31. Wyatt
CHAPTER 31
Wyatt
CRACK SHOT
Surveying our matching T-shirts, Ryder shakes his head. “I feel like a member of some stupid, shitty-ass boy band.”
“Then you can go bye, bye, bye ,” Sawyer singsongs as he zips up his jacket.
Ryder curls his lip. “Since when are you a Backstreet Boys fan?”
“That’s an *NSYNC reference, thank you very much,” Sawyer replies. “I put on boy-band playlists when Ella’s in the car with me. I feel like they’re harmless enough, right? There’s a reason why girls love them.”
“That reason ain’t these shirts,” Ryder says with a groan.
I’m laughing as I zip up my own jacket. “You have to wear it for ten minutes. Fifteen, tops. Y’all remember how it goes, right? We line up in the kitchen—keep your coats on, don’t forget that—and then when we have Sally’s attention?—”
“We strip down and hump the floor.” Duke nods. “Got it.”
Sawyer, Ryder, Duke, and I are having a quick little meeting at my place before we head over to the New House for Sally’s Friendsgiving. Cash spent the day with Mollie, but he’s on his way back to the ranch, and I was sure to give him marching orders when we spoke earlier this morning.
When Sally proposed the get-together, I immediately knew it was the perfect time to lay it all on the line and let her know I was willing to go to the ends of the earth to keep us together.
Cash ordered the T-shirts, Sawyer picked up the champagne, and I wrote draft after draft of the things I wanted to say to her in front of our families and friends.
Feels a lot like a marriage proposal. But I don’t mind that one bit. Figure the more practice I have, the better I’m gonna be when I do pop the big question.
If I had my way, I’d pop it sooner rather than later. I figure we’ll see how tonight goes, and I’ll come up with a plan from there.
Sawyer chuckles. “Ella is gonna lose her damn mind. Speaking of, I’m gonna run and grab her from the sitter. Meet y’all at the house in fifteen?”
“Sounds good. And Sawyer?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” I swallow. “Thank all y’all.”
“I get the farmhouse when he leaves,” Ryder says.
He and Duke are still living in the bunkhouse while renovations start on some potential housing for them on our family’s side of the ranch.
Duke shakes his head. “You’re gonna have to fight me for it.”
“I’m still here,” I say.
Ryder pulls me in for a hug. “You ready?”
“I’ve been ready for years. Let’s do this thing.”
Sawyer takes his truck to his place while the rest of us pile into one of Lucky River Ranch’s new F-350s and head to the New House. I’ve been using this truck all day, which explains why my thermos is in the cupholder and my Beretta rifle is underneath the seat .
Duke puts on *NSYNC and cranks the volume. “You’re welcome, Ryder.”
“Dude, shut up.”
“Twenty bucks says you’ll be singing the chorus by the time we get to the house.”
“That’s twenty bucks you’re gonna lose.”
Duke, being Duke, sings at the top of his lungs when the “Bye Bye Bye” chorus comes on. I join in, laughing, and lo and behold, Ryder joins in, too, all three of us smiling like the idiots we are as we drive through the autumn twilight.
Sounds stupid, but I feel like my heart grows wings. I could fly I’m so happy.
I could fly because I’m free.
No more hiding. No more running in circles, trying to stay busy so I don’t have to face my past or the fact that I let the girl I love go.
Funny how I found that freedom in commitment. That’s truth for you, I guess. No matter what your truth looks like, if you’re living it, you’re gonna feel good.
Really fucking good.
We pass the corral and the horse barn. Frowning, I turn down the music when I see that the barn’s floodlights are on. They operate on motion sensors, meaning they only come on when there’s movement nearby.
“Y’all were at the barn last, right?” I ask my brothers.
Duke glances out his window. “Left not an hour ago. No one’s supposed to be out there.”
I point at the barn. “Let’s check it out real quick.”
My brother guides the truck down the hill and into the little valley where the corral and barn sit.
My stomach somersaults when I see the barn’s side door is flung wide open. I put the truck in park and immediately reach for my rifle underneath my seat.
Meeting eyes with Duke in the passenger seat, I give him a curt nod .
We open our doors at the same time. The three of us pile out into the cold and I take the lead, raising my rifle so that it’s tucked firmly into the ball of my shoulder.
My heart is hammering. Something’s up. I feel it.
“Hello?” I shout, carefully releasing the safety so that it doesn’t make a noise. “Who’s in there?”
No answer.
“We’re comin’ in,” Ryder adds. “And we’re armed.”
We round the corner of the barn. Pressing my cheek against the butt of the rifle, I keep my stride steady as I slip through the open door.
A figure moves in the shadows, put off by the overhead lights. My finger sits on the trigger.
“Come out,” I say. “Right now.”
I nearly pass out from relief when John B emerges from the dark. I immediately put the safety back on and drop the rifle, letting out a breath. “Jesus Christ, John. Why didn’t you?—”
But then he grabs the rifle out of my hands with a quickness I didn’t know he was capable of at his age. He raises it, aiming the barrel at my chest. “Just who I was lookin’ for.”
