2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Grayson
“Ihave an idea.”
We all groan in unison as Cole’s smile drops from his face.
“This won’t be good,” Holden mutters and drops the rake, banging against the concrete floor of the barn.
Cole snickers, folding his arms. “You don’t even know what my idea is.”
“They’re never great,” Sawyer adds, leaning against his twin, wearing a matching flannel shirt.
For an outsider, they might not notice the differences between them, but as their brother, I can spot them a mile away.
Holden’s brows are thicker. Sawyer’s jaw is squarer.
And he will deny it, but Holden is an inch shorter.
Reid chuckles under his breath, moving into one of the stalls.
Cole clears his throat. “For your information, some of the best ideas for this ranch have come from me.”
Holden scoffs, “I beg to differ.”
“You’ll be the only one begging for him,” Sawyer murmurs.
I hold in a smile, as Reid cackles from the other side of the wooden wall.
Cole’s tongue runs along his teeth, and he turns to leave. I grab his arm. “Stop, we’re just joking around.”
“Yeah, I know,” he grumbles, looking over his shoulder at me. “But I really think that I have a great idea this time.”
“All right, let us hear it then,” Reid says, appearing again to give our youngest brother all of our attention.
Cole breaks out into a wide grin as he rubs his hands together, and from this movement alone, I can already tell that this is going to be bad. “So, you know how you have been contemplating for a while—”
“Contemplating… strong word,” Sawyer mumbles under his breath, and I huff out a laugh.
Cole ignores him. “About what to do with the bottom pasture at the dam.”
“Yeah…” Reid drawls cautiously.
We shut our months in anticipation.
“I think we should level it out and make a karting track.”
I’ve never seen Holden howl with laughter as fast as he does right now. Sawyer smiles widely, showing off his one dimple, and Reid shakes his head, trying to contain a chuckle.
“Do you really think that’ll be a good idea?”
Cole shrugs. “Think about it. I can practice here instead of going to Rafter’s Falls—”
“That’s true.”
“And we could let kids come to learn here.” Cole snaps his fingers, and my face cringes, knowing that this is about to be the pinnacle of his absolutely horrendous idea. “Aspen could learn—”
“Definitely not!” Holden steps closer, all amusement wiped from his face, his protective dad mode back in position. “You are not letting her near cars, or karts.”
“But—”
“No buts!” shouts Holden.
Sawyer snickers, and his twin aims a glare in his direction as he squeezes out, “You said butts.”
Holden’s shoulders slump. Cole chuckles. “Not that butt. Ugh, you’re both idiots.”
“Hey, that’s not nice!”
“It’s true, though,” I add, copping the bird from Cole.
Reid steps in, standing between the two of them. “All right. Thank you, Cole, for sharing your idea. Grayson and I will take it into consideration.”
“You’re considering it?” splutters Holden.
Looking at me, I quickly shake my head before Cole notices. “Yeah, sure. We have to look at the numbers, though.”
“Sick!” shouts Cole, and I roll my eyes.
“All right, back to work. These stalls aren’t going to clean themselves, you know.”
Cole’s eyes widen, and I brace for another genius sentence to come from his mouth. “That would be epic. Maybe we should make those too. Self-cleaning horse stalls.”
Reid and Holden sigh, tiredness taking over their features. Sawyer shakes his head.
“You’re full of all the great ideas today,” I murmur, before pulling him into a headlock and ruffling up his hair.
Cole pushes me away, laughing, as the others disperse and start on this morning’s duties.
“But do you really think that the track is a good idea?” Cole asks as I reach for the wheelbarrow tucked in the corner.
Exhaling, I put it back down and lean against the wall.
I decided to let him down easily. “Honestly, Cole, we might not have the budget for it. The ranch is expensive, and we might need to hire one or two people now that Dad is retired. It’s a lot of work keeping this place up and running.
Not to mention that Holden’s place is under construction now. ”
His body slumps a little, resting on the broom, and I cup his shoulder gently.
“It would be nice to have,” I admit, looking over my shoulder to see if the others overheard me. “But don’t tell any of them I said that or I’ll shove chicken crap in your shoes again.”
“Fine.” I don’t miss Cole’s smirk.
Cleaning up the stalls and tossing everything in the manure pile out the back for fertilising, I head towards the cow pasture.
Mum and Aspen are already putting out feed and water.
Aspen giggles while patting one of the calves, who almost knocks her over.
She’s almost five, but the calf is already as tall as her.
“Grandma, he’s so silly!” she squeals, holding out a bottle of milk. The calf latches on, downing the bottle.
Mum must hear my boots on the ground because she turns, smiling brightly as always when I stop beside her. “You’re already out.”
“Yeah, Aspen woke up early so I thought we would come out, and you know how much she loves the cows.”
“Sounds like someone else I know too well,” I add.
Mum chuckles, helping Aspen before she drops the bottle on the ground. “Macie is up. She’s inside making coffee before heading to the cafe. I think she’s setting up this morning, something about Laynie sleeping in.”
My jaw ticks at the mention of Laynie, but I brush it aside.
“Thanks. I just need to see her for a minute before she leaves.”
Walking to the main house, the sound of the coffee machine can be heard from the porch, so I know she’s here.
Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I open it to my messages with Laynie.
She left me on read, which isn’t like her usually.
Granted, the last text I messaged her was just a meme, but still.
Normally she would at least give it a laugh reaction, but there’s nothing this time.
Odd.
Sliding open the back door, Macie looks up from the machine, gracing me with her usual warm smile and pink cheeks. Her hair is damp and braided down her back, wearing a tight fitted tank top, blue and black flannel, jeans, and boots. She’s ready to work.
