Chapter 13 Hayden
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
hayden
PRESENT DAY
With the amount of time we spent on the road between the months of June and September, having a week of rodeo close to home was a small blessing. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, traveling all the time sometimes made me homesick—mostly for good, home-cooked meals and my own bed.
While the horse trailer I owned had a small kitchen, I was limited in what I could make.
More often than not, I didn’t have the time to cook anyway.
The guys and I tried to stay away from fast food as much as possible, but that restricted the options we did have.
I found myself bringing a lot of sandwiches and small snacks on the road.
Chicken and dumplings wasn’t the only thing I knew how to make, although that was probably my favorite. My mom made sure I knew how to cook growing up and still shared recipes with me to this day.
Your future wife will appreciate it, she would say.
I never protested learning how to cook, though. It was fun, and I learned quickly to appreciate the work and creativity that it took. Anyone could follow a recipe; I was sure of that. But being able to make a meal your own was special.
Baking required following the rules, but cooking was forgiving enough that you could break them.
Sierra wasn’t awake yet, but I still prepped ingredients for breakfast. My plan was to make cinnamon roll-stuffed French toast, eggs, and bacon.
I didn’t have brioche or any kind of French bread, and I didn’t want to run to the store at the risk of Sierra waking up before I could get back, so classic sandwich bread would have to do.
After cracking a few eggs into a bowl, I stirred in some spices and milk before dunking the bread slices in the mixture and setting them in the sizzling pan to cook.
In a separate frying pan, I started making strips of bacon, the savory aromas filling the kitchen. I hummed as the meal started to come together, everything around me fading into the background as I disappeared into my own little world.
A few minutes later, the creak of a door caught my attention, followed by the jingle of Pancho’s collar soon after.
“Hey, boy.” I laughed as he pranced up to me, immediately jumping up on my leg.
“Pancho!” Sierra scolded him from the hallway. “Sorry, we’ve been working on that.”
She stepped into view, and my heart skipped a beat. Her hair, braided back into two plaits, hung over her shoulders, and she wore an oversized T-shirt that fell mid-thigh.
My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out, despite how hard I tried.
“Morning?” She raised an eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement at my tongue-tiedness.
“Morning good.” Heat rose to my cheeks at the mistake. “Er, good morning.” I internally groaned.
Why? Why was I like this?
“Pancho, come here.” She called over her dog before asking what I was making.
“Cinnamon roll French toast, eggs, and bacon,” I answered as I scrambled the eggs.
She hummed. “Sounds good.” Without another word, she led Pancho out the front door.
“Get it together, Hayden,” I muttered to myself. “You’re friends, got it?”
Yeah, fucking right.
Pigs would fly, the ocean would dry up, and hell would freeze over before I’d ever be “just friends” with her. The cold, hard truth, though, was that Sierra wanted to be friends. I didn’t know if she wanted to be more, given our history. I had to respect that, even if it cut me up from the inside.
I finished making the eggs, plating them up with a couple slices of French toast and a few strips of bacon. Reaching into the pantry, I pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a bottle of maple syrup, setting them next to Sierra’s plate on the kitchen counter.
A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Pancho came barreling inside. He ran a few circles in the living room then collapsed into a heap on the kitchen floor with a loud sigh. Snores immediately rose into the air from the direction of the dog.
“A bit dramatic for someone who doesn’t have a job,” Sierra muttered, despite looking at the animal with all the love in the world. “Fucking freeloader.”
I laughed, and her head whipped toward me, embarrassment creeping across her features like she didn’t think I could hear her.
“The things we do for our pets, right?” I shook my head before gesturing to her plate. “Here, eat up. Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Milk? Orange juice? Water?” I listed off all the options.
She slid onto one of the stools at the counter. “Uh, coffee’s good, thank you.”
“Still milk, sugar, and a spoonful of peanut butter?”
“You remember that?”
“How could I forget? I always thought that combination was the weirdest thing about you,” I teased, pouring her a mug, adding a splash of milk, a couple sugar cubes, and a spoon with a healthy amount of peanut butter on it.
“God forbid a girl have taste.” She grinned, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“Strange taste, but I like it. It’s very you, Sierra.”