I’m so taken aback—this is so out of character for him—that it takes a full beat for my brain to unscramble the events as they happen.
First, John B puts his hand on the trigger.
Second, he closes his left eye, aiming for my heart. Did he release the safety? My heart is pounding so hard that I could’ve missed the telltale click. And the light in here is too dim to see.
Third, John says, “Tell me you didn’t break your promise.”
My heart thumps in my ears. “What?”
Duke, Sawyer, and I exchange glances. None of us has any idea what the fuck is going on. We stay put, my brothers hovering just behind my left shoulder.
Could the three of us take John out before he pulls the trigger? He’s getting on in years, but he’s still a born and bred country boy. He got his first rifle at five and has been a crack shot since six. Or so the story goes.
We’ve hunted together plenty, so I know the man only raises a gun when he means business. He ain’t gonna miss if he fires.
I squint, straining to see whether the safety is engaged or not. Still can’t tell.
“You promised me you weren’t going to keep her in Texas. You lied to my face, boy.”
What the hell?
“I didn’t lie to you,” I reply slowly. “Sally is still going to New York.”
John B just chuckles, a low, sinister sound. “Quit your lying already. She just told me.”
“Told you what?”
“Quit lying , Wyatt, or so help me God?—”
“John, please.” Duke steps forward, his hands held up. “Let’s all keep a cool head here, all right? I think there’s a misunderstanding?—”
“There’s definitely a misunderstanding,” I say, anger mingling with the fear coursing through my veins. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
A flicker of doubt moves across John’s eyes. “Sally didn’t tell you she’s not taking the job at Ithaca University?”
A bomb detonates inside my skull. At the same time my heart hammers against my breastbone, leaving me short of breath.
Sally isn’t taking the job? Since when? Why? And how can I feel so relieved and so terrified, all at once?
Then I remember the cryptic way she kept saying she wanted to stay in Hartsville the other day. But she made no mention of going so far as to quit her job.
I feel Duke’s and Ryder’s eyes on me.
“She didn’t tell me, no,” I manage .
John hesitates, his finger falling from the trigger. I can see the mental gymnastics he’s doing to have it all make sense.
“I can prove it to you actually.” I put my hand on my zipper.
John immediately puts his finger back on the trigger. “Keep your hands where I can see ’em.”
“John—”
“You’d best listen.” He moves toward me, rifle still raised.
I back up, my hands held high.
“I would never let Sally quit her job on my account,” I manage. “You know this about me. I love her more than words can say, but I’d never—you know I’d never ask that of her. I’m a man of my word, John. Please, let me prove it.”
“We all can prove it,” Ryder chimes in. “Just give us a minute. A second.”
But John keeps stalking toward us. We keep backing up until we’re moving out of the barn and into the night, the four of us standing in the dirt path between the corral and the barn.
A flash of light catches my eye. I turn my head to see approaching headlights.
Cash’s Ford.
At the same time, I hear a scream.
Sally.
My Sally.
She appears at the edge of the circle of illumination that’s put off by the floodlights over our heads. She’s breathing hard, her eyes wet with tears as she takes in her dad, the rifle, and then me.
“Stop!” she screams again. “Dad, put down the rifle right now.”
Cash’s truck jerks to a stop beside the barn.
“Not until he swears he’s gonna keep his promise,” John replies. “Let her go, Wyatt.”
Sally shakes her head as she comes to stand beside me. “ You’re insane, Dad. Seriously, if you don’t put the gun down, I’m calling the cops.” She digs her phone out of her pocket and holds it up.
I hear a truck door open. Close.
Sally grabs my hand. I twine our fingers.
John keeps the gun pointed at my chest.
“I swear to God, John, it’s not what you think,” I say.
“You’re lying, Wyatt,” he replies.
“Dad, please, stop,” Sally begs. “This is ridiculous. Put the gun down. He’s right?—”
“What’s going on here?” Cash’s voice, sharp and loud, cuts through the night air.
John’s eyes remain locked on mine. “This son of a bitch did my daughter dirty—that’s what.”
I feel Cash’s stare. “Wyatt?—”
“I can explain.” My voice sounds desperate, even to my own ears.
Sally steps forward. “ I can explain. I didn’t tell Wyatt about the job, Dad. I didn’t tell anyone except Mollie, because I was hoping I’d get to surprise y’all with the news tonight at dinner.” She looks at me. “I wanted it to be this big, special moment because it is a big moment. It is special. Or it was supposed to be.”
I look back, heart thumping. “What news?”
“I refused the job offer,” she says simply, like she isn’t wildly altering her life course. All our life courses. “I’m staying in Texas. No, I don’t know what I’m going to do about a job, and, yes, I’m working on figuring something out. But I’m staying because I’ve discovered I need a sense of community—a feeling of being connected to people—that I haven’t found anywhere else. Turns out, my dream doesn’t have anything to do with one specific job like I thought it did. My dream is serving my hometown. Working alongside people I know and love.” Sally sucks in a deep inhale and meets my eyes. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Wyatt. ”
“Wait, wait.” John B blinks, finally lowering the rifle. “Wyatt really didn’t know?”
