Chapter Eleven #2
After Skylar went outside, Ryan turned on the TV and flipped through channels, the images blurring together in a display of colors.
Skylar reentered the house, then carried her overnight case to the spare bedroom upstairs.
Ryan could hear the familiar creak of the third step, then the soft thud of the bag hitting the guest bed.
Then came the sound of Skylar descending.
She walked to the kitchen, and Ryan heard the distinctive pop of the cork and the gentle glug of wine filling a glass.
Skylar returned to the living room, the crimson liquid swirling in her glass as she took a seat beside Ryan on the plush sofa, the cushions dipping under her weight.
Ryan looked at her, noticing the tiny worry lines around Skylar’s eyes.
Skylar raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Spill it.”
Ryan took a deep breath that filled her lungs completely and told Skylar everything. From meeting Seth with his beautiful smile and amazing green eyes, to kissing him in the field, to having passionate sex with him in his bed, and to finally falling hopelessly in love with him.
“You would have stayed?” Skylar sat forward, her wine sloshing dangerously close to the rim of her glass.
“Yes. Skylar, you know me. I am not fickle. I don’t fall in love easily, but I am so in love with him.” Ryan’s voice cracked like thin ice. “My heart is just breaking knowing I can’t be with him.” Ryan reached for a tissue and blew her nose, then she got to her feet. “Hold on, I’ll show you.”
Ryan picked her laptop up from the floor, opened it, then went to her folder titled: Seth, and opened it.
Pages of pages loaded with photos she’d taken of the ranch, along with the photos of the oats and corn fields.
Then she found the ones she was looking for and turned the screen to Skylar.
Ryan watched her face and knew the second she spotted the photo of the men on the ranch standing in front of a tractor just outside the barn doors in the bright sunshine.
She took it a few days before she left. They had grins on their handsome faces as they all assumed the same pose; arms folded across their chests, feet planted apart, hats tipped low, but the smiles showed, and it was enough to give any red-blooded woman heart palpitations.
Skylar looked at her with her mouth hanging open, glanced back at the screen, then to her again.
“You were working with these men?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I know some of them are way too young for me, but there is not a bad looking one in the bunch.”
Ryan reached over and scrolled a page. “That’s Seth.”
“Oh, Ryan. I can see in this photo you took that you love him. It’s all in the way you captured him.” Skylar looked at her. “You are in love.”
Ryan nodded. “I am. I’m going to print that one out and frame it.” She reached over again to the keyboard and scrolled to the next page and waited, biting her lip.
“Holy shit! Who is this gorgeous specimen? Now, don’t get me wrong, Seth is very, very handsome, but this man…” Skylar shook her head. “This man is just that. All man. Please tell me I can have him. Oh, and his name, please.”
Ryan laughed. “He has the most amazing blue eyes. Bluer than yours. I mean, striking, and he has black hair. He’s forty-two and single. He’s Seth best friend and his name is Cullen Byrne.”
“So, what’s wrong with him?”
“What?”
“He sounds too good to be true. What’s wrong with him?”
“His wife was killed in a horseback riding accident. Seth said it was five or six years ago, and Cull took it hard. So, he’s probably not looking for a relationship.”
“Oh, that’s so sad about his wife.” Skylar looked at the screen again. “Damn, he’s hot.”
“Yes, he is, and a nice man. Tall too. He and Seth are both six foot five.”
“Oh, my God. Stop! You know how I love tall men. You’re telling me all this and I can’t do a damn thing about it. I hate you right now.”
Ryan laughed. “That’s okay. You know I love you no matter what.”
“Same.” Skylar sighed as she looked at the photo of Seth. “You need to send Seth this photo.”
“No. I am going to send him some, but this one, this one is mine and it’s all I’ll have of him. I only shared it with you because I wanted you to see him.”
“You can see your love for him through your camera lens. He’d know you were telling him the truth.”
“I’m not going to show it to him. Not that one.”
“Okay. Not going to argue with you, but you’re miserable.”
“I know. Let’s order, find a movie and get drunk.”
Skylar lifted her glass. “Way ahead of you.” Then she sat up, reached for the laptop, then turned it to face her. “I’m sorry, but is that you on a horse?”
Ryan smiled. “Yes. Seth made me ride. He didn’t care that I’d never been on a horse in my life and I was afraid of them.
