Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
C hevy held his hand up to wave away the dust as his older brother galloped up to him. He’d come home from Leni’s and saddled Jolene, intent on losing himself on a trail ride through the mountains behind the ranch. The dark clouds forming in the sky mirrored his gray mood.
“You all right, brother?” Ford asked, pulling his horse up to a stop next to him.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Chevy told him, although he was anything but fine, and the curt tone of his voice wouldn’t deter his brother.
“I was running fence and saw you coming across the pasture. You looked so sad, that if you weren’t riding her, I’d think your horse must’ve died. What’s got you so down?”
The tightness in his back deflated as his shoulders slumped forward. “Leni got a job offer from NASA.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Good for her.”
“Yeah, good for her. Bad for me.”
“How do you figure?”
“Last night, she told me she’d decided to stay. But I was just at her house and found a letter telling her congratulations on accepting the job. And I can’t let her give up a job with fucking NASA, for me.”
“Did you tell her that?”
“Damn right I did.”
Ford nodded. “Good. Women love it when you tell them what you’re gonna let them do, or in this case, not do.”
His brother’s sarcasm was not lost on him, and his shoulders drooped lower. “Yeah, that’s about the same thing she said.”
“So, what happened when you apologized and told her you were wrong to say that?”
Chevy huffed out a dry laugh. “You mean what happened when I pushed her away again and stormed out of her bedroom?”
Ford shook his head. “Ya know, for such a smart guy, you sure can be a dumb ass.”
“I know. But seriously, I can’t let her give up her dream job, not for me.”
“Isn’t that for her to decide?”
“I guess, but what if she decides to give it all up—then what am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for her to leave me?”
Ford leaned back in his saddle, his brow furrowing as he studied Chevy’s face. “So, what’s really eatin’ at you here? Is this really about her taking a job or is this more about you being afraid she’s just gonna leave you anyway?”
Chevy shrugged.
“I get it,” Ford told him. “I know that feeling of not being able to trust that somebody is going to stick around for you. And it’s probably even stronger right now with just having a new half-brother show up that our mother did stick around for…well, sort of, I guess…but my point being is that you can’t let what our mother and your shitheel of a father did run roughshod over your entire life. You’re a good man, Chevy. And contrary to popular belief, not a total idiot. Do you love this woman or not?”
“You know I do. I’ve never stopped. You saw how losing her broke my dang heart all those years ago. But that’s why I can’t watch her throw this chance away. I love her too much. I would do anything for her.”
His brother cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, even risk another broken heart?”
“ Anything .”
Ford shook his head. “Look, this isn’t about her being worth doing anything for. It’s about you pulling your head out of your ass and realizing you’re worth something too. She obviously loves you. Anyone can see that. And I think we can all agree that Leni Gibbs is one of the smartest people we know, so she wouldn’t have told you she was staying if she didn’t mean it. You have to trust her too.”
“Shit.” He leaned forward, resting one arm on the saddlehorn as he scrubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “So, I really screwed this whole thing up, didn’t I?”
“Sounds about like it, yeah.”
“Guess I need to figure out a way to fix this. I just hope she gives me a chance to tell her what an idiot I was.”
Ford pointed to something behind him. “Since there’s only one person I know who drives a fancy blue Tesla, I’d say it looks like your chance is high tailing it down the road right now. If I were you, I’d go catch her.”
Chevy turned to see Leni’s car kicking up dust on the gravel road—the road that led to the highway.
Aw hell . Had he made her so mad that she was leaving town?
His brother’s words had made sense to him. But in that moment of watching the woman he loved driving away from him, he knew that he would do anything to be with her.
He leaned forward, spurring the horse on and she flew across the pasture, almost as if reading his mind and knowing she had to catch the blue car.
“Leni!” he shouted her name as he and the horse galloped up alongside the Tesla.
He didn’t know if she heard him yelling through the open sunroof, if she’d caught the motion of the horse next to her, or if maybe she’d just sensed him. Whatever it was, she slowed the car, just as he spotted the downed section of fence Ford had been working on and steered Jolene toward it.
Scattered rain drops hit him in the face as the horse ran through the open section and up onto the road, galloping harder to catch the car.
Leni pulled over onto the shoulder, cut the engine, and opened her door.
The sky opened, and a soft rain started as she stepped out of the car. He galloped up to her and swung out of the saddle. Dropping the reins, he ran to her and swept her into his arms, holding her tight against him as the rain fell onto the dusty road around them.
She looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
“Chasing you down.”
“Why?”
“To tell you that I’m an idiot.”
She offered him a wry grin. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I will. I’ll tell you that I’m in love with you. Still and always. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved. And I just got scared.”
“I’m scared too. But I know what I want.”
“And I know that you’ve weighed all the pros and cons and that you don’t make decisions lightly. And of course, I know that you can make your own choices.”
“Yes, I can.”
“So, a wise man recently told me…”
“You mean Ford?”
“Well, yeah. How’d you know?”
“I saw him back there in the field.”
“Well, he reminded me that I have to trust you, too.” The rain was falling lightly around them, but he barely noticed. His attention was all on her, all on the heartfelt declarations he wanted her to hear. “Leni, you are everything to me, and you’re worth risking it all for. So, I’m trusting you to make your own decisions, but I want you to know that I’m all in. No matter what you decide. If you stay, we’ll make it work. If you take the job and move to Texas, we’ll make it work.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Come on. Are you sayin’ you’d leave Colorado and move to Texas with me?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m sayin’, if that’s what it takes.” He brushed a lock of hair from her wet cheek. What was it with them and the rain? “I’m trying to tell you that I’m not leaving. And I’m not pushing you away. I’m staying. With you. Wherever you are, I’m going with you. I’m not letting you go again.”
Her face broke into a broad grin. “Well, I’m staying, too.”
“What about NASA? It’s your dream.”
“Getting to be with the cowboy I’ve been in love with for half my life is also my dream. And Chevy, I can do both. You’re right about me weighing all the pros and cons. And I’ve already talked it out with my supervisor. I can stay here and work remotely. I just have to fly to Texas to spend a few days in the office each month.”
“So, you’re really staying?”
“If you’ll come with me to Washington to help me pack up my apartment and drive it all back here.”
“Hell, yes, I will.”
“Then, yeah, I’m really staying.”
He pulled her against him, hugging her tight as he captured her mouth in a kiss. She tasted like rain and summer and hope. “I love you, Leni.”
“I love you too.”
He pulled back to peer down at her, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips. “It’s probably a good thing you’re going to help build rockets for NASA, because I’m going to love you to the moon and back.”
She laughed, a sound he’d never get tired of. “You are a dork.”
“Yeah, but I’m your dork.”
“Yes, you are. But I have one more question, and it’s an important one.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Any chance you know how to tile a bathroom shower?”
The end…
…and just the beginning…