Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
KASEY
“Whoa, boy . . .” The chestnut stallion beneath me bucks harder, the power in his massive thighs shooting me up into the air. My stomach plummets as we both drop back down.
“Easy!” Rhett calls from outside the corral.
“Trying,” I grit out. The horse twists hard to the left and bucks again, and it’s enough to shake me loose from the saddle.
I fly through the air, tucking my chin into my chest as I try to roll into the fall.
I land on my shoulder though, pain exploding from my collarbone to my shoulder blade.
“Fuck!” I shout, frustration cutting deep.
I haven’t been thrown from a horse in years.
“Shit,” Rhett mutters.
“You okay?” Wells asks.
I stare up at the sky as my brothers hop over the fence.
Rhett jogs toward the horse to catch his lead before he has a chance to finish what he started and trample over me.
Wells comes straight to me, his head flooding my field of vision and blocking out the blue of the sky.
His eyes scan over me, settling on the shoulder I’m clutching with a death grip.
“Dislocated?” he asks.
I sigh out an irritated breath, squeezing my eyes shut. “I fucking hope not.”
“Can you stand?” He scratches at his brow, his dirty ball cap pushed high on his forehead.
“My legs are fine, Wellsy boy.”
He frowns. “Let’s see you use them then.”
I almost chuckle. Rolling toward my uninjured shoulder, I get my legs underneath me and work to stand. As I straighten, I try pushing my chest out to bring my shoulder blades together and my left one screams. “Fuck,” I say again, wincing.
“How bad?” he asks.
I give it another experimental roll. My muscles tense as pain radiates. “I don’t think it’s dislocated, but I definitely pulled a muscle. Maybe bruised some bone.”
“Try holding out your arm.”
I slowly extend my left hand, raising my arm until it’s perpendicular to my torso. It hurts, but not enough to signal anything major. “I’m all right,” I say. “Just gonna be sore.”
Wells lets out a long breath. He’s always been one to worry.
“We shouldn’t bring him in yet,” Rhett calls from the other side of the corral. His arms are spread wide as he herds the wild horse toward the fence. “He’s stubborn. We can’t let him think he’s won.”
“Have at it,” I holler back. “All yours.”
“Come on,” Wells says, nodding his head at the corral’s gate. I follow him through it and take Rhett’s place on the sidelines, watching as Rhett takes mine on the horse, carefully stepping into the stirrup resting at the animal’s belly.
The horse starts bucking before Rhett’s even seated, but he manages to get himself into the saddle, determination set in his brow.
“He’s got it,” Wells mumbles, eyes fastened to Rhett like he’s readying for the potential of another brother falling.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Rhett’s just as stubborn as that horse. They can work each other out.”
Wells snorts.
“Hey.” We spin to find Sawyer coming our way from the house. He’s wearing shorts and a CSU T-shirt. “What are you all up to?”
“Kasey just got dusted by that mustang,” Wells says. “Went flying and everything.”
I knock him against his shoulder and then grimace, realizing too late I used my bad arm. “Dick,” I mutter.
Wells laughs. “When are you leaving?” he asks Sawyer.
Sawyer shrugs. “I was supposed to head out this morning, but . . .” He hesitates. “I’m not sure if it’s a good time.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
His eyes flit to the cabin that sits a few hundred yards away, the only one in eyesight of the main house. “I probably should stay, right? Maybe a couple more days?”
“Sawyer,” I say. “You’ve already stayed longer than you were supposed to. Didn’t school start back this week?” We’d all been lucky that he could be here during his spring break, but as far as I know that’s already ended.
“Yeah, but I’ve been logging in online. My professors know what’s going on.”
“We’ve got him,” Wells says quietly.
Sawyer looks at him, unsure.
“We’ve got him,” he repeats. “You need to get back to school.”
“For the love of god, someone’s gotta finish college,” I grumble.
Sawyer cuts me a confused look. “I already have a degree.”
I smile. “I know, kid. I’m just fucking with you.”
His face wipes clean of his bewilderment. “Oh.”
Of all of us, Sawyer’s definitely gotten the furthest with his education. After Wells dropped out of Texas A&M his senior year, Sawyer’s the only Bennett to have gone all the way. And as if that weren’t impressive enough, he’s now in the middle of a graduate program for wildlife conservation.
He’s always been way more book smart than the rest of us. Cowboying never came natural to him and he’s struggled to fit into social spaces, but the kid’s brain is a powerhouse. He deserves a lot of success.