Once again, I find myself speechless. Sally isn’t taking the job. She’s not moving to New York.
Which means?—
My God, she’s actually staying.
We’re staying in the town I was born and raised in. The town where I want my children to be born, where I want to raise them.
Joy swoops through me.
“He didn’t know,” Sally confirms. “That’s proof this was my choice.”
Without thinking, I grab my zipper and yank it down. “I have proof of my choice too.”
Sally’s eyes go wide as they take in my white T-shirt. It’s one of those simple I Love New York shirts, a red heart in the place of the word love .
“Wyatt”—her voice cracks as her eyes flick to meet mine—“what’s this?”
I hear more zippers being pulled behind me, and then Ryder appears at my elbow. “Surprise! We’re forming a boy band.”
Sally looks at his shirt, Duke’s too. And then she laughs.
She covers her mouth with her hand and howls, tears leaking out of her eyes.
John still has my gun in his hands, but I don’t care. I curl an arm around Sally’s neck and pull her against me, pressing a kiss into her hair.
“You and I are apparently on the same wavelength, Sunshine. Same night you were gonna tell me you were staying in Texas was when I was gonna ask you if I could join you in New York. Show you I had my family’s blessing. Show you that I was excited to follow you wherever your dreams took us. I was never gonna make you choose between your job and me. ”
Cash chuckles. “That’s pretty dang sweet.”
I hear another car door opening, and I look up to see Mollie climbing out of Cash’s truck. “Everything okay?”
“Not okay that you didn’t tell me Sally’s news,” Cash replies. “But, yes, it’s safe for you to come out. Right, John?”
Sally’s father has a flabbergasted look on his face. He doesn’t say a word.
Instead, he watches Sally sob into my new T-shirt, my brothers discreetly wiping their eyes around us.
“I can’t believe you’d move for me,” Sally manages.
“Aw, Sunshine, can’t you though? I can’t let you out of my sight as it is. You really think I could handle living halfway across the country from you?”
“I’m glad you can’t.”
“You sure?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. “About the job?”
Sally nods. “I’m sure. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”
“Okay.” Okay.
My God, I feel so much better than just okay.
“You look beautiful, by the way. Love the dress. But love you more.”
John B clears his throat. Every head swings in his direction.
That’s when I see that he’s crying, tears streaking down his cheeks. My chest contracts.
“I believe I owe y’all an apology.” He sniffles. “I didn’t—I assumed the worst about all of you, and I’m sorry.”
Sally gives him a look. “Dad, you pulled a fucking gun on my boyfriend.”
John B’s voice wavers when he says, “I wasn’t gonna actually shoot anyone. Safety’s still on, see?”
He holds up the rifle, the floodlights glinting off its polished barrel. I let out a breath when I see that the safety is— my God —indeed engaged .
Cash steps forward and holds out his hand. “I’d still like to take it, please.”
“I’m sorry.” John passes my brother the rifle, then covers his face with his hands. “I’m so, so sorry, honey. You’re right. I should’ve trusted you. I didn’t understand—I only wanted the best for you. I was trying to save you from having the regrets I do. I thought I was doing the right thing. I’m sorry.”
Sally glances up at me. “Are you okay, Wy?”
“Not gonna lie. I’m a little shaken. For a second there, I thought…well…”
“I promise I wasn’t gonna shoot,” John says. “Did you not see the safety was on?”
I shake my head. “Too dark.”
“I’m sorry,” he repeats.
“But I do feel better now that I know it was on,” I say. “Still not right what you did, John.”
He scoffs. “Of course it wasn’t right. I just—y’all gotta understand how my regrets have eaten away at me over the years. I never want my daughter to have to wonder about what-ifs.”
Sally’s expression softens ever so slightly. “I’d wonder what if for the rest of my life if I took the job in New York, Dad.”
“I see that now.”
“Do you really?” Sally presses. “Because if you ever pull a gun on my boyfriend again, even if you don’t mean to shoot?—”
“I promise, Sally.” John’s voice breaks. “I understand. I’m sorry, and I’ll keep saying I’m sorry until you believe me.”
Sally looks at him for a long beat before she turns to my brothers. “And y’all? Are you guys okay?”
They nod.
Dropping my hand, Sally moves toward her dad. I hold my breath, half expecting her to slap him, give him another verbal dressing-down at the very least .
Instead, she pulls him in for a hug. “You have a lot of work to do on yourself, Dad,” I hear her murmur.
“I know,” he replies. “I’ll do it. I promise you, honey, I’ll do better.”
Mollie claps her hands. “All right, y’all. No one is dead, and Sally and Wyatt are gonna ride off into the Texas sunset together. I think this calls for a celebratory drink.”
“Or five,” Sally says. “I’ve got a pitcher of bourbon sours back at the house if anyone’s interested.”
“Don’t gotta ask me twice,” Duke says, elbowing past me.
I hold out my hand to Sally. “Our sunset awaits.”
Smiling, she walks toward me and takes my hand. “No one I’d rather ride with than you.”
“I think you just mean ride,” Sawyer says. “As in there’s no one you’d rather ride, period.”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?”
But Sally just laughs.