reeling from last night, and from the looks of it, she didn’t sleep at all. Her eyes were heavy, puffy from crying, and the dark circles that had formed were weighing even on me. Her hair was hanging over her shoulder in a messy braid, and her hat sat lopsided on her head. She was wearing a Carhartt jacket, keeping her warm from the morning air, but easy to carry once the sun beat down on her. She was prepared for an entire day on the back of a horse to make her son smile.
I had the urge to pull her close to me, to take away everything that settled in her chest.
Without thinking, without even telling my body what to do, I took one large step and swooped her into my arms. Just like the other night, she was stiff, but once that first shaky breath left her lungs, she melted into me. The world stilled when her arms wrapped around my torso and she buried her face in my chest. It just felt right, having her in my arms.
I rested my chin on the top of her head. “He’s ok,” I reminded her.
“I was just so…scared,” She stammered. “Rhett was …terrified. He didn’t know what to do or what to say, and then we all left…it was dumb not to leave someone at the house…”
“Hey.” I gently touched her chin and pulled her up to look at me. “He’s fine, you did the best thing you could do. I’m just glad I was here, that he was smart enough to come to the barn.”
Abi nodded, her arms locking tighter around my waist. “Yeah, he’s…” She sniffed. “He’s a smart kid. He just was so damn worried about that horse.”
“He said he’s never going to ride again.”
Abi laughed then, and a smile escaped her lips. “Yeah, I’d like to see that happen. That boy loves that horse more than anything.”
I laughed with her, feeling the tension leave from her body. “He does.” I cupped her face in my palms for a moment, wiping away a tear that fell from her cheek. She inhaled, blinking once before she took a step away from me. Foolishly, I let my hands trail down her arms until our fingers brushed. The moment, as much as I didn’t want it to be, was over. I returned to Nova, reaching for the saddle blanket that was hanging over the stall. “You could have called me; I would have come out with you. That way your mom or Lachlan could have stayed behind.”
“I…” she started, her voice cracking. “I…”
I looked over at her, seeing the pinch in her brow as she was frozen in place, her eyes locked on me. Then, like before, she blinked.
“I must have forgot.” Abi let out a deep breath and finished cinching up the saddle. “I’ll go get us some water while you saddle up. Be right back?”
I nodded. “Yeah…I’ll be here.”