“Seriously, Sawyer—you need to get back,” I say.
“Yeah.” Sawyer nods. “I’ll look for flights after dinner. Try to catch one in the morning.”
I reach for him with my good arm and wrap my hand around his shoulder. “We’re all so fucking proud of you. I know there’s a lot going on here at home—hell, there’s always a lot going on—but none of it takes away from your accomplishments, okay? Keep hustling for your dreams.”
“That’s not true,” Sawyer says, eyes shining. “We all deserve good things.”
“Except Rhett,” Wells snarks.
“I heard that!” Rhett yells from atop the mustang. The horse neighs and bucks again, trying to shake Rhett off his back.
Sawyer laughs. “Thanks, Kasey. It means a lot.”
We all turn back to Rhett. It’s obvious the stallion’s getting tired, but he’s not ready to quit yet.
“Can I ask you guys a question?” Sawyer asks. He sounds nervous.
“Shoot,” I say, turning to look at him.
“How do you know when a girl’s into you?”
Wells snaps his attention to Sawyer, grinning. Neither of us says anything for a moment as we watch Sawyer’s ears grow a bright shade of crimson.
“Actually,” he says, “never mind. Forget I said anything—”
“How long have you known her?” Wells asks.
Sawyer shrugs. “Since we had a biology class together last year. We were paired for a group project and argued the whole time. She was so controlling about everything and I thought she hated me, but now . . . I’m not so sure.”
“What makes you say that?”
Sawyer considers that. “I try not to bother her,” he explains, “because I don’t want to upset her. She always seems to get so flustered when I say anything to her. But lately she gets mad at me for ignoring her too, so I don’t understand what I’m supposed to be doing.”
I scoff. “That’s women for you. They want you to want them, but then pretend like you wanting them is a bother.”
“I don’t know,” Wells says. “Sometimes I think they just don’t know what they want. It can take time for girls to let their guard down.”
“Or,” I counter, “they like being chased, but don’t like being caught.
” A certain sun-kissed brunette running down the shore of Scorpion Bay flashes through in my mind, my hands wrapping around her waist to pull her down into the high tide, her screeching laughter echoing in my heart long after the sun goes down.
“What’s her name?” I ask, distracting myself from the memory.
“Elizabeth,” Sawyer mutters.
“Well, that’s fuckin’ proper,” I say. “No Lizzy? Or Beth?”
His cheeks are red now. “She’s pretty adamant about being called Elizabeth.”
Wells chuckles as he adjusts the dusty ball cap on his head. “Do you like her?” he asks.
Sawyer shrugs. “I don’t know whether to like her or be scared of her.”
“Oh yeah.” I whistle. “He likes her, all right.”
“Just forget I asked,” Sawyer mumbles, turning back toward the house.
“Sawyer, wait!” Wells bellows, pulling Sawyer back by the arm. “Look, man. If you like her, just ask her out. Something simple, like dinner. If she says no, then you know she’s not interested.”
“But if she says yes,” I chime in, “then it’s a good place to start. Just be cool and keep it low pressure, you know?”
“I don’t know what ‘be cool’ means.”
“Just be yourself.”
“I’m not cool, though.”
“Yes you are,” Wells says, frowning.
“You’re a Bennett,” I add. “Of course you’re cool.”
“The worst thing that could happen is she says no.” Wells knocks Sawyer gently on the shoulder. “And it’s not a bad thing if she does. You just move on with your life, and at least you’ll know.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer hedges. “All right. I’m gonna go see if Mom’s ready to go to the store.”
Wells and I watch him disappear back into the house.
“Do you think he’s ever been laid?” I ask Wells seriously.
“Honestly? I don’t think so.”
“Hm,” I hum, turning back to Rhett. “We should work on that.”
Wells laughs, and I grin back at him. I know Sawyer needs to get back to school, but it’s been really nice having him home, even if the circumstances are shitty. There’s a rightness to all five of us being here.
I glance over at Brooks’s cabin and wonder for the hundredth time what he’s doing in there, if there might be something I can do to help him.
I wonder how long it’ll take for the grief to lessen, if it ever will.
I want to protect all of my brothers as best I can, but I don’t always know how to go about it.
It definitely starts with protecting this ranch, and unfortunately that’s going to take a deep cut into my pride.
“I think he’s done for now,” Rhett hollers from the center of the ring. The horse is still huffing, but he’s not bucking anymore. “We can bring him back out in the morning.”
“Good,” I say. “I need to talk to you guys anyway. Meet me in the office?”