8. Lettie
Lettie
T he next day, I woke up early to meet Lennon in town for coffee at Bell Buckle Brews before he opened the feed store for the day. I drove Reed’s truck to town since I had to pick up grain for the horses. When I left, Bailey’s Chevy was already parked out front of the white barn.
As teens, he was always busying himself with chores around the ranch instead of doing homework or extracurricular activities at school. He preferred working with his hands and getting things done around the two ranches he split his time between.
I’d only been back a few days, but I could already tell he spent more time here than he used to.
I hoped he left time for himself and didn’t lose himself in the work.
Dealing with one ranch was hard enough, but dividing your time between two, and helping out with a rescue?
I didn’t know how he did it, but just like everything else, he made it look easy.
I pulled into the parking lot of the feed store, opting to walk the short distance to the café. Lennon’s old truck was already parked in the corner of the lot when I got here. The men in my life loved their early mornings, that much was certain.
Less than five minutes later, I opened the door to Bell Buckle Brews. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries filled my nose. I found Lennon sitting at a small table and made my way over to him. He stood up when he saw me, a smile lighting up his face before he pulled me in for a hug.
“Hey, sis. Long time no see.”
I relaxed against him, the realization of how much time passed hitting me like a truck. He looked so different, his dirty blond hair longer, light scruff lining his jawline. I pulled back and he motioned for me to sit.
“Got you a vanilla latte. Hope that’s okay,” Lennon said to me.
I nodded as I sat down across from him. “Thank you. So, how have you been? Anything new?”
He took a sip of his coffee. Black, just like all my brothers drank it.
“Besides the store, not much. I’m hoping to buy the building from the guy who owns it. Now that I manage the employees and keep up with everything else, I don’t see the point in leasing the space anymore. ”
“That’ll be so good for you. I’m glad you love management enough to take it over.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know if anyone really loves management, but it keeps me busy. Something to do that’s my own. Plus, it gets me away from Dad's grumpy ass on the ranch.”
The corners of my lips tipped up at the memories of Dad bossing us all around when we'd help out with the horses or cattle.
I cupped my hands around my coffee, running my thumbs up the sides. “I’ve been trying to find something like that for a long time.”
“College didn’t do it for you, I take it.”
I shook my head, letting out a sigh. “Despite popular belief, they don’t hand out jobs or tell you what you’re meant to do in life.”
“Do you know what you want to do?”
“Honestly, no. You guys have it all figured out and I feel like I’m the only one still lost.”
“You’ll figure it out, Lettie. You always do.”
I stared down at my coffee. “I hope so. It’s frustrating to have spent all that time at school and still have no path.”
“It’ll come to you one day. When I started working at the feed store, I never once thought I’d own the place, and now look at me. Don’t try to force it. You’ll know it when the work starts feeling less like a job and more like a passion.”
I sipped my drink, the caffeine making its way through my system. “I’ll let you know when that happens. ”
He sat back in his chair, studying me. “So, do you know how long you’re staying?”
“I’m not sure. I’m going to Montana for the auction in Billings. Dad has some horses he’s got his eye on that I’m picking up.”
“You’re driving six hours with a trailer alone?”
I pursed my lips. “I’m going with Bailey.”
He tried to hide his smile behind his coffee.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Enjoy your trip.”
I rolled my eyes at the smile that stayed plastered to his face. If Lennon thought there was something going on between me and Bailey, he was sorely mistaken.
***
Bailey was leading an elderly rescue horse to the pasture when I pulled up to the ranch.
I parked Reed’s truck outside of the white barn and was getting out of the truck when I saw Bailey gently pulling the halter off of the chestnut horse.
Once free, the horse turned and took off at a gallop through the field, his tail sticking up behind him.
There was something moving about watching a once-neglected horse have all the freedom it ever dreamed of.
I rounded the truck to open the tailgate and grabbed a bag of grain, turning with it to find Bailey standing directly behind me. He grabbed the bag from me and set it on top of two other bags in the truck bed before picking up all three of them together.
“Do you ever take a break?” I asked as I grabbed another bag.
He carried them into the barn, setting them on the floor in the room where we kept all our medicine, supplements, and feed. I followed, setting my one bag on top of his three.
“Yep.”
“Really? When?”
He brushed past me as he headed back to the truck to grab the rest of the bags. “Took a water break earlier.”
I followed, watching the muscles in his back move as he walked, his white shirt stretched across his form. “For what, two minutes?”
“Something like that,” he said as he grabbed the remaining three bags, tossing them onto his shoulder to close the tailgate with his other hand.
“I could have closed that.”
He ignored me, making his way back to the feed room.
I didn’t bother to follow him this time.
Instead, I walked over to the fence surrounding the pasture.
I laid my arms across the metal fence, resting my chin on top of them to watch the horses graze.
The only sounds were a distant whinny and the breeze blowing through the fields.
I deserved the cold shoulder from Bailey. He didn’t have to ask for me to know he wanted answers. I just didn’t want to give them. I was scared that the answers I had would change our relationship, but a part of me felt that the way I’d been neglecting to be honest was changing us already.
I heard Bailey’s boots a second before he showed up at my side, resting a knee on the fence and dangling his arms over the top. We both stared out at the field, feeling tranquil with the silence and peace this ranch brought. This is what I missed; what I had longed to come back to.
“I’d like to leave at sunrise tomorrow. Get to Billings early so we can get our hotel situated,” he said, keeping his eyes on the land.
“That’s fine.” I straightened, grabbing hold of the dusty fence. I was silent a few moments before asking, “Do you hold it against me?”
His body tensed. He knew what I was referring to. “No.”
“Then what is it, Bailey?”
He let out a sigh and brought his gaze to me. “Just trying to figure you out, Huckleberry.”
He could join the club. I felt like I wasted all those years being away when I could have been trying to figure out my life here, with the support of friends and family.
Instead, I ran. From Bailey’s feelings and my own, from this small town that I thought had nothing to offer me. But maybe I wasn’t meant for bigger and better. Maybe Bell Buckle was the place I was meant to be. Being back here, that was starting to feel more true every day.