Instead of responding, she took a bite of her French toast. Her eyes closed as she chewed, a low groan rising from her throat. As quickly as it happened, her eyes flew open with a rosy tint creeping into her cheeks.
She pulled on the end of her braids. “Um…breakfast is really good. Thank you.”
My lips curled up, a million thoughts after the sound she made—only a few of them decent—rolling through my mind. “You’re welcome.”
“So, the fair is this week?” she mumbled between bites.
“Sure is. Have you kept up your skills in carnival games? I’ve improved my game, by the way,” I added, a little glimmer of hope rising in my chest that she remembered.
Competitiveness flashed in her expression. “Is that so? I guess I’ll have to be the judge of that.”
Satisfaction bloomed inside me knowing there was still some of the fire I recognized inside her. Time may have changed us, but she still had a sliver of the girl I met all those years ago, and perhaps a small part of her still loved me as much as I loved her.
“You’re on.” I flashed her a wide smile as I dished up and joined her at the counter.
“We’ll have plenty of time to play games and eat fair food.
” We were all competing in the rodeo, but since we weren’t traveling far, we didn’t have to get back on the road right away to our next competition.
We’d have plenty of time to have some fun.
She finished eating quickly, taking her plate over to the dishwasher to load it before whistling for Pancho.
“Thank you for making breakfast. You don’t have to do that, you know?”
I nodded but shrugged. “I don’t mind. You know I like cooking. What’s making food for one more?”
“Right. Well, thank you. I’m going to take a shower and get ready for the day.” She excused herself then headed down the hall toward her room with Pancho.
My phone started buzzing on the counter, so I tapped it to find that it was blowing up with notifications from our group chat.
The Silver Creek Cowboys (and Ellison)
(plus Isa and June)
Mikey
Juniper’s going to be in town this weekend so you all know what that means
Colter
A chill night at home?
Ellison
That sounds nice actually. Can we do that instead of whatever Mikey’s about to suggest?
Mikey
Don’t steal my thunder!
And we all know a night at home would be the opposite of chill, am I right, Peach?
June
Excited to see you all!
Jake
Notice how she ignored what Mikey said?
Isa
ugh this isn’t fair! i wish i could be in town too
Ellison
Hop on a plane
Impromptu trip
Isa
i wish
Mikey
Guys you’re losing the plot here
Was there ever really a plot to begin with?
A bombardment of texts came through all at once.
Jake
He lives!
Reid
Nice of you to join us, buddy
Colter
Guys, he’s alive!
Mikey
How’s our boy and his…guest friend?
Me
I’m alive. I’m fine
Sierra’s fine
Jake
Just fine? Oop must have gotten into some hot water
Mikey
Little lover’s spat?
We’re not lovers. We’re friends.
Reid
That’s what they all say, right Honeybee?
Isa
You can deny it all you want, Haydie. The truth always comes out.
She said she wanted to be friends, so that’s what we are.
Juniper, Colter, Reid, and Ellison all reacted with thumbs-down emojis.
Mikey
Booooo
Isa
But aren’t you guys like high school sweethearts?
Jake
Damn, bro’s got himself deep in the friend zone
What was the point of this text thread?
Mikey
Yeah, guys, you stole my thunder!
June’s going to be in town, so I say we all hit up Rudy’s after the rodeo
Ellison
Wasn’t that the plan anyway?
Mikey
Oh shh Firecracker. This way if we make it a special plan, none of you can bail out.
Haydie, bring your girl. We’ll get you out of the friend zone, buddy
I rolled my eyes and turned my phone off. I’d deal with them all later.
On my way to my room, I noticed Sierra’s door was still slightly open. The shower was running in the bathroom, and Pancho was chewing on a bone in her room. I had no idea how long she’d be, but I knew she normally kept her room closed to prevent Pancho from getting out.
As I grabbed the door handle, a flash of bright-blue fur caught my eye.
I didn’t mean to snoop or invade her privacy, but curiosity got the better of me.
Instead of closing the door or moving away like I should have, I leaned back slightly, peeking my head in the gap between the door and frame.
Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed, and a blue stuffed tiger was neatly placed on the bed near her pillows.
She kept it. After all this time, she still has it.