“Morning, G,” she chirps. “Did you want some coffee?”
I look at the cup of black liquid as she adds a dash of honey and a splash of milk.
I flash her a small grin. “I can make it.”
Taking a mug from the top cabinet that she can’t reach without the step stool, I make myself a coffee with frothed milk, because unlike my pretentious brother Reid, I like mine a little bitter.
“Have you spoken with Laynie?” I ask, not beating around the bush. “I messaged her yesterday, but she still hasn’t responded to me.”
Her hands still for a moment, but it’s long enough for me to notice. I watch her bring the mug to her lips and take a gulp. My eyes narrow each second she hesitates to answer.
“I mean, I saw her in the evening,” Macie admits, but there’s no waver in her voice. “I was at hers after…”
“Reid made things between you official?” I finished for her.
Glancing up at me, she nods slowly, her lips pursed together.
I have known Laynie and Macie long enough to know when something is up, and right now, Macie has a secret.
I don’t know what it is, but I know she’s burying one.
There are small signs I have picked up from her, like her tight mouth, the way her nostrils flare, and the elongation of her neck.
Part of me wants to push to know what it is, but Macie also wouldn’t tell me, especially if she’s promised not to tell anyone.
She’s like a vault that can’t be cracked.
“How was it?”
“The dating proposal?” she questions without hesitation. My mouth opens to argue, but she carries on, “It was beautiful. Reid pulled me into his house—well, our house I should say—and when he asked me—”
“No, I know, Macie. You both told me right after it happened. You know what I’m asking you.”
Her eyes roll before taking another sip of coffee. “It was fine. We just hung out at L’s place.”
My tongue drags along my lip, and I don’t know why, but something inside of me tingles uncomfortably.
Macie and Laynie never just hang out. They tell me everything.
Things I never ever wanted to know. Like how some girls grow hair above their lips?
I could have died not knowing that information, if I’m entirely honest, but I do now after Macie went into detail about it.
“You hung out?” I repeat, sounding more sceptical than I probably meant to.
Her eyes roll a second time, and my muscles stiffen in response. “Girls can hang out. Watch movies, eat food, talk about boys and stuff. It’s what we do at girls’ night.” She plasters on a wide grin, showing off her teeth. “Hence why you’re never invited.”
“Yeah, and honestly, it’s a little rude.”
Macie’s head tilts, and I feel as though I have been backed into a corner. A grown man at six-foot-four is being cornered by a barely five-foot girl. “So, you want to know about what we have to do when we—”
I shove my fingers in my ear and make noises to keep myself from hearing.
She giggles, going back to her coffee as I pour milk into mine.
“It’s still not fair. You know that, right?”
“Like you and your brothers don’t all share secrets and guyish things together,” she retorts with a snort.
“Ah-ha!” I point an accusatory finger at her. “So there are secrets…”
Macie might be shaking her head, but her smile means that I’m onto something, and I will get to the bottom of this eventually.
“There might be, but you won’t be hearing them from me.”
“We’ll see about that.” I poke my tongue out at her.
The back door opens and Reid steps inside. He smiles at Macie, who almost melts into a puddle at the sight of him. Still makes me want to puke a bit. “Good, you haven’t left yet.”
“You caught me just in time,” she says giddily, moving around the bench and pulling him into a hug.
The corner of my lip lifts as I turn around. They might be officially dating as of yesterday, but I’m still getting used to seeing my brother and one of my best friends in love. As much as I love them and want them to be happy, it still hurts my brain seeing them this way.
“Didn’t you both just spend all night together?” I groan. “You sleep in the same house now.”
Peeking over my shoulder to see if the coast is clear, I spin around.
Reid’s face scrunches, wrinkles pooling in the corners of his eyes. “No. Macie didn’t get home until well after—”
Macie’s elbow digs into his ribs, making him huff. My eyebrows crease as she gives Reid a glare of daggers before taking her bag off the bench. “Well, I need to go to work.”
“Wait, why so late?” I ask, stepping to block her from leaving.
Her chin rises, gaze meeting mine, and I can see the playfulness in them. But there’s also a heaviness. Something is pulling her down, and I don’t know if it’s one of these secrets or something else entirely.
“We had a lot to talk about…” Macie drawls, clearing her throat.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and my stomach flips a little.
“And Laynie also is feeling a little under the weather.” She must see the widening of my eyes, because her hands are on my shoulders, squeezing them gently.
“But it’s nothing to worry about. I think she’s just… run down.”
I don’t miss the beat of hesitation when her hands fall away.
Reid steers her towards the front door. “All right, you’re officially late now.”
She turns to peck his cheek. “And you’re still a bit of a stickler when it comes to being on time.”
“I like being punctual,” Reid admits swiftly.
Macie smiles before kissing him goodbye and disappearing. I just stare at the door.
Reid shoves his hands in his pocket and returns to my side, polishing off the remainder of Macie’s coffee. “Stop overthinking, or you’re going to turn into me.”
I groan at that. “I guess that’s why Laynie hasn’t responded to my texts.”
“Were they important?”
My head shakes.
Reid’s mouth tightens before clapping me on the back. “She’ll be fine. Macie wouldn’t lie. If something was really wrong, I’m sure you would have heard about it.”
I hum in response, knowing that he’s right. They would’ve told me if it was something important.
A weight lifts off my shoulders, and I take a deep breath. “You’re right.” I take another sip before smirking at my older brother. “So, do you really think that making the pasture a track is a bad idea?”
The roll of his eyes makes me chuckle loudly.