Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Sean,
Leia asked me tonight what love feels like.
Sadly, I don’t have a perfect answer for how you know you love someone.
Sometimes it’s something that builds, sometimes it’s fast and explosive.
Falling in love with Bennett was slow and sweet.
Sure, he did nice things for me. He tutored me through my ACTs, bribing me with Hershey’s Kisses every time I got a question right.
He rarely showed up at my doorstep for a date without flowers.
He complimented me all the time. I’m sure any girl would’ve fallen for him.
But when I think about my time with Bennett, there’s one night that stands out from the rest.
It was my seventeenth birthday, and my grandma had fallen.
She broke her hip and was rushed to a hospital in Missouri.
My parents had no choice but to go and get her settled.
They promised we’d celebrate when they returned, and I said I was fine.
Levi was at a rodeo, Poppy had to work, and Bennett had plans to see U2 with Emmett and a group of their friends.
So, I was alone on my birthday.
I made myself a bowl of popcorn and decided to wallow a little, bingeing on rom-coms for the night. I’d just set the popcorn and drink on the table when the doorbell rang.
When I opened it, there he was.
Bennett.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
He was in his favorite jeans, cowboy boots, and his backward baseball cap. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and he looked almost nervous. “Come on a ride with me?”
I looked down at my pajama-clad self. “You’re supposed to be on your way to St. Louis.”
“U2 isn’t all that.”
“B,” I sighed.
“You’re more important. And you’re not spending your birthday alone.”
“What did Emmett say?” I hadn’t moved. Some part of me still wanted to march him right back to Plain Daisy Ranch and shove him into Emmett’s truck.
“You don’t want to know what he said.” He reached for my hand.
I let him come inside so I could shut off the lights and TV. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I quickly changed, closed up the house, and got into his truck, assuming he’d take me to that overlook in Hickory where everyone went to park and… talk.
But when he turned onto the dirt road to the ranch and parked outside the horse stables, I was shocked.
“B?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
I didn’t grow up around horses like he did. Levi found his way to horses, but they always intimidated me.
“Can’t we just drive?”
“Not where I’m taking you.” He killed the ignition and waited, giving me the choice. That was one of the things I loved most about Bennett. He never pressured me into anything. “If you’d rather…”
“No. Let’s go.” I opened the car door, nerves fluttering, but my curiosity was stronger. And I trusted him.
He chuckled, his hand finding mine as we walked toward the stables.
My steps slowed, still unsure when I saw the horses, and he tightened his grip on my hand. We passed stall after stall until he stopped at Junebug. Poppy’s horse.
“I thought you rode Cedar.” I circled toward Cedar’s stall, where his brown head peeked out as though he recognized that Bennett was here.
“I do. But Junebug’s smaller. I figured you’d be more comfortable on her.”
Bennett adored Cedar. He prided himself on that horse. Part of me knew he wanted me on Cedar for my first ride with him.
“Let’s take Cedar.” I walked over to the stall.
“You sure? He’s taller and stronger. Not that Junebug isn’t great…”
I stepped closer until his hands gently caught my hips. “Which one would you prefer?”
“I just want you to enjoy it.”
“But?”
A sheepish smile tugged at his lips. “Cedar.”
“Get him ready then.”
When I said I’d never ridden a horse before, I meant it. Not even the kind that go in slow circles at county fairs.
Bennett climbed on first, then reached down to help me. “Trust me.”
How could I not trust him? He held my entire heart in that moment.
One graceful tug and I was up. Then half on, half falling until he steadied me, his laugh quiet, his warm breath against my neck as I moved into position in front of him.
“Easy,” he whispered, his breath tickling the sensitive spot just below my ear.
The horse was taller than I’d expected. His muscles shifted beneath me, solid and powerful all at once. We didn’t use a saddle. Just Bennett and me.
I gripped Bennett’s arms. “I change my mind,” I muttered.
“You want off?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want off because I wanted to know what he had planned, what was in the backpack he’d taken from the back of his truck that was now slung across his back.
One arm slipped around my waist. The other braced us both. “I’ve got you.”
We moved slow. Cedar stepped carefully as we headed toward a worn trail in the grass.
Every sway of Cedar’s body rocked through me.
I couldn’t tell if my heart raced from the movement or the nearness of feeling every inch of Bennett pressed behind me.
The way he leaned in close. The way his chest rose and fell along my back, the heat of his hand at my waist, the soft circle of his thumb that traced tiny infinity symbols where his hand held me.
The sky faded from gold to bruised violet. It was the most beautiful view I’d ever seen. And somehow, the image still hasn’t left me all these years later.
Bennett’s voice calmed me the entire ride, telling me what to expect with each shift and turn. What Cedar might do. What it meant when his gait changed.
We reached a clearing on top of a hill near the creek.
He helped me down, and although the ride wasn’t as scary as I’d expected, I was glad to have both feet back on solid ground. He walked Cedar to a nearby tree and secured him, leaving enough slack for the horse to graze.
I wandered to the edge of the hill and sat down, tucking my knees to my chest, watching the last of the sunlight streak across the sky. Bennett came up behind me, his long legs bracketing mine as he sat, and I leaned into the warmth of his body and his strong touch.
I heard the click of a lighter, and Bennett placed a cupcake in front of me, candle lit and glowing.
“Happy birthday,” he whispered.
“B!” I turned, heart aching in the best way.
“Make a wish.” Again, he held the purple frosted cupcake in front of me. “And don’t waste it on me, because I’m already yours.”
I giggled as I always did at his humor, and he urged the cupcake closer to me.
I closed my eyes tightly and made a wish that I’d always have Bennett.
I’d heard what he had said, and I believed he was mine, but I wasn’t naive.
We were seventeen and in love, with our futures wide open in front of us.
He had dreams of going to college, and I was still unsure where my path would lead after high school.
He placed the cupcake back in the box beside another one and pulled me into his arms. He laid back, and I curled onto his chest.
His hand tucked a strand of my hair that had fallen down during the ride behind my ear. “I love you, Laney.”
“I know.”
And I did. Maybe that was part of it. I never questioned whether he did. Even before he said the words, I felt it, deep down.
Bennett taught me that real love isn’t just about butterflies or fireworks. It’s about being someone’s cheerleader and letting them choose whether to take the leap—but always being there to hold their hand if they do.
And that’s probably why I fell for him. Because that night, and every night after it, he made me feel safe and seen. He was always the calm during a storm for me.
Delaney