He said I either ride or go back to California and send someone else to take photos.
He put me on a very gentle horse named Pearl.
A beautiful dapple gray with a black mane, tail, and legs. I miss her too.”
“Unreal. All the times I tried to get you to go to my dad’s ranch, and some hot cowboy tells you that you have to or send another photographer. Why didn’t I use threats?” Skylar smiled as she shook her head.
Ryan picked up a menu for Chinese, and they decided what they wanted. After ordering online, they settled in to watch Steel Magnolias so they could have a good laugh and a long cry.
****
Saturday morning, Seth entered the arena with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, the rich aroma mingling with the earthy scent of hay and horse.
The morning sun slanted through the high windows, casting golden bars across the packed dirt floor.
For the first time in a while, the weather had warmed up enough that his breath no longer clouded the air, and he was eager to get back into training.
The oats and corn were sprouting in neat emerald rows, promising a good crop for Ash this year.
“Seth, morning,” Cull said as he strolled into the arena, his weathered boots kicking up small puffs of dust with each step.
“Hey, Cull. I’m sorry you’re working today. Where are you sending the men today?” Seth took a sip of his coffee, savoring the bitter warmth, as he placed his arms on the indoor corral and watched the filly run around.
“Buck and Ringo are checking the fields. Micky and Spurs are breaking two horses today, the Paint and the Appaloosa.” Cull shrugged. “It’s not the first time we’ve all had to work on a Saturday. Won’t be the last.”
Seth nodded, his hand running absently along the wooden rail. “Alright. Have them all in the barn tomorrow. The barns and areas around them need to be cleaned up. What do you have planned today?”
“Payroll this morning, then go over the books.” Cull’s eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his worn Stetson. “You didn’t have to stick me with that shit, you know.”
Seth chuckled. “Of course, I know. I have too much training to do. Besides, you did it before. Don’t whine. It’s not a good look on you.”
Cull shook his head, turned and strolled down the barn’s aisle, his spurs jingling softly with each step, but not before calling out as he stepped into the bright rectangle of sunlight at the doorway.
“You can kiss my Irish ass.”
“You’re only half Irish.”
“So, you choose which half,” Cull yelled.
Seth laughed as he shook his head, then entered the corral to get the filly out.
When he hooked the leather lead to her gleaming chestnut coat, she pranced alongside him, tossing her silky mane and pawing at the ground with one delicate hoof.
She knew what she was going to do, and she loved it, her dark eyes bright
Later that day, Seth entered his house, removed his sweat-stained Stetson, collapsed onto the bench by the door, and exhaled a bone-deep sigh.
It had been a grueling morning, but the chestnut filly was finally mastering her lateral movements, but Seth needed food, a shower, and a change of clothes before settling in for the evening.
With shoulders aching from tension, he tugged his mud-caked boots off, dropped them onto the plank floor and watched as clumps of dirt fell off them like small landslides.
Seth pushed to his feet with a grunt, opened the back door, set the boots beside two other dirty pairs on the porch, then closed the door, turning the brass deadbolt.
He shuffled into the laundry room and emptied his pockets, jingling keys and the smartphone that connected him to a world he often preferred to avoid.
They clattered against the metal washing machine.
He peeled off his filthy clothes layer by layer, dropping them into a heap as fine particles of arena dust billowed up.
His fingers reached for the phone to plug it in but froze when Ryan’s name illuminated the screen, sending his heart slamming against his ribs. His thumb hovered over the notification, trembling slightly, before he set it down with deliberate care.
“I need a hot shower first,” he muttered through a parched throat as he strode from the laundry room through the kitchen, past the dining room table cluttered with mail, then down the hallway to his bedroom.
Entering the sanctuary of his room, he grabbed a faded cotton T-shirt, along with a pair of well-worn sweatpants and socks, then moved into the bathroom.
His muscles screamed for relief, his stomach growled for sustenance, and his eyelids drooped with exhaustion.
He just hoped tonight wouldn’t be another endless stretch of ceiling-staring insomnia.
He reached into the stall, twisted the knob, waited for the pipes to deliver warmth and once billowing steam fogged the mirror, Seth stepped inside, letting out a guttural groan as the scalding water cascaded down his skin and knotted muscles.