Chapter 8 – Ainsleigh
eight
AINSLEIGH
The sound of the alarm clock beeping from my phone roused me from the dream I didn’t want to wake up from. We were happy. And so was she. My heart hurt as I opened my eyes and reached for the device the sound was still coming from.
Gentry groaned from the floor.
“We’ve gotta get up. There’s no way I’m goin’ to be late. My daddy would never let me live it down,” I told him as I rolled onto my back.
“He’ll live. I’m too comfy,” he replied with a sleepy voice, just as I grabbed the phone and turned the alarm off.
“You’re not gettin’ me in trouble. Plus, last night shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have stayed here,” I said as I sat up in bed, throwing the covers off me.
He sat up on the air mattress. It was so dark in the room I could barely see him. His hair was ruffled in a bedhead kind of way. Whiskers lined his cheeks. His eyes still had a sleepy glow to them.
My breath came harder as he moved off the air mattress and knelt beside the bed. His lips were so close to mine. The warmth of his breath caressed my face.
“Nothin’ between us has ever been a mistake.
One day you’ll realize that. That’s includin’ last night.
Nothin’ happened for us to even regret. Me bein’ there for you is never goin’ to stop.
You’ll do yourself a favor if you remember that,” he said before he kissed the tip of my nose and pushed himself away from the bed.
That man would be the death of me.
I got up from the bed and put my slippers on, bound and determined to sneak into the house and get ready without anyone noticing that I’d slept out here.
My family would make conclusions that wouldn’t be good for either of us.
I couldn’t give Gentry hope where there was nothing left to hope for.
I just had to figure out a way to stop him.
Somehow, I managed to succeed in making it up to my room without seeing either of my parents.
Opening my closet door, I pulled out a pair of jeans, tank top, and flannel shirt.
I searched my closet and found my cowgirl boots nestled on the top shelf.
I stood on the tips of my toes and reached for them, my fingers only grazing the worn leather.
I jumped and grabbed them, knocking the box beside them onto the floor.
The contents of the box spilled out, and I groaned.
I didn’t need to be late, especially not on my first day.
The boots slipped out of my hand as I stared at the contents of the box.
My heart constricted at the sight of the origami love notes from Gentry.
He’d write the sweetest things inside. I didn’t have time to reminisce.
I quickly gathered the notes and tossed them back into the box.
Picking up the last one, I held it between my fingers, caressing the worn pages, scared but curious about what words this one contained.
Maybe one day I’d have the courage to open them again.
I made sure to cover the ink that now graced my skin.
I’d paid a pretty penny for the best tattoo concealer, and I made sure to use it every day.
Not even Dylan and Aspen had seen them. After they were covered, I got dressed; thankfully everything still fit.
I hadn’t touched anything in my closet since long before I’d left.
After putting my hair in a ponytail, I made sure I grabbed an old baseball cap that hung on the side of my vanity before I left the room and headed to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of coffee.
The aroma of my mother’s coffee hit my senses midway down the stairs. She knew us all so well.
I walked into the kitchen to find her making each one of us a cup. There was even a cup for Gentry. I had to get her by herself and ask some questions. People around here needed to give me answers.
“You still take yours with lots of sugar and a little coffee, right?” my mother asked without even looking to see who it was.
How did she always do that?
“You remember,” I said as I walked up beside her and leaned against the counter. She’d placed the steaming hot cup of java in a thermos in my hand as she turned to face me.
“A mother never forgets. Remember that.” She winked at me as she turned back to continue making everyone else’s coffee.
“I won’t.”
“How did the bed in the stables sleep?”
Wait. What?
“What do you mean?” I tried to feign ignorance, but I knew better. I still had to try, though.
“I heard you leave your room last night and go outside. I figured you’d gone to the one place we always knew where to find you.
I’m not stupid or blind, Ainsleigh. I knew comin’ home would be hard on you.
I even knew how hard it would be for you to go into your room.
And even though I knew that, I’m still stupidly happy that you’re home where you belong. ”
“I slept perfectly fine. Thanks for removin’ that picture and puttin’ another in its place. It would’ve been a lot harder if I had to see it there.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned toward me.
“I didn’t remove it. Gentry did. The second I told him you were coming back, he went up to your room and took away all the reminders so you didn’t have to see them. I don’t know where he put them, but he packed them away until you were ready to face them.”
Why did he have to still be so sweet and thoughtful?
It would’ve been easier to just thank my mother. Then I wouldn’t have to thank him. Because that would lead to a conversation that I wasn’t ready to have.
“So you slept well, huh?” she asked, a knowing gleam in her eyes as she waited for me to respond.
She knew he was out there.
What I didn’t want to happen. The smile on her face was the perfect indication of the assumptions she’d already made.
“Yes, I did. And all that happened was sleepin’. Mom, what’s Gentry doing here?” I asked out of curiosity because I was too scared to ask the one person I should’ve.
“That’s his story to tell. And you need to let him tell you. Someday soon you’re going to have to hear him out whether you’re ready to or not. Be careful, Ainsleigh. You might want to figure out what you want. I don’t want to see either of you hurt again.”
Why did mothers have that intuition that all children disliked so much?
She was right, but that wouldn’t stop me from being stubborn until I couldn’t be anymore.
“Mom,” I began to speak, but nerves overtook and I refrained.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” she asked, her eyes full of concern.
“Can we talk soon about the old home place?” I asked as I looked down at my mug of coffee. I didn’t want her to read too much into why I’d ask that, especially this early in the morning.
“Whenever you’re ready, we can talk,” she assured me as she placed her hand on my shoulder.
My father came into the room, so I didn’t have to reply. But she looked at me knowingly before she turned around to give him his thermos of coffee.
“Good mornin’, my beautiful girls. It’s so nice to wake up and see your gorgeous faces.”
“Good mornin’, Daddy,” I said as I walked over and gave him a hug.
“That daddy stuff isn’t gettin’ you out of workin’ today. But I’m glad to see that you’re up early and ready for a challenge.”
I thought batting my eyelashes at him would work. Just like it used to when I was little.
Guess not.
“But, Daddy.” I pouted like a toddler, poking my lip out to give the full effect.
“Not gonna work, baby girl. You’re muckin’ the stalls this mornin’. Now let’s get to work,” he said with a laugh as he patted me on the back and walked toward the door.
Just as he opened the door, Gentry and my brothers graced us with their presence.
They wore jeans and flannels with their boots.
I didn’t pay attention to my brothers much, though.
It was Gentry who my eyes couldn’t move from.
Why did he have to make the flannel look so good?
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he wore a black cowboy hat. The same hat I’d gifted him years ago when he’d first learned to ride a horse. My heart swelled at the thought of him having it all these years later.
“Good mornin’, Lillian. Thanks for the coffee,” he said as he walked over to my mother and took the thermos from her hand, his eyes never once leaving mine.
“Good mornin’, butterfly. Are you ready for today?” he asked as he walked toward the door.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready or not, but I wouldn’t let on that I was nervous for what the day held.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” I said with a smile as I followed him through the glass-paned door.
I walked down the path behind him. The spring air blew around me, causing me to cross my arms over my body to try to shield some of the wind from going through my shirt.
Gentry opened the door to the stables I’d just left a little while ago, holding it for me to enter.
I couldn’t wait to see Sparkle.
Standing in the doorway, I let out the special whistle I always used to greet her. I’d gotten her for my ninth birthday. A few months prior, my daddy had taught me how to whistle. Ever since the day I’d gotten her, I’d always whistle to let her know I was near. Hopefully, she hadn’t forgotten.
I’d gotten my answer just as I started to whistle for the second time.
Her head peered out of the stall, and she pushed against the door, letting me know how excited she was to see me.
Before I could get started on anything, I had to give my beautiful girl some love.
I walked down the long aisle of stalls, each horse peeking their heads out ready to eat until I’d gotten to the last one on the left. Sparkle’s stall.
“Hi there, beautiful. Did you miss me?” I said as I ran my fingers through her mane.
She pushed her head in my hand for me to continue, giving me my answer.
“I missed you too, Sparkle.” I laughed as she continued to seek